How to clean the interior fabric of a hard case?

WakinAZ · Post by **WakinAZ** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 1:49 am

I scored an nice little Olds bari/euph off the 'Bay last week for peanuts: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... T.m240.lVI
Anyway, the case lining is very red and very shaggy and very dirty. I thinking I'll spray some TuffStuff automotive carpet/upholstery cleaner on it and then damp and dry rag it off, gently scrubbing the worst parts. Anybody have a better technique or product?

It does play pretty nicely, once I figgered out the 1st and 2nd valves were reversed. I spent a few minutes scratching my head until I remembered the wonderful pic of the valves out of the casings...

Eric "can't wait to give this thing a bath, well-intentioned seller lubed valves with motor oil" L.

SplatterTone · Post by **SplatterTone** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 2:13 am

If it is "vintage dirt" you might ought to keep it around. Otherwise ... I have used a wet/dry shop vac with whatever cleaning stuff I had handy (carpet cleaner, for example) to clean upholstery and carpet. Soap, vacuum, soap, vacuum, rinse, vacuum, rinse, vacuum, etc., etc.

WakinAZ · Post by **WakinAZ** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 11:09 am

It's mostly greasy grime rather than loose dust/dirt. I will keep the vac in mind if the rag method doesn't work, no air compressor handy though.

brianggilbert · Post by **brianggilbert** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 11:23 am

I wish I had these suggestions back when I was in middle school - I had an electric bass case DESTROYED when my 8 week old puppy decided to "wee-wee" inside it.

That case was never the same, no matter what we did.

Ended up selling it to my best friend

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 11:26 am

brianggilbert wrote:I wish I had these suggestions back when I was in middle school - I had an electric bass case DESTROYED when my 8 week old puppy decided to "wee-wee" inside it.

That case was never the same, no matter what we did.

Ended up selling it to my best friend

Wouldn't have been so bad, IF YOU HADN'T LURED HIM THERE!

ken k · Post by **ken k** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:11 pm

After you clean the case out as you described (don't make it too wet however) you can spray a LITTLE Febreeze in it, or sprinkle some baking soda in it and let it sit outside in the sun for an afternoon or two to air out and then vacuum it out again really well.

Also put some kitty litter in an old (clean) sock and leave it in the case to help absorb the musty old smell.

Also clean out your horn well so it doesn't contribute to the smell anymore!

ken k

Dean E · Post by **Dean E** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 10:44 pm

windshieldbug wrote:
brianggilbert wrote:I wish I had these suggestions back when I was in middle school - I had an electric bass case DESTROYED when my 8 week old puppy decided to "wee-wee" inside it.

That case was never the same, no matter what we did.

Ended up selling it to my best friend
Wouldn't have been so bad, IF YOU HADN'T LURED HIM THERE!

"Resolve" carpet cleaner is good for pet stains, as are other enzyme-containing products sold at pet stores by the gallon. Shine a black light to locate the suspect areas (an old real estate agent's trick). You may have to strip the fabric away and saturate the wooden frame with an enzyme solution.
http://www.google.com/products?q=pet+en ... ucts&hl=en

Chuck Jackson · Post by **Chuck Jackson** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 10:53 pm

Here is something my wife discovered when she was sick of my stinky feet. She put fabric dryer sheets in my shoes, and presto, no more stink. Throw a couple in the case after you clean it, close it up for 24 hours. Should smell real purty as well as being clean.

Chuck"who no longer has his shoes relegated to the back patio"Jackson

WakinAZ · Post by **WakinAZ** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 11:52 pm

Thanks for the suggestions, TNFJ (unlike some of the grumpier folks here, I do not use that acronym as a pejorative.)

Well, the good news is the case doesn't stink like pee or (possibly worse) Chuck's feets - oddly, it doesn't even really have a smell at all, not even that not completely unpleasant, slightly musty "old bandroom" smell. It's just a buildup of skin oil, valve/slide lubes, dirt, grime, etc. where the horn contacted the case lining.

Better news is the valves and slides are in good shape despite some moderate denting of the main horn body. I can probably avoid a trip to the repair shop for now since it is playable and sounds pretty nice to me. My 11 yr old thinks it is pretty cool, so hopefully we'll wean him off the slush-pump (t-bone, sorry Bob) this summer and get him on the way to real low brass. I already showed him the magic of working smarter with valves instead of flinging your arm out 2.5 ft or whatever for 6th/7th.

Eric "pleased with his $115 investment so far" L.