Wednesday, December 4, 2013

The Benefit Of Musical Instrument Cleaning

By Angela Briggs


Regular instrument cleaning and maintenance is essential to keeping them in proper working condition. It is advisable to have your instruments inspected and serviced by a professional on regular basis. The inspection is quite important because you will know whether or not your instruments need to be cleaned.

To begin with, you should keep your instruments away from moisture. This is vital because some instruments like those made of brass and nickel can corrode if exposed to excess moisture. Also, wooden ones are likely to expand and later split after absorbing excess water. For that reason, you need to keep their surfaces dry at all times. Use a piece of cloth to wipe out any water deposits on the surfaces of the instruments.

Woodwind instruments have pads that cover the holes in the body in order to be able to produce different tones. If such pads absorb moisture, they become bloated and may fail to cover the tone holes properly. This may lead to low quality tones. If you want your instrument to produce the best tones, make sure that such pads are always dry.

Body acids are also said to be very harmful. They are said to attack metallic musical instruments through corrosion. Some of these body acids are hydrochloric, lactic, and many other acids. If perspiration occurs through your hands, make sure that you wipe it out immediately before it attacks the instrument you were playing.

The saliva of human beings also contains some corrosive acids. A good example is the carbonic acid. You can also find other acids formed from different types of foods consumed. These acids attack the soft solder that is used in most instruments. To eliminate such acids, you need to clean the inside of your instruments after use.

Some people use water instead of oil to lubricate their instruments. Note that water contains some salts. These salts form white substances on the pistons and slides of musical instruments and act as abrasives. They can cause wearing out metals such as chromium and nickel. Examples of such salts include calcium and magnesium. If you live in areas where water is salty or hard, consider using distilled water to lubricate rotary valves and new pistons.

Unwanted materials can also affect your musical instruments. Foreign materials such as food particles can enter into your wind instruments and cause blockage. When blocked, these instruments cannot produce high quality sound. Also, such unwanted materials can enter into your lungs and cause health complications. So, it is important that you remove such materials from your instruments to keep them extremely clean.

Corrosion may also attack the piston valves of your musical instruments. Foreign substances are also likely to accumulate in the piston valves rendering them inefficient. If dirt builds up in these pistons, the entire instrument may not work properly. You must ensure that all the dirt is removed for the instruments to be efficient. Consider looking for an instrument cleaning professional to do the work on your behalf.




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