 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Jackie
Date: 2002-03-07 11:49
I had the graetest surprise yesterday. Opened my case after a two week hoilday to find the worst case of fungus I've seen in my life. It was all over - white, cotton wooly, disgusting!!. Any advice?
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Author: Jackie
Date: 2002-03-07 12:41
It ws asll over my clarinet too!
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Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 2002-03-07 12:51
Is it a wood or plastic clarinet?
If plastic, I would think a repair technician could easily disassemble the clarinet, give it a good bath and replace the pads and corks. If wood, something similar could probably be done, but a little more care would be needed in the cleaning process.
But I am just speculating. An actual technician or someone who has encountered this before may be able to provide a more authoritative answer.
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2002-03-07 12:51
Dear Jackie,
Mold and mildew spores are among the hardest creatures on earth to kill (only a close second to Anthrax). It would take a 5% concentration of household laundry type bleach complete soak (for at least 30 minutes - our CDC Anthrax treatment) to kill the spores. If it is not a hugely valuable case the best advice is to get a new case and keep the humidity less than 50% (where these spores are dormant). You have unseen spores on your horn now and these will multiply in a new case as well. You cannot disinfect the horn completely without a major overhaul so you should keep the humidity down with a desiccant packet or canister and a check with a humidity indicator (either a guage or chemical indicator strip). Note that most silica gel packets (e.g. packaging for electronic gear) are meant to be one time use and not jostled and handled a lot because the packaging is cheap and the silica gel is not graded (can contain many paritcle sizes and gel dust). If you see dust from the package it should be replaced immediately because the dust is toxic and neurogenic. Try your phamacy and ask if they have any of the gel canisters used in bulk drug bottles - these are manufatured and designed to produce no dust.
The Doctor
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2002-03-07 19:26
A correction that might make you reconsider using chlorine bleach on your horn or case - the concentration of household bleach is 1:5 dilution (1 part bleach, 4 parts water) for 30 minutes in a soaking environment which is the proven (EPA, CDC) sporicidal concentration. The previous post must have been a Freudian Lapse on my part since I spent all of November quoting this formula to callers.
The Doctor
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Author: Bob
Date: 2002-03-07 22:34
Jackie: sounds like you left your sandwich in your clarinet case...
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Author: Jackie
Date: 2002-03-08 09:28
Thanx, everyone. My clarinet is plastic - would I have to soak my whole clarinet in bleach? Doesn't sound good to me. I could get a new case, but if there are still spores on my clarinet, this worries me. I don't really want to play it any more.
Bob, no I didn't. I just left my clarinet in my case when I went on holiday. I did nothing different than I normally do. I feel really upset.
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2002-03-08 11:31
Dear Jackie,
We live in a world of bugs - mostly friendly and not something to worry about on a daily basis. My point about the residual mold spores hanging around is that you must be careful in the future about controlling the humidity in the case because you know what can happen if you do not. I would thoroughly rinse each part of the horn with plain tap water and immediately dry it (get all the water out of tone holes, under pads, around posts, etc) and this will remove almost all the spores. I would sterilize my mouthpiece. Doing this will put you back in the game and not much different than the majority of us that have latent mold spores from the air hanging around in our own cases and on our horns that are waiting for an opportunity to grow. I would get a new case if possible.
The Doctor
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Author: Jean Adler
Date: 2002-03-09 03:28
i am told by my technician there are moths that get into your case and cause alot of problems. Throw out your case NOW...there are some good deals on cases. You can try the woodwind brasswind or international music suppliers. WHatever it is I'd make sure my instrument was very clean before sticking it back in your mouth.
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