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Horn Flush Question


stein456

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Has anyone ever used , don't laugh......."EFFORDENT" or any other type of denture cleaner to soak/ clean the inside of your horn?

Seems funny at first, however loosening matter and rendering a surface somewhat hygienic for it's primary intent is the same issues a brass player would have with their instrument.

Including a regular flush, after a soak with mild soap in luke warm water, personally, I huff some Listerine through the lead pipe before I play. Now, I'm aware of the dry cork, pads and plating, finishing issues here. Seems to me however, that mositure in an inclosed area (tubing) then even further enclosing our instruments in a case with little and uncirculated air, is fertile ground for mold spore's and other unhygienic issues.

Is anyone aware of any studies done regarding this matter? stein

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Honestly, I just use plain old warm water, no chemicals or anything. I leave the chem-cleaning to the professionals. Water is nature's greatest solvent, and is more than adequate to get most of the crap out of your horn. If you keep your valves oiled and clean and re-lube your slides frequently in addition, your horn will be fine and doesn't need a lot of extra chemicals flushed through it.

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Has anyone ever used , don't laugh......."EFFORDENT" or any other type of denture cleaner to soak/ clean the inside of your horn?

Seems funny at first, however loosening matter and rendering a surface somewhat hygienic for it's primary intent is the same issues a brass player would have with their instrument.

Including a regular flush, after a soak with mild soap in luke warm water, personally, I huff some Listerine through the lead pipe before I play. Now, I'm aware of the dry cork, pads and plating, finishing issues here. Seems to me however, that mositure in an inclosed area (tubing) then even further enclosing our instruments in a case with little and uncirculated air, is fertile ground for mold spore's and other unhygienic issues.

Is anyone aware of any studies done regarding this matter? stein

:tongue: I use Scope mouthwash, it smells better - thought I was the only one.

I don't wash my horns out as often as I should, but I think the soaking in warm soapy water should be sufficient. Just remember not to use HOT water.

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Simple: Bathtub or slop sink.....fill with warm water ...add small amount of Dawn Liquid dish washing soap or a similar MILD soap.(good horn maintenance does not require chemicals) Use horn snake and valve brush....flush...rinse....polish ( i prefer Weimans Royal Silver Cream)... Plain ol vaseline petrolium jelly (yes ..it does have other uses...) on the slides.....Oil valves....DONE..!!! It's NOT Rocket science...just common sense :tongue:

Edited by melligene
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Simple: Bathtub or slop sink.....fill with warm water ...add small amount of Dawn Liquid dish washing soap or a similar MILD soap.(good horn maintenance does not require chemicals) Use horn snake and valve brush....flush...rinse....polish ( i prefer Weimans Royal Silver Cream)... Plain ol vaseline petrolium jelly (yes ..it does have other uses...) on the slides.....Oil valves....DONE..!!! It's NOT Rocket science...just common sense :tongue:

I use this silver polish also. It is superb!

Doesn't work well on German Silver which is actually nickel.

Edited by Martybucs
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Yes, Dawn Dishwashing Liguid.

I have also been told that simple Green is good to use.

I use a bore snake to clear all the tubing on Sops, Mellos and Baris.

I don't have a bore snake for contra yet so I just flush the horn out with water.

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Yes, Dawn Dishwashing Liguid.

I have also been told that simple Green is good to use.

I use a bore snake to clear all the tubing on Sops, Mellos and Baris.

I don't have a bore snake for contra yet so I just flush the horn out with water.

Tubing snakes are very good. For contras we have one of our smaller members climb with shovel and pick and go at it. As a matter of fact, come to think of it..........one member we sent into a contra in 07 to clean it never came out; no wonder it had back pressure and sounded stuffy. :big hug:

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Most brass shops will use a solvent close to Simple Green (drys out hands really bad!) and a watered down solution of hydrochloric acid (so the horn just simply won't melt, but will get rid of 99.999999% of any bad stuff), but for home maintenance, warm water and either mild soap or baking soda will get the yuck out. And a snake (sss!)

In an old bugle manual I read, it said to boil water and pour down the bell to clean it out, and use Vaseline to slick up the slides (This was for the G/D slip slide bugle).

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