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My old High School didn't really have the money to chem clean every tuba so...
We would clean them ourselves at the end of school year. I remember my teacher would dip valves in Lime A-Way a little to clean them; they came out looking really clean.

Would this harm the valves in any way?

just want to make sure it's safe to use on my horn before I go trying it

If you do have true lime or calcium deposits, don't use Lime A-Way. It is too harsh. Use CLR instead. It was originally formulated, when you explicitly follow the directions including how to dilute it with water for its application, lime deposits in coffee pots.

Generally, I would avoid all such, as they are not specifically made for brass instruments, but I live in an area of the country that if you don't have a water softener, you will destroy your plumbing eventually, especially if you have items such as humidifiers on your furnace or have an icemaker in your freezer.

CLR is the safest if you have to go with the removal of heavy calcium deposits.

Rinse well. Then rinse again. Twice or three times as much as the label says. Then rinse again. Unlike a coffee pot, which will pour straight out, you don't want to risk any residue staying in the horn that could cause corrosion if on the brass too long.

Did I say rinse?

Rinse.

iiipopes wrote:If you do have true lime or calcium deposits, don't use Lime A-Way. It is too harsh. Use CLR instead. It was originally formulated, when you explicitly follow the directions including how to dilute it with water for its application, lime deposits in coffee pots.

Generally, I would avoid all such, as they are not specifically made for brass instruments, but I live in an area of the country that if you don't have a water softener, you will destroy your plumbing eventually, especially if you have items such as humidifiers on your furnace or have an icemaker in your freezer.

CLR is the safest if you have to go with the removal of heavy calcium deposits. . . .

I agree, and I use CLR on my horns--inside and out--for removing black and green film and deposits. However, vinegar is a more conservative, light-duty cleaner for valves, rotors, and slides. Vinegar is inexpensive and friendly to the environment.

vinegar. CLR isn't necessarily friendly to environment or internal organs.

I agree that vinegar, with a dash of salt and a squirt of hand dish soap, slightly diluted with water, is the best, and that should be the starting point before resorting to CLR for heavy deposits.

Even then, vinegar, although mild, is still an acid, acetic acid, so it should be rinsed thoroughly.

Why the salt? The dash of salt acts as a catalyst to make the vinegar work better, and the dish soap is a buffer as well as a surfactant to wash away the gunk.

Again, rinse well (I won't go through all the repeats this time to emphasize the same point) because traces can corrode:

http://www.chem.umn.edu/outreach/Card-S ... opper.html" target="_blank

Thanks for the input.
I tried vinegar before and CLR got the film off; valves move like butter now.