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 cleaning mouthpiece
Author: michal 
Date:   2000-08-20 17:19

Hi!
i was wondering if anyone knows how and with what to clean an old mouthpiece.
I found this muthpiece that I used to play on when I was little(about 10 years ago) and wanted to try it again,but it has a horrible taste and i am afraid to clean it with soap or soak it,so what should i do so it wont taste so bad?
please help!

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 RE: cleaning mouthpiece
Author: Dee 
Date:   2000-08-20 17:28

Use room temperature water and soak it in a dilute vinegar solution. This will remove any deposits that are in it and should get rid of any bad taste. You can also soak it in dilute mouthwash. This probably will get rid of the taste but won't remove the typical whitish deposits that many mouthpieces have built up in them.

You might want to try to keep the cork out of the solution if it's still in good shape. Otherwise don't worry about the cork and just plan on getting the mouthpiece recorked (an inexpensive bit of maintenance).


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 RE: cleaning mouthpiece
Author: William 
Date:   2000-08-21 02:14

I clean my mps (clar & sax) by soaking them in Lime-Away, straight from the bottle, for about ten minuets. After flushing them with water, I wipe the lime deposits off with a paper towell and wash them with a mp brush in a soap solution. After drying, they are like new. Note--do not soak the cork in the Lime-Away, just the rubber, plastic or metal parts.

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 RE: cleaning mouthpiece
Author: Mark Charette 
Date:   2000-08-21 02:33

I think we've had this discussion once too often. Lime-Away is a pretty strong acid and not suited for human consumption. Vinegar is a weak acid and suited for human consumption.
<br>
<br>Advice like this on the BBoard must be tempered with a bit of reality. Drano might work fine, too!
<br>
<br>Do not use _anything_ on your mouthpiece which has not been labelled safe for humans to stick in their mouth and swallow! The day you don't rinse well may be the day you end up with a serious oral or internal burn.

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 RE: cleaning mouthpiece
Author: Hiroshi 
Date:   2000-08-21 03:33

There is a possibilty that your old mouthpiece hard rubber itself is deteriorated. This will sometimes happen when mouthpieces are not stored properly for long period.

A year ago I found my 2RV I used until 1987 before I started to use B40 and its rubber color changed to brown. When I played on it, the sound was a mess literally.

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 RE: cleaning mouthpiece
Author: Willie 
Date:   2000-08-21 05:35

I use lime or lemon juice. I put the MP in an old plastic pill bottle, beak first, that is just wide, and tall enough to accommodate the MP. I pour in the juice and let the citric acid do the work. Use a SOFT cotton swab to baste the upper parts that aren't submerged. Although I try not to soak the cork area, I have splashed it a bit, just wash it in COOL water, never warm or hot. Any scrubbing must be done with something soft that will not scratch the bore. I use just a cotton swab.

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 RE: cleaning mouthpiece
Author: Lelia 
Date:   2000-08-25 19:26

For everyday, it's possible to prevent this type of buildup just by brushing teeth before practice and then rinsing the mouthpiece under the tap after practice. Once a week, I wash mouthpieces in lukewarm water and dish detergent, using a soft mouthpiece brush, then rinse them and dry them. This washing doesn't seem to hurt the cork, which I don't scrub with the brush. I agree with Mark and Dee about using mouthwash or vinegar, not household cleaning products! Who needs that kind of risk? The safe products work fine.

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