Quick Rinse?

[Rick Denney]

Is it okay just to sit my tuba in the bath for a few hours? I've heard it is, but I'm so scared that some minerally-something is gonna creep into my silver lacquer and eat my tuba up.

A warm (not hot) bath with mild dish soap will not hurt either a lacquered finish or a silver finish. I don't know whether it will hurt silver lacquer.

Be careful, though. A tuba full of water is heavy. The water and dish soap won't hurt the appearance, but the edge of the tub will.

Rick "whose tuba also needs a good scrubbing" Denney

[Dan Schultz]

This is always a good topic. First off... there is no need to soak your tuba for a FEW HOURS. All that's necessary is to use a cleaning snake to work the sudsy, warm water all the way through your horn... paying particular attention to the leadpipe and valve section.

The thing that I find most interesting is the fact that most tap waters contain lots more minerals than you will find in the water that condenses on the inside of your horn during playing. The use of a surfactant such as dishwashing LIQUID is good to keep the minerals in the water from clinging to the inside of the horn. To prove a point... take a clear water glass and leave 1/2" of water in the bottom and allow the water to completely evaporate. Look at the white, filmy deposit that is left in the bottom of the glass. Many folks have water conditioners and filters but they are lots of the time hooked only to devices that dispense drinking water... not the bathtub. Once those mineral deposits are inside your horn, about the only way to remove them is with chemical cleaning.

Tub cleaning at home is good, but should not be used as a replacement for an annual professional cleaning.

[tubanerd]

On the subject, any recommendations how how often a tuba should be chem-cleaned?

[ASTuba]

On the subject, any recommendations how how often a tuba should be chem-cleaned?

If you play regularly, there's no need to go more than once every year to get it done. The chemical clean also is good because it gets a technician to look at your instrument, and see if there is anything else that needs attention.

[TubaSteve]

While we are on the subject of cleaning horns, what do you guys do with your rotary horns. I have been afraid to wash stuff into the rotarys and have had some folks say to just leave them alone. What should someone expect to pay for a chemical bath, and is the horn at risk for damage by having it done? Sorry to ask what should be such basic questions, but none of my playing partners have ever had their horns cleaned. Some of them are over 20 years old now.

Steve

[ASTuba]

Hmm... in my experience as a college student so far, professional chem cleaning has been necessary more than once a year. I try to get it done at least twice if not three times a year, and every time there's lots of junk that comes out and it plays a lot better afterwards.

(And yes, I do do routine maintenance on it in the mean time...)

Rob,

When I was in school, I did similar things, because I wasn't keeping myself very clean. For instance, I would eat lunch and go right to practicing, not brushing my teeth in between. I also drank soda or juice and blew that through my tubas. Now, I'm always brushing before I play.

[lgb&dtuba]

I can't help but wonder what some of you are putting down your horns. Way too much oil I suspect.

I've had my tuba for over 25 years and it's never been really cleaned. No sludge, no smell, plays fine.

In year 2 I reworked the rotors, polishing them and their journals. The journals get oiled with Binak maybe twice a year, once at the beginning of the spring season and once at the beginning of the fall Oktoberfest season. I don't put any oil down the tubing or directly on the rotor sidewalls. Just on the journals. The rotors have only been removed and cleaned once since year 2. They are still silky smooth.

You probably can't get away with that on a piston horn, though.

Jim Wagner

[iiipopes]

If it smells really bad, do what most people do with bad breath: just pour a couple of splashes of any antiseptic mouthwash of the flavor of your choice down the leadpipe and then rinse.

[Bob Mosso]

Warm water, soap, and a snake 2 to 3 times a year seems necessary (for me) to keep things smelling good and free blowing.

[Tubadork]

I'll be getting my tuba chem-cleaned in the next few weeks, but until then...

Is it okay just to sit my tuba in the bath for a few hours? I've heard it is, but I'm so scared that some minerally-something is gonna creep into my silver lacquer and eat my tuba up.

Is it safe?

Should I use a certain temperature water to start off with, or should I add anything into the water?

Thanks!

Sincerely,
Just a guy who wants to keep his tuba nice

Just to be painfully clear an obvious, you do have to take out the valves and slides before putting it into the water. It would also be a good idea to put a towel or some of that grippy stuff for kitchen drawers on the bottom of the tuba, so that your horn doesn't get scratched. For it to be real effective, use a low brass snake.

Another option would be to take it outside and run the garden hose through it. The more water pressure the better. But, it's even too cold to do that here in Hotlanta, so I can't imagine that it would be warm enought where you are either.

Have fun and if somethign really gross comes out of your horn, take a picture and post it here for us.

Bill

[Tubadork]

sorry,
put a towel on the bottom of the tub, not that bottom of the tuba
and I spelled something wrong.

sorry,
no edit button.
Bill

[Dan Schultz]

On the subject, any recommendations how how often a tuba should be chem-cleaned?

as often as we repairnerds need to pay a tuition payment, or want to by some new hunting/fishing/video/fill-in-the-blank gear.



bloke "who last chemically-cleaned his own instruments...uh...uhh..."

