 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bluesparkle
Date: 2009-01-30 00:55
Just had a friend of mine say that she purchased a wooden clarinet for her daughter. She got it for $300 from a friend who paid $600 for it. I have no idea what kind of instrument it is, but that matters little.
Apparently the daughter is a germaphobe, and proceeded to soak her entire clarinet in bleach. Yes, you heard me correctly.
Needless to say, all the corks and pads disintegrated and had to be replaced. Now, it seems that they make frequent trips to the repair shop because the tenon corks continue to crumble.
I did make sure that the daughter was a dilligent user of cork grease, and that she wasn't forcing the clarinet during assembly and disassembly. She has supposedly gone through two sticks of cork grease, which sounds like a lot to me.
I assume that the repair tech who is replacing the corks has been thorough and made sure that the wood is okay, but it seems to me that if the corks keep falling off, that there's bleach still in the wood pores, perhaps. I have not laid eyes on the instrument, so I don't know if it looks unusual or not.
Any thoughts on what a bleach bath might do to a wooden instrument?
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Author: Keith P
Date: 2009-01-30 06:32
If your student has gone through 2 sticks of cork grease on the instrument, then the cork grease is probably causing the corks to fall off - excess amounts of petroleum based cork grease will loosen and damage the corks of the instrument. Try switching to a different brand of cork grease that is not petroleum based (i.e. doctor slick), or try using the cork grease less frequently and see if your cork problems go away. I've have seen quite a few corks just come right off for that reason.
Best of Luck!
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-01-30 10:14
If it has been washed, always oil the wood afterwards. I'm not sure what effect bleach will have on the wood, though I can imagine it will leave a smell.
The fact is that wood is a naturally antiseptic material and certain naturally sourced oils to oil the bore also have antiseptic properties - raw linseed oil being an example (liked by some, disliked by others) as it has been used to make lino flooring (not to be confused with vinyl flooring) as used extensively in hospitals for this antiseptic property as well as being easy to keep clean (when hospitals used to be cleaned more thoroughly than they are now).
"Apparently the daughter is a germaphobe" - not a healthy thing to be, she's far more likely to catch something being a cleanliness freak than a grot-bag! Look what happened to the Martians in 'War of the Worlds'.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2009-01-30 11:01
"Look what happened to the Martians in 'War of the Worlds'."
Oh, darn, and I was going to finish watching it tonight.....really!
Bob Draznik
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-01-30 11:30
They got to work with bleach (note the blatant product placement) and scrubbing brushes and plenty of elbow grease, making the world spotless. Then said 'Our work is done here, let's go clean up another world' and disappeared pretty much as hastily as they arrived.
Never as good as the book, is it? One of the few books I've actually read.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2009-01-30 11:48
I would also ask WHY she is using so much cork grease.
Is it that the timber is jamming and needs adjusting?
Or is it that it is one of the substandard types that just cakes up and makes the joints MORE difficult to assemble.
Clean all that muck off (with lighter fluid), and get Doctor Slick or Alisyn cork grease, and use VERY little.
BTW, I think it would be very difficult for even petroleum products to release a top quality contact cement such as Evostik, properly used. (and I don't think bleach would do it either). I tried soaking such a bond in lighter fluid,then oils for weeks without the glue releasing. But yes, Vaseline and certain other mterials used in crappy cork grease similar greases do damage both cork and certain types of contact glue.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2009-01-30 12:55
The human body harbors some 90 trillion microbes. In the gut, they make up more than half the volume. They're essential for the body to function properly, and if we eliminated them, we would quickly die.
In fact, dirt and even intestinal worms provide an essential challenge to the immune system, causing it to develop properly. Babies put everything in their mouths not because they don't know better, but because it's good for them.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/health/27brod.html?em
Like any phobia, this one needs proper treatment.
Ken Shaw
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Author: George Stalle
Date: 2009-02-13 16:20
Has anyone ever sprayed Lysol lightly on a swab, pulled it through, then pulled a straight damp swab through (without Lysol) to removed the Lysol chemical residue. Then, pull a dry swab through to damp dry, followed by a little bore oil to prevent any possible dryness from the chemical?
George Stalle
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-02-13 16:39
I think this is all a lot of worry over nothing.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2009-02-13 17:01
George Stalle...completely ignoring Ken's post...
My wife came from a mildly germaphobic family. My mother's response to "I don't feel good"? Go to school.
Guess which one of us is sick more often?
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: George Stalle
Date: 2009-02-13 18:57
My query re: Lysol is not so far-fetched when you understand that I'm a public school teacher who has to be concerned about kids not getting sick, esp. if I have to play their instruments to see what's wrong -- and I'm coming off getting sick.
Most of the time I just use that spray stuff on the mouthpiece, but I try hard NOT to play kids' instruments.
George Stalle
Post Edited (2009-02-13 18:58)
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2009-02-13 19:23
Hello George,
This issue that you're speaking of can be readily solved by having your own mouthpiece/reed on hand. You take their mouthpiece off, swab out the moisture in the barrel joint, and then play their horn.
I also teach extensively in the schools on top of my studio. Yes, I do play my students instruments in the manner I describe above. If further testing is necessary I may let them play my instrument in the same way.
I have never passed nor received an illness from any of my students.
I would never play another's mouthpiece without cleaning it with warm soapy water, and I would never play their reed at all. It doesn't make sense to do so either: their mouthpiece/reed combo might not be the best for me...better by far to use what I know to determine the issue.
Your initial question didn't provide any background for what you were asking. It could easily be inferred that you were talking about your own instrument.
Regardless it is, IMO and experience, overkill. I do not believe the germs that are blown into the clarinet (along with the condensation that is generated) creates that great of a petri dish, especially if the student is taking proper care of their instrument. Also, so what if you blow a germ down in their instrument...how is it supposed to get to them? As long as they swab frequently and CLEAN the swab frequently there is no health issue.
As Ken's post explains, there are a host of germs that are necessary to survival. I find that, generally, those who are most germaphobic have created a life where they are more susceptible to illness by not providing their systems a healthy opportunity to develop.
James
Gnothi Seauton
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