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I remember reading a post about someone who pours listerine down their leadpipe to clean it out. I need a quick fix for a really bad smell(and taste) in my leadpipe and was considering this. Just wanted to know if I should let it go through the valves and out the spit valve, or if i should take out the valves and let it come out the bottom of the valve casing. Also, before I go and do this, is there any problems that can occur to my tuba because of this.

Wes, are you sure it's your leadpipe and not further downstream? You might look into the do-it-yourself vinegar treatment (search this BBS) or have a local repair guy chem- or ultrasonic-clean your instrument.

Are you sure the horn's not picking up a smell from the case?

I use Listerine (the yellow kind) on my horn leadpipe on a regular basis. It seems to work very well, de-stinking it to my satisfaction. Haven't tried/needed it beyond that point.
MA

Addition: I do this with a snake, not just the Listerine. I remove the tuning slide, which is before the valves, and snake the leadpipe from both ends.

The smell is definitely in the leadpipe. Cleaned out my mouthpiece, smelled my tuning slide and valves, and it's definitely in my leadpipe. I had a chem clean in August from Matt @ Dillon's and he did a great job. The problem is that I forget every once in a while to brush my teeth right before I play and I have the feeling that some bits of food got stuck in there and are all disgusting now.
So anyway, I was really just curious to see if pouring Listerine would have any negative effects on the horn or the valves, and if it does, how the people that use Listerine on their horns do so only through their leadpipes. Also, I don't know how much to use and stuff like that. Thanks for the replies so far...Anyone else have any advice or suggestions with the Listerine thing?

Wes Krygsman wrote:Anyone else have any advice or suggestions with the Listerine thing?

Use a trombone snake to scrub the gunk out when you clean the leadpipe. Just pouring stuff down it won't de-gunk it.

You may not even need any Listerine if you use a little detergent in warm water with snake. Rinse afterwards.

Ick.

mandrake wrote: My old music teacher said that one should dry the instrument right after cleaning it and then assemble or else the slides may not fit back into the instrument. Please tell me that she was full of what we'll call "baloney".

She must've had some pretty crummy water!

mandrake wrote: My old music teacher said that one should dry the instrument right after cleaning it and then assemble or else the slides may not fit back into the instrument. Please tell me that she was full of what we'll call "baloney".

Pretty much, yes she is. Although, having the instrument taken apart for longer periods of time does increase the chances of something getting dropped or dented, so I guess it makes sense...?
Anyways, I always let the horn air dry after cleaning it. If you dry it, you need a cloth that is 100% lint free, because even tiny stuff will slow down your valves.

Wes,

call or e-mail me.... I clean my 52J all the time and will be glad to help if you want help with a "do it yourself" process.