 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-03-07 20:04
Leave it open for as long as possible.
Also a good sprinkling of bicarbonate of soda inside will help to remove odours - leave it for a while (several days maybe) and then hoover it all up with the help with a chopped down paintbrush to get the stubborn bits out from any corners.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2016-03-07 20:13
I've encountered that problem with used clarinets in fabric-lined or plush-lined cases. I take the clarinet and all the other removable things out of the case, then wash out the inside of the case with Febreze on a fairly damp (but not dripping wet) sponge. Then I rinse out the sponge, leave it fairly damp again and rinse out the case with it (and usually re-rinse the sponge a couple more times during this process). Then I dry the case outdoors, open to the sun, on a sunny day. Cigarette stink is harder to remove than a lot of other smells. If the case still smells like an ashtray after this treatment, I do the whole process again.
With these old clarinets, I almost always have to change the pads and corks anyway, and because pads and corks can also absorb cigarette smell, the best time to replace them is when I clean the case. A worse problem is that the smell can cling to a wooden clarinet (to the wood itself), but I've found that dampening the stripped-down clarinet, swabbing it out thoroughly, then leaving it to air out for a couple of days, before I replace the keys, usually lets that smell evaporate.
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: sfalexi
Date: 2016-03-07 22:25
Coffee beans are used to remove and mask odors in a lot of stores and situations. A quick google on that ("coffee beans remove odors") might prove fruitful in helping out.
Actually, let me google it for you!
http://bfy.tw/4d0W
Pretty fun!!!
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: DougR
Date: 2016-03-10 02:39
I would be a little careful at first about adding anything (e.g. coffee beans) that impart their own smell. (ditto cedar shavings, which is another remedy I've heard about.) Many years ago I bought a C-melody sax that had bad mildew stink in the case. Someone suggested putting camphor in the case. Now it stinks of camphor instead of mold.
If it were my case, I'd first vacuum as much loose lint, flotsam etc. as I could out of the case (flotsam carries the odor too), THEN set the case out in the back yard in full sun for a few days (if you can).
Actually, this is Lelia's Rx without the Febreze, but she has a lot more experience with this stuff than I. I would just add that I've used the Doctor's case odor remover (similar to Febreze but without any scent) and that worked reasonably well in a truly skanky old Selmer bass clarinet case.
I'd bet vacuum, sun, Febreze (or alternate substance) and/or baking soda (per Chris) plus repetition as needed would do it.
Good luck!
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2016-03-10 09:04
If you live somewhere where hard sunshine is guaranteed, just leave it open in the sun for a few days. Works like magic. The baking soda is good too.
Tony F.
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Author: Grabnerwg
Date: 2016-03-10 19:35
If the clarinet still stinks of cigarette smell, strip it down, and wash the wood inside and out with Murphey's Oil Soap. This is also good for removing mildew smell from the wood.
Walter Grabner
www.clarinetxpress.com
New Buffet Clarinets - the Tradition is coming!
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Author: Clarineteer
Date: 2016-03-10 21:34
Thanks Walter buy the clarinet has been completely overhauled and through the cleaning process the smell is completely gone. The case is the problem. A couple of more days in the direct sunlight should do the trick.
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Author: fskelley
Date: 2016-03-11 03:07
Send the bill for a new case to one of the the tobacco compensation funds, or to the tobacco company of your choice. Wait by the mailbox for your check.
(Note- I understand that tobacco disease and death is no joking matter. Please excuse my slight jest at Big Tobacco's expense.)
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
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Author: Jim22
Date: 2016-03-11 07:41
I have had good luck leaving a paper envelope with a few tablespoons of baking soda in the case with the instrument once I have done my best to clean and air it out. Over the long term it seems to clean up weird smells pretty well.
Jim C.
CT, USA
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2016-03-11 19:28
Silversorcerer is right about the chemical smell of Febreze. I hate it. That's why I rinse the fabric thoroughly and then air the case out after using it -- although I do continue to use it, because for me, it does do the best job of removing smells of mold, mildew, tobacco and plain old dirtiness. I think it does get rid of odors, not just mask them, but I don't put an instrument back into the case until I've thoroughly rinsed out and aired out that Febreze smell. I wish some company would come up with a product without the chemical odor.
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: John Peacock
Date: 2016-03-12 11:44
I recently bought a clarinet that reeked of cigarette smoke. I tried all the remedies I could find on the internet: sodium bicarbonate, vinegar, lemon cleaner, vodka(!)... none of them worked. But eventually I stumbled on something that really did get rid of the smell: methylated spirits. I think the clarinet gets the smell by picking up tarry residues, and you need something that is a solvent for those. It still took several applications, though. I also found that soaking a rag in the meths and rubbing it on the case lining had a beneficial effect, if followed by airing.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-03-12 19:29
I use meths as a degreaser before glueing on any key or tenon corks on as well as to clean up the greasy spots on case linings where the tenons go, but never thought it would remove smells.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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