 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: fskelley
Date: 2014-04-24 21:17
I see this mentioned with respect to clearing cold sore viruses, and I know it's been covered here before.
Part of my end of practice session regimen is about a 5 min soak of whatever reeds I used, in a used pill bottle, about 1" deep, of half and half peroxide USP gargle/rinse and tap water. I'm told that will kill a lot of bad stuff (but not everything) and is loads better than doing nothing. And also that it does nothing bad to a reed, and perhaps prolongs its life.
For a time I also let the tip of the mouthpiece soak along with the reeds. Then I noticed a bleaching effect- so now the mouthpiece gets Sterisol instead. When I was playing all Legere, they got Sterisol also, not peroxide. But Sterisol leaves a non-rinsable bad taste on cane reeds.
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
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Author: john4256
Date: 2014-04-24 21:30
I use ReedJuvinate (from Canada only I think). It holds three reeds of any type and you can either leave them soaking in the container or allow a central sponge soaked in Listerine Dental Mouthwash. The mouthwash is alcohol based so it kills all germs, keeps the reeds moist and a fresh taste. I think I paid about UKP £15 for it a few months ago. I wouldn't use anything else. I have one for my clarinets, one for my bass clarinet and one for my alto sax. Best money I ever spent.
Paying huge amounts of money for reed revitalisers is a false economy
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Author: ThatPerfectReed
Date: 2014-04-24 21:40
I don't know if such a regiment is necessary.
Let me clarrify that sentence Stan. It means to say that I am ignorant here with respect to your regiment's effectiveness and would love to see evidence, and/or hear concurrence that it does promote reed life. That opening sentence does not imply that your steps are or aren't overkill--as again--I simply don't know.
I wash reeds off (that I, and only I play) every so often for the same "it might help, and can't hurt" reasons, and the idea that saliva can break the reed down over time. I also have found that ATGing (Ridenour reed fixing strategies) is not, at least for me, a simply "do once then play" thing, but ongoing (and life promoting) during the course of a reed's life.
Speaking of gargle/rinse, when playing at home, I will at least gargle/rinse this clarinetist, if not his reeds, before play. ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif)
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Author: The Doctor ★2017
Date: 2014-04-25 16:16
Simple rinsing with cool water is the best sanitation practice. Anything in the sterilization spectrum of treatments IME damages reeds. I am friends with the inventor of ReedLife which is no longer available everywhere. I am entrusted with the formula but have not found time or distribution resources to make it. ReedLife is a peroxide based product that also contains humectants to keep the reed supple and a buffer. My own experience is that it helps prolong reed life and cleans the skin detritus from the reed which some say is a cause of reed death. Regular USP peroxide will clean reeds but it also tends to dry them out and remove some of the bonding in the reed structural molecules. ReedLife I believe is still sold in some double reed establishments and is a really useful product to remove crud between the two reeds.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
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Author: ruben
Date: 2014-04-25 16:51
Hi Omar! What do you think of vodka? I find that it works very well. In fact, it works very well to clean CDs too. The other advantage is that it comes in all sorts of flavors. I'm sure Russian clarinetists use it and not just clarinetists.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: ThatPerfectReed
Date: 2014-04-25 17:43
"My own experience is that it helps prolong reed life and cleans the skin detritus from the reed which some say is a cause of reed death."
I wonder if this forms (part of) the reason why I find ATGing a reed, even if only mildy once broken in, helpful in preserving its life.
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Author: The Doctor ★2017
Date: 2014-04-25 18:14
Obviously when you play a reed there are a lot of dead skin cells that slough off our lips and become embedded in the nooks and crannies of the reed. I have never tried to remove them with the ATG sandpaper but it might work a little bit. When you put a reed into a peroxide solution or ReedLife the peroxide will oxidize the skin cells and form a lot of bubbles indicating that it is indeed getting rid of a lot of skin detritus. When the bubbles stop I know that it is done and then rinse off the reed with cool water and dry the reed flat on a hard porous surface that I find does not give me ripples at the tip.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
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Author: Bruno
Date: 2014-04-25 19:17
I've been using H2O2 for 30 years. It does exactly what The Doctor says it does. In addition it cleans the interior fibers of the vamp of the reed of saliva deposits. If 3% H2O2 is used (any drug store) it can be used undiluted.
B>
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