 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Nek
Date: 2026-01-29 16:52
Attachment: IMG-20260129-WA0000.jpeg (773k)
Attachment: IMG-20260129-WA0002.jpeg (771k)
I live in a small, old appartement with bad heating and relatively high humidity. In Winter, there is sometimes small mold-spots on random objects like leather boots, walls or the underside of my desk. To prevent my clarinet from being affected by this, i store it in the room with the best heating, away from outer walls, heaters and windows (to avoid temperature fluctuations). I currently play only occasionly, so i dont take it out of the case often. Today i discovered mold spots on the Bell (Photo attatched). The other parts, cork, pads and insides dont seem to be affected (visually). Now i have a couple of Questions:
1. Whats the best way to clean this? Its only a little, so can i just wipe it of or how is the most effective way to do it without damaging the wood and without it coming back? I found someone suggesting 3% Hydrogen peroxide, but im afraid to damage something.
2. What can i do to avoid this recurring? I already store it at the best place i have access to. I dont like this appartement and it is certainly not healthy, but i cant change atm. Would it be an idea to put silica gel into the case?
If anyone has experience with this kind of problem, tips or other ideas, it would be very helpful
Thanks
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Author: m1964
Date: 2026-01-29 19:38
Lemon oil is good for cleaning wood.
A humidifier pack inside the case should help.
Check this thread again later- hopefully you will get another reply.
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Author: Luc
Date: 2026-01-29 20:10
I would think if the problem is mold, introducing more humidity would not help... could even make it worse. Silica gel does absorb moisture. Also make sure when you put it away after playing it is well swabbed and dry.
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2026-01-30 17:38
My A-clarinet has been rarely used for a couple years, and at one point I took it out and saw mold spots. Mine were also only on the bell, hmm. Maybe that was also during wintertime; hmm again. Anyway, I washed the bell with warmish water, and the spots were removed. I haven't seen any in the year or so since.
Mold needs moisture. In the winter, warmed air can condense on cooler surfaces. Perhaps warmer air seeps into the case and condenses on the cooler surfaces, so you might want to try and keep the instrument where the temperature is most consistent.
You'd think silica gel or another desiccant would be a good idea, but it may not be so simple (nothing's simple;) maybe others will weigh in on desiccant vs humidifier pack. It's good practice to routinely put the instrument away with the bore, toneholes, sockets, tenons, mpc and bell dried.
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Author: JTJC
Date: 2026-02-01 14:32
I've also heard some suggest you leave the case open for 30 minutes after playing, swabing, removing liquid from under pads, and putting the instruments in the case.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2026-02-01 19:54
Mold, if that's what you have, grows in moist conditions. So you need to dry the case and instrument out without desiccating the pads in the process. If it's mold, adding humidity will worsen the problem. But storing it in too dry a place, especially if it's cold, can dry the wood and cause it to contract so keys start binding.
My first thought would be to get a cheap second case and store the clarinet in that while you give the original case a good cleaning with an anti-mold-fungus-bacteria disinfectant spray. Leave the original case open to dry and settle and then see what happens when you put the clarinet back into it. Use the same spray on a cloth or paper towel to clean the mold spots off the instrument. Just keep away from the pads.
You might eyeball the pads around where you found the mold and see if there's anything growing on them. Replacing moldy pads would be a job for a competent repair tech.
Karl
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