TubeNet

Hi guys.

I have a CC rudolf meinl tuba and i have noticed that the slides are really dirty inside.
I though about giving them a nice cleaning with warm water and a soap but i don't know which kind of soap shall i use...

a friend of mine suggested i do it with white vinegar....
Is that OK?

Thanks a lot in advanced, Aviad.

dawn dish soap, or anything without pumice.

I've used vinegar to get the "greenish white stuff" out of the inside of the slides/valves, and nothing bad seemed to come of it. I'd first wash them out with dish soap and scrub with a snake brush, and then let them soak in warm white vinegar for a while until the greenish white deposits are no longer there. This should take no more than an hour if the buildup isn't too bad.

Use the advanced search and enter queries like "dawn dish soap," "vinegar bath," or "cleaning" and you'll find loads of conversation and commentary on cleaning and maintaining your horn from a lot more credible and experienced people than me.

- Stephen

Just make sure you rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and...to get every speck of residue out when you're done, or the soap will cause gunk and the vinegar will cause more green.

The repairman I have used for a number of years here in Houston has always advised me to use dawn detergent for general cleaning, and if the cleaning includes removing any "whitish green stuff", to soak the ends of the slides in a CLR (Calcium Lime Rust) cleaner (readily found in the cleaning supplies section of any grocery store, drug store, Walmart, etc.).

The CLR soaking only takes a few minutes, and works like a charm. I then rinse the slide thoroughly, apply my synthetic grease (a synthetic grease that one of our TubeNet repair gurus recommended in a TubeNet post awhile ago), and I am ready to go.

CLR will do a very good job. For those who can't afford a proper, professional chem clean this is a good alternative. Some years ago when i was doing repairs in a country area and could not afford, let alone get an EPA licence to set up for full chem cleaning with full strength "bright dip" I used a lot of CLR for cleaning brass instruments and flutes and saxes. It can be used to brighten silver and brass and is relatively safe - especially compared to some of the bright dips which can literally disolve an instrument. You could even fill the entire valve body or soak the entire instrument. Use a snake to clean all tubing then flush well with water.