ok so i've had my clarinet for 4 years and i get lazy to clean it. i play it alot and when i say alot i mean A LOT! so the spit leaks out of the key holes and my fingers are sweaty so mold is starting to accumulate on the keys...how do i get rid of it i tried rubbing alcohol but it doeesn't help and i tried scratching it off but it doesn't work. HELP PLEASE!!! if it helps my clarinet is made of plastic (THE WHOLE THING!!)
Laura G
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Green bumps growing on the metal? If that is what you mean by mold, that's not mold, that's a mineral accumulation. My advice for that would be to polish it (with instrument polish). I wouldn't want to scratch your clarinet, but if they are bumps, you could try sandpaper, but be really careful. I am borrowing an all-metal school contrabass clarinet that hasn't been played in like 30 years (I hope I am exaggerating) and it has little green bumps all over it. My band director polished it for three hours and only some are gone...
If it is on the pads, order some sort of pad cleaner (1stopclarinet.com). I don't think it would be on the plastic. I would clean it. Buy a silk cleaning swab and just go through it twice after every time you play it and go through the mouthpiece separately(because that will get a mineral build up too). Wiping the joints off too would be good, because spit accumulates there. I would clean it REALLY good at least once a week so that even if you get lazy sometimes it won't get mineral build ups. It is also good to develop these habits because if you ever decide to invest in a wood clarinet the effects of not cleaning your clarinet are much worse.
Ashley
1
Jill S
You could take it to a music store and they should be able to help you clean it properly. That's what I would do just so you know that this time all the mold is properly removed, so you aren't inhaling it and stuff, yuck! But when you're there, buy some of those cleaning papers, they are like tissue paper. Then rub/run them through the keys and in all the cracks and crevices you can to keep your clarinet clean. I would also get some of those cleaning tools to assist you in cleaning them. When I played clarinet I had a mini tool to go through the keys and then a larger one to run in the main part. I'd also get one of those cloths that have the little weights on them to clean everything up nicely, they work really well! I included this link though, they sell all your cleaning supplies really at a great and have everything. Good luck to you and I hope this helped! :-)
http://www.free-scores.com/boutique/accessories_669_shop_100.htm
xo!*
Take it to a local music store - they usually have people on hand for those sorts of things. You don't want to risk trying to clean it yourself & bend the keys. Once you have it cleaned, just take better care of it!
Melissa
Try taking it to your local music store.
I'm sure they've got someone who can clean it and repair it; or they probably have products that you could use to clean it off with.
I wouldn't procrastinate since it could cause damage to the instrument.