Cleaning at Home

[Joe Baker]

Is there some cleaning chemical which, used with discretion and thoroughly rinsed (ie: lime away) which might have a salutory effect? Will I be blacklisted by NABIRT for even asking the latter? All help is deeply appreciated- thanks- Henry

I caution you to wait until you've seen what more qualified folks will say, but I'll tell you what I did last year that worked VERY well for me. Follow my example at your own risk.

I found a trash can large enough to hold the entire body of my horn. I put this trash can in the bathtub, placed my tuba (minus valves and slides) in a heavy-duty trash bag, and placed tuba and trashbag combined down in the can. I poured 50/50 water and white vinegar (3 gallons of each) into the bell, most of which wound its way through and came out into the bag. Then, holding the top of the bag up, I filled the can with water. The water in the can equalized the pressure, pushing the vinegar and water solution in the bag up to fill all the valve tubing (I didn't have any loops that would trap air in my horn).

As the can filled, the horn began to float, so I added another gallon or so of the vinegar/water solution to keep it up with the water-line in the can.

I let that sit for about 3 hours, then dumped the water and washed with soap and water as I normally would.

Again, your mileage may vary, your horn may dissolve, your trashcan may fall over and crack the tub and dent the tuba -- if you do it, YOU take the risk. But it worked very well for me, costing me a total of about $10 in gallon jugs of vinegar.
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Joe Baker, who is a cheapskate!!

[Jeff Keller]

Joe,
the horn that you cleaned this way; was it Lacquer or Silver?

Jeff

[Joe Baker]

Lacquer; it's an old Conn 10J, so I assume old nitrocellulose lacquer. I saw no impact on the lacquer.
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Joe Baker

[Jeff Keller]

Does the horn smell like vinegar for very long? My mom used to make this summer salad with vinegar in it and it stunk up the whole house! lol

Jeff

[Dylan King]

Peanut buttery goodness. mmm, mmm, so good.

[Chuck(G)]

Does the horn smell like vinegar for very long? My mom used to make this summer salad with vinegar in it and it stunk up the whole house! lol

When I was a kid, my folks would buy a bushel full of cabbage and several gallons of vinegar and a couple pounds of salt and brew their own sauerkraut.

Now, on a warm summer day, that was some smell! But the juice'd probably work just as well...

[Tubatoad]

Follow up question - Does anyone clean a rotory horn with vinegar? I'm a little worried about vinegar between the rotor and the casing.

[Joe Baker]

Regarding the smell, that's the reason I used soap & water after the vinegar. A little warm water and lemon-fresh Dawn, then a thorough rinse, and there was ZERO vinegar smell.
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Joe Baker, who will do this again in a few weeks -- BEFORE it is "needed" this time.

[Tubatoad]

Pete,

On a rotary valve tuba, you probably shouldn't use the vinegar without removing the valves from the instrument. If you know how to do this and re-install them properly, then feel free. Otherwise, I'd just use soap and water, and then have the horn chemically cleaned around once a year if you use the horn regularly.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Andy, I think I'll stick to soap - It's good to know when to quit!