 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: hfinlays
Date: 2007-05-18 12:37
I've been teaching lessons for a while, and I have a 6th grader using a student model Buffet. She didn't swab over vacation and it resulted in the WORST smell. It's not the mouthpiece, it's the actual upper and lower joints. Besides sending the clarinet out to get professionally cleaned, is there any spray or cleaner I can buy as her teacher to remedy the situation? HELP!
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-05-18 12:59
The only remedy is a full service on the clarinet, and the body is thoroughly washed when the keys are off (and being cleaned), and as the smell will mostly be in the case and pullthrough (that is probably in pristine condition if it hasn't been used) it's the case that will need to be left open to air - with a good sprinkning of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) in the case lining to absorb the stink. If that doesn't work, try Febreeze and leave the case open to dry thoroughly before use - if THAT doesn't work, get a new case.
But there's nothing I can suggest you spray on the clarinet itself as that'll do more harm than good.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2007-05-18 13:43
(Disclaimer - I sell cleaning and deodorizing products)
The causes for this type of odor are usually organic food deposits that are either growing bacteria or mold - mildew. If the clarinet is composite then careful cleaning with mild dishwashing soap (5 % solution - no dunking allowed) and cleaning the tone holes with a brush (will require some disassembly) should remove the offending odor if it has not permeated the pads.
The case similarly should be cleaned with a rug detergent or other cleaning agent and if mold is present then a vegetative mold and spore killer product, air and sunlight help too - if not toss the case and get a new one. I would not use sodium bicarbonate powder because you can never really get it out of the fabric and the alkaline nature of the left over dust is not good for keywork, or clarinet body. Of course the swab should be washed as well.
If the clarinet is wood then the same procedure with a quality wood cleaning product. You really have to get rid of the energy source (dried organic material) to permanently get rid of the smell and sprays without physical cleaning probably will not be a long term solution for the problem.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2007-05-18 13:48
One remedy (and some sort of punishment) is to literally play the stink out. First swab with a damp (not wet!) rag, play, swab, play, swab etc, and air the clarinet between sessions, disassembled.
How long was that vacation anyway?
--
Ben
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2007-05-18 14:00
(Same disclaimer)
Some awful punishment !! Actually the minute food particles and dead skin lip flotsam tend to get stuck and collect mostly in tone holes where swabbing lint has also lodged which playing and swabbing will not remove - and just prolong the punishment until the tone holes are cleaned.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2007-05-18 16:02
It's easy to remove the keys and screws. Arrange them on a towel in the same layout as they are on the instrument. Remove the rods and stick them in the key tubes. Remove the pointed screws and put each key and it's screws in a small cup, being careful to mark which goes on top and bottom. Sticking them and the key gently to a strip of Scotch Tape will keep the positions right.
Then get an old, clean handkerchief or a clean swab, dampen it with water (for the first try) and pull it through a dozen times. If that doesn't work, try The Doctor's products or a small amount of rubbing alcohol. Febreze also works well.
I think Johnson & Johnson still makes wood-shafted Q-Tips. Take about half the cotton off and clean out any smelly hole chimneys.
Peter Spriggs restored a pair of Buffets from 1908 for me. They had been in a closet for 90+ years and were encrusted with dirt and crud. He said he put them in the sink and scrubbed them inside and out. Clarinets are water resistant by nature. As long as you dry the metal parts, you shouldn't get any rust. Use a towel first, then blast them, particularly the screw holes, with "canned air" and finish up with a hair dryer set on low heat.
Then present the student with a tube of toothpaste and brush to use before playing, and a new swab to use after.
Ken Shaw
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Author: pewd
Date: 2007-05-18 17:29
check the tenon sockets - many times beginners never wipe these out - and they're very wet, full of crud, etc.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2007-05-19 10:47
Good suggestions (except for the bicarb soda--I agree that it's too hard to remove from the case later). One other suggestion, as preventive maintenance: Before you do anything else, show that clarinet to the student's mother or father, give the parent a good whiff of that nasty smell and explain what it would cost to have the clarinet professionally cleaned. If the clarinet is in this condition, then the student probably lets the mouthpiece and reed get disgusting, too, and that could be a health hazard.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Vytas
Date: 2007-05-21 00:43
> ** "If that doesn't work, try The Doctor's products or a small amount of rubbing alcohol. Febreze also works well". ** <
Alcohol will also remove the oil and a factory finish from the bore (or wooden body). DO NOT use alcohol unless you intend to refinish and re-oil your clarinet. Oil and finish (especially shellac based) are used for better dimensional stability of a wooden clarinet. Many professionals believe that the special treatment of the bore on vintage R13 also contribute to the tone of these instruments. BTW. I'm strong believer that it does!
Unprotected/unfinished granadilla always swells from moisture/water and that's where this blown-out phenomenon comes from. I had an old Buffet bell with very loose rings. And I mean "loose". The gap between both rings and the body was around 1.5 mm. I submerged entire bell into water for several hours. The bell returned to the original condition and I couldn't move the rings, they were perfectly tight. But when I removed it from water the rings got loose very fast and the bell returned to its previous dried-out condition in about an hour.
Clarinets are NOT water resistant by nature. If the granadilla wood behaves that way it's because it received a special treatment.
IMO. Fabric refresher usually covers one smell with another. It does not eliminate the bad smell.
Vytas Krass
Clarinet Repair
Professional clarinet technician
Custom clarinet mouthpiece maker
Former professional clarinet player
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Author: bawa
Date: 2007-05-21 06:02
And once it is clean, you could recommend the tip from Prof. Sherman:
a piece of orange peel left from time to time in the case "refreshes" it considerably!
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