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Posted: **Fri Aug 18, 2017 11:48 am**

Posted: **Fri Aug 18, 2017 1:06 pm**

Hydrogen peroxide?

Posted: **Fri Aug 18, 2017 1:51 pm**

I am struggling with more than walking pneumonia right now in that they are unable to diagnose it, it has had me flat for six weeks now, and I refuse to let them just throw drugs at a target that may be viral, bacterial, or fungal, shotgun fashion. So curious to know how they diagnosed you and what they are treating you with. Thanks.
BTW, do not EVER join a Medicare HMO. They will basically give you denial of care by changing your PCP so often that you literally cannot get in to see one before s/he quits and another is assigned, and you start over, only to have that one quit before you can get in either. Five times now since January.

Posted: **Fri Aug 18, 2017 1:59 pm**

Both hydrogen peroxide and bleach create oxidizing reactions with silver, brass, copper or zinc.
If you really want to use more than water and dish soap, I'd use with something like alcohol that kills 'bugs' but doesn't react strongly with the metals involved.

Posted: **Fri Aug 18, 2017 2:05 pm**

Cauterization?

Posted: **Fri Aug 18, 2017 3:00 pm**

MaryAnn wrote:(snip) BTW, do not EVER join a Medicare HMO. They will basically give you denial of care by changing your PCP so often that you literally cannot get in to see one before s/he quits and another is assigned, and you start over, only to have that one quit before you can get in either. Five times now since January.

Sorry to hear of your extended illness Mary Ann. HMOs are frustrating for sure. That's why Jesus was born in a stable... Mary and Joseph had the wrong HMO.

Posted: **Fri Aug 18, 2017 3:49 pm**

Stryk wrote:I Scope my horn at times - not a bore scope - Scope mouthwash. Usually I use it to get rid of bad smells, but it has alcohol and a good aroma.

What an excellent idea! Never tried it, but I will now.

Posted: **Fri Aug 18, 2017 8:11 pm**

Just how long exactly can these germs survive on a cold metal surface?

Posted: **Sat Aug 19, 2017 5:22 am**

bloke wrote:Petroleum distillates kill germs.

What's wrong with sloshing a bunch of lamp oil through your valve section?

- kill germs
- lubricate
- clean

I wasn't aware of this. It's probably the best idea.

That or just ship your horn to me if you're worried about it. I will dispose of it for you.

Posted: **Sat Aug 19, 2017 5:28 am**

pjv wrote:Just how long exactly can these germs survive on a cold metal surface?

Bacteria don't live long at all on dry brass, copper or silver (inside or outside of your tuba).
http://www.tested.com/science/life/4539 ... -bacteria/
All metals are not equal in this regard.

Posted: **Sat Aug 19, 2017 9:50 am**

Haha
Thanks Guy's
Ive been playing for two weeks at a forest theater where cell phone reception is almost 0. I couldn't get enough reception on my phone to connect the links.

I also know (and thought everyone knew) that bacteria doesn't survive outside of the body for very long. I literally was asking how many minutes does this walking pneumonia survive outside of the body.
I'm now at a coffee shop with wifi so I've been able to read the links.
Thanks
Cheers

Posted: **Sun Aug 20, 2017 7:35 am**

Keep the interior of the leadpipe CLEAN and you won't have issues. Brass is anti-microbial. It always has been since humans first stumbled upon melting zinc into copper and using it to make spoons for all that ice cream and microwaveable soup the ancients used to eat.

You get sick when the inside of your leadpipe is so disgustingly gunky that the germs can live despite the antimicrobial nature of brass. And that, my friends, says a lot about you, because that is disgusting. KEEP IT CLEAN. You don't have to worry much about after the leadpipe. All of the horn needs to be clean, but if you had been cleaning your horn on a regular basis you would have already figured out that not much gets past the valve set unless you have been a dirty pig with your tuba and your dental hygiene. Clean your teeth before you play. Brush out your leadpipe regularly. Wash it out with valve oil (er, Walmart lamp oil if you are a cheapskate like the bloke) every week or so, if you are sick when you play, wash/brush it clean with soap and then oil after you play.

THANK YOU for what you just said. Most people have no idea what gunk is inside their horns. About every 6 months I get a horn so bad I gag when I see what comes out of the horn when doing a Chemical Clean and Service. Another trick that I use even though I brush my teeth before playing and wash out my horns on a regular basis, is Isopropyl Alcohol. Pull main tuning slide and dump into horn so that it goes through the valves and out the leadpipe. Kills germs as it evaporates.

Someone's spit filled horn once put me in the hospital for 10 days and out of work for 30. I now try to be as careful as I can short of wearing a chem warfare suit.

Posted: **Sun Aug 20, 2017 8:01 am**

pjv wrote:Haha
Thanks Guy's
Ive been playing for two weeks at a forest theater where cell phone reception is almost 0. I couldn't get enough reception on my phone to connect the links.

