 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: kdk
Date: 2024-05-21 23:31
A chemistry question:
I've been using vinegar (undiluted 4% household vinegar) to clean deposits from my mouthpieces for most of my adult life. I always put the mouthpiece beak down in a shot glass, poured in enough vinegar to nearly the top of the shot, and left it alone for a couple of hours, then rinsed the mouthpiece and the shot glass.
I've recently been using a standard brown-tinted plastic prescription bottle instead of a glass shot. To save wasted vinegar, I've been keeping it on my desk and re-using the same vinegar, closing the medicine bottle between uses. A trivial saving, but it feels better than dumping the stuff down the drain.
My question is whether or not anything can leach into the vinegar from the plastic. And, related, whether or not over time the vinegar can damage the bottle so that at some point it may leak.
I haven't had any leaks in over two months, but I wonder what's likely over a longer time period.
Most of the vinegar they sell in the stores these days comes, of course, in plastic bottles, but I don't know if it's the same plastic.
Karl
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2024-05-21 23:46
You can always use a glass jam jar with a lid if you're that worried about it.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: lydian
Date: 2024-05-21 23:49
Prescription bottles are typically PET, but vinegar comes in Polypropylene bottles (let's say PP for short). Both are food/beverage safe, but PET is more durable. PET is used in water bottles and is BPA-free. Neither react with vinegar and can store it indefinitely. Personally I use glass, but your way won't leach or leak, probably for decades.
But I wouldn't store used vinegar as it would contain all sorts of bacteria and fungus from your mouthpiece, a few of which might survive and multiply. Vinegar is after a waste product of certain bacteria. Plus, it get's weaker every time it reacts with the minerals on your mouthpiece. While vinegar is pretty good at preserving food and removing mineral deposits from mouthpieces, it's not a great disinfectant like alcohol, bleach or peroxide would be. There's no harm in dumping a few ounces of vinegar.
My 2 cents
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Author: kdk
Date: 2024-05-22 05:53
lydian wrote:
> But I wouldn't store used vinegar as it would contain all sorts
> of bacteria and fungus from your mouthpiece, a few of which
> might survive and multiply.
I hadn't considered that.
> There's no harm in dumping a few ounces
> of vinegar.
No, there really isn't. Not even a few ounces. The shot glass without the mouthpiece in it only holds an ounce of liquid. It just seemed more convenient. I'm getting lazy in my dotage.
Thanks,
Karl
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2024-05-22 09:35
>> I hadn't considered that. <<
That's the main reason I wouldn't reuse the vinegar.
>> and left it alone for a couple of hours <<
Even when it's pretty stubborn it usually doesn't take more than 30 minutes (and often less). I don't think if there's any problem leaving it for so much longer, but unnecessary.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2024-05-22 10:13
clarnibass wrote:
> Even when it's pretty stubborn it usually doesn't take more
> than 30 minutes (and often less). I don't think if there's any
> problem leaving it for so much longer, but unnecessary.
No, not necessary. I set it up and just leave it while I do other things. Then rinse, wipe and put it back in the clarinet case.
Karl
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Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2024-06-17 05:42
Hi Karl. I’m happy to hear someone is still using vinegar for mouthpieces. It verifies that it is safe for a short soaking. I’ve had some bad experiences with it lately with longer soakings: eating away metal coatings (razors and plumbing and destroying rubber gaskets in toilet tanks. These were all 24 hour plus soaks. (Forgive me for getting a bit off topic on this)
Laurie (he/him)
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Author: kdk
Date: 2024-06-17 06:01
Fortunately, my mouthpieces have no metal parts, and I never let the vinegar touch the cork.
Karl
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2024-06-17 08:30
Vinegar is used to clean rust and depending on how much there is, it would need a pretty long soak, usually at least a day for not much rust. It can damage metal after a long time (depends on a lot of things).
I had vinegar touch the cork and even dunking a mouthpiece completely, covering the entire cork, but not letting it sit in it. Nothing ever happened. I don't know if it does anything to it or not. For used corks it's possible that the grease also acts as a sort of shield... maybe. Not that there is any reason to let the cork get into the vinegar.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2024-06-17 17:05
clarnibass wrote:
> I had vinegar touch the cork and even dunking a mouthpiece
> completely, covering the entire cork, but not letting it sit in
> it. Nothing ever happened.
I'm more concerned about what it *might* do to the cement over an extended soak. As you say, there's no reason to dunk the mouthpieces as far in as the cork. In fact, the one-ounce shot glasses I use aren't that deep.
Karl
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Author: lydian
Date: 2024-06-17 20:28
I am interested in these metal clarinet mouthpieces. I’ve never seen one.
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2024-06-18 00:49
There seem to be mouthpieces on the market in brass, bronze and titanium.
I've never seen one either lydian, but I've got that on my " To-do" list somewhere between the guided tour of Reykjavik and watching Ridley Scot's " Napoleon" without intervention by paramedics.
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: kdk
Date: 2024-06-18 01:22
I guess it would have the same purpose as metal sax mouthpieces. Probably not a big seller among symphony players, but maybe jazz players who need to cut through their "backgrounds."
Karl
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Author: lydian
Date: 2024-06-19 19:14
What are the odds. My bandmate showed up last night with a metal Meyer. Sounded terrible, didn't blend at all. At least now I know I never want a metal clarinet mouthpiece. If all the greats managed to project just fine without one, I figure I can too. But I can say that I've never found a need to use vinegar on any metal mouthpiece. None of my metal sax mouthpieces have ever gotten mineral deposits at all. Soap and water and the occasional polish are all I've ever needed. Oxidizers and acids on metal aren't a good idea anyway as they can damage it.
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2024-06-19 20:41
Depleted uranium has good projection and will go right through the metal of a tank. The metal of trumpets is much softer, so you'd need to get a lot of trumpet players all standing in a line to really test that one properly.
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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