Yup. It's the house of the electrician that burns down!

[Dan Schultz]

While we are on the subject of cleaning horns, what do you guys do with your rotary horns. I have been afraid to wash stuff into the rotarys and have had some folks say to just leave them alone. What should someone expect to pay for a chemical bath, and is the horn at risk for damage by having it done? Sorry to ask what should be such basic questions, but none of my playing partners have ever had their horns cleaned. Some of them are over 20 years old now.

Steve

I'm quoting this because I wonder the same thing. I've got a rotary horn that's about 13 or 14 years old. I've probably given it a "bath" (the liquid soap/water treatment) just a handful of times over the years, and never had it professionally cleaned. I'm thinking it's probably about time for it.

How much attention your horn really needs will depend strictly on how much you play, your body chemistry, and how clean the air you induce into the horn is. I agree with Andy in that an annual trip to the repair shop for for a lube, and inspection is not a bad idea. Find a repairman you can trust and leave the chem-cleaning interval up to him. I don't chem-clean every time a horn comes to the shop... mainly because it costs money and I don't beleive in using harsh cleaners just for the heck of it. As I said.... your mileage will vary depending on the conditions.

Do I chem-clean MY horns once a year? Nope. I do it when I feel they need it. A quick flush with soapy water goes a long way and just pulling the slides and having a peek inside is usually a good indication of how clean they are.

[tubaguy9]

I'll be getting my tuba chem-cleaned in the next few weeks, but until then...

Is it okay just to sit my tuba in the bath for a few hours? I've heard it is, but I'm so scared that some minerally-something is gonna creep into my silver lacquer and eat my tuba up.

Is it safe?

Should I use a certain temperature water to start off with, or should I add anything into the water?

Thanks!

Sincerely,
Just a guy who wants to keep his tuba nice

Just to be painfully clear an obvious, you do have to take out the valves and slides before putting it into the water. It would also be a good idea to put a towel or some of that grippy stuff for kitchen drawers on the bottom of the tuba, so that your horn doesn't get scratched. For it to be real effective, use a low brass snake.

Another option would be to take it outside and run the garden hose through it. The more water pressure the better. But, it's even too cold to do that here in Hotlanta, so I can't imagine that it would be warm enought where you are either.

Have fun and if somethign really gross comes out of your horn, take a picture and post it here for us.

Bill

A good site for how to clean your instrument is at http://www.uni.edu/drfun/FunderburkIndex.html

[Wyvern]

I wonder if having tubas regularly Chem cleaned is a particular American idea?

I have never heard of anyone having this done in the UK, except as part of a major overhaul (with dents knocked out, etc.) and have personally played tubas for 20 years without ever doing more than give them a periodic wash with soapy water and use of a snake in the leadpipe.

[Dan Schultz]

I wonder if having tubas regularly Chem cleaned is a particular American idea?

As I mentioned in a previous post... I am not an advocate to chem-cleaning any more than necessary. There is no reason to use harsh chemistry on brass unless there are mineral deposits that cannot be remove with conventional detergents. With chemical cleaning, there is a fine line between removing mineral deposits and removing brass. Most any acid will leach a bit of the copper out of the brass... leaving behind a slight reddish color... which indicates copper without the zinc.

[Chuck(G)]

Most any acid will leach a bit of the copper out of the brass... leaving behind a slight reddish color... which indicates copper without the zinc.

You do mean "zinc out of the brass", dontcha, Dan?

Oil down the leadpipe and an occasional snaking out using nothing more than water with perhaps a little detergent in it to break greasy blobs should be fine.

My personal opinion is that things start to turn bad when nothing is done to remove the lime deposits--they're porous and rough and merely attract more lime. After awhile, you can't wash them out--they're like cement. That's when the acid comes out.

In any case, you're most likely to have lime in the smaller tubes, not in the large ones, so it may do you no good to clean your horn out past the tuning slide.

[Wyvern]

In any case, you're most likely to have lime in the smaller tubes, not in the large ones, so it may do you no good to clean your horn out past the tuning slide.

That is more, or less what I do with my rotary tubas, I just once, or twice a year run soapy water through from the main tuning slide out to the leadpipe, brushing the leadpipe with the snake while the water is running through, so any muck comes straight out, rather than going into valves. I then leave overnight with the slides removed for it to dry, before re-lubricating.

[Dan Schultz]

Most any acid will leach a bit of the copper out of the brass... leaving behind a slight reddish color... which indicates copper without the zinc.

You do mean "zinc out of the brass", dontcha, Dan?

Yeah... I notice that seconds after I made the post. With the new 'no edit' mode, I'll just have to be more careful!

[tubaguy9]

I'm kind of confused on exactly what to do with rotary valves. The valves shouldn't be taken out during either the snake cleaning or the tub-soak, right? And if this is the case, should you snake out the valves' tubes at all?

Thanks once again to everyone for all this great information!

Well, on the video I found, he says to take the rotors out. The way that Funderburk explains it, is that the valve are the most important part of the process. As he explains it, that's sort of true...Who wants valves that are all crusted over?
But that's my 2 cents worth...