I also know (and thought everyone knew) that bacteria doesn't survive outside of the body for very long. I literally was asking how many minutes does this walking pneumonia survive outside of the body.
I'm now at a coffee shop with wifi so I've been able to read the links.
Thanks
Cheers

The general conception has been that most viruses cannot live for more than 15 minutes outside the body, and that most bacteria cannot live for more than 24 hours. However, there was a team of researchers that found that there is a possibility that the biofilm that bacteria creates when in contact with a host might allow them to live longer, as was published in the 2014 issue of Infection and Immunity (Here is a link to an article about it). The specifically found that S. pneumoniae and S. pyogenes were alive and thriving on stuffed animals and cribs long after any human contact.

So, if you were in contact with something that is not antimicrobial like Brass, then I would disinfect it just to be safe. But your horn is fine, as many have pointed out (especially the elephant) as long as you keep that leadpipe clean.

Posted: **Sun Aug 20, 2017 8:00 pm**

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Posted: **Mon Aug 21, 2017 12:30 am**

I took bloke to be suggesting a rinse. For that - straight, I guess. I don't know if he was serious. Its function in this case would apparently be a petroleum based solvent, like cleaning motor vehicle parts in gasoline but not as smelly (the stuff my hardware store carries is not smelly.) This would be a way to remove grease that builds up inside, though it would probably be really slow since lamp oil isn't a very aggressive solvent. But most of the grease in there I put there, in the slides, and I'd just as soon it stays where it is. So that's a long way of saying, I don't see the point.

As a lubricant, it's too light on its own for any tuba of mine, but it doesn't take much motor oil to stiffen it up plenty. Any grade and weight will do fine, probably even synthetic. When I change oil, there's always a few drops left in the bottle, and I collect that for valve lube.

Posted: **Mon Aug 21, 2017 3:45 am**

bloke wrote:...so (also ignoring Wade's information) what then - REALLY - SHOULD I pour down my instrument to kill all those germs !??!?

the two things that no one seems to have suggested so far - soap (washing up liquid 5mls per bowlful) and warm water

Posted: **Mon Aug 21, 2017 9:18 am**

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Posted: **Mon Aug 21, 2017 10:08 am**

deleted

Posted: **Tue Aug 22, 2017 8:53 am**

The simplest solution for freshening up a baritone or tuba is vinegar and water, and lots of it once in a while. A 50/50 mix works well; just be patient and rinse it out too. Alcohol dissolves some lacquers, and other solvents can be detrimental to the metal. I still use Dawn as my maintenance degreaser and have been doing so since it came on the market years ago. Aside from my Conn 5J my horns are old - 1933 Martin Handcraft bellfront, 1926 Martin Handcraft upright, 1938 King top action etc.
Be nice to your old horns and they'll be nice to you.
Washing out your mouthpiece every time you play, carrying a mouthpiece brush with you, and finding a place to brush your teeth after the dinner break before you play again helps a lot in staying healthy and keeping the horn clean. Some guys are real grubs when it comes to mouthpiece hygiene. Your teachers should have impressed this upon you.

Posted: **Wed Aug 23, 2017 9:17 am**

the elephant wrote:
peter birch wrote:
bloke wrote:...so (also ignoring Wade's information) what then - REALLY - SHOULD I pour down my instrument to kill all those germs !??!?
the two things that no one seems to have suggested so far - soap (washing up liquid 5mls per bowlful) and warm water
As I said above, no one reads my stuff.

the elephant wrote:Clean your teeth before you play. Brush out your leadpipe regularly. Wash it out with valve oil (er, Walmart lamp oil if you are a cheapskate like the bloke) every week or so, if you are sick when you play, wash/brush it clean with soap and then oil after you play.
Soap will not remove some of the stuff we spit into our horns if it dries. Petroleum distillates will. Oil on a regular basis. Soap right after you get home (followed by oil) if you are playing when sick. If the surface of the metal is not skimmed over the brass kills the germs. Oil and a snake brush keep that slime off and the brass kills whatever is left. Soap is just piling on if the metal is clean. It is an extra step for when you know you are blowing funk into the horn but not really needed when the leadpipe is clean and you are not sick.

Soap requires a thorough wash-out after you use it. Valve oil does not.

Yeah. Welcome to the internet. People don't respond to the good posts. They respond to personal stories and posts that missed the mark entirely if they're not responding to the OP.
I suggested doing JUST soap and water in both my 1st and 2nd posts, mostly because I know that people probably don't clean as often as they should. (And always follow soap and water with lube and oil, duh).
If people keep their instruments clean and oiled (like the manufacturers recommend), then they don't have anything to worry about on this topic (or other bacteria, viruses, mold, fungus or lime deposits, etc).

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