moldy clarinet

[allycat]

HELP! I have a 1969 E13 Buffet clarinet that sat in a case in the basement for many years and accquired mold and mildew. Does anyone know a way to get the smell out of the wood? It is otherwise a very nice instrument.

[Dave Dolson]

Welcome to the site.

I'm sure others will chime in with their favorite tricks, but what I'd do first would be to thoroughly clean the inside of the case and the horn, inside and out.

Then, I'd put the horn back in the case, isolate the whole assembly so no one will accidentally move it, and place an open container of baking soda inside the case. Let it sit for a week. You may want to change the baking soda, too, during that period.

A complete overhaul may also serve to render the horn clean.

I'm not promising anything, but that may do the trick. DAVE

[SOTSDO]

A device that I have found quite useful for mildew in all sorts of applications (the boy's hockey equipment, used books and musical instruments) is an ozone generator. These can be purchased on line in the form of a "two barrel" application that is good for shoes as well.

Purchase a very large Zip Loc bag, put the horn in same, poke the "legs" of the generator through the partially closed bag, and turn it on. My use with books usually takes two "shots" (about sixteen hours); horns have varied all over the place time wise. (It takes five applications over seven days to "de-stink' a pair of my son's hockey skates. Mine do not smell, by the way...)

[pete]

However, buying an ozone generator (http://www.shop.enaly.com/ozx300ub-ac240v-50hz-p-4.html) might exceed the value of the E13 (http://cgi.ebay.com/Buffet-Clarinet-E13-Bb-Top-of-the-Range-Student-Model_W0QQitemZ140273053805QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item140273053805&_trksid=p3286.m63.l1177), depending on the overall condition of the clarinet :P.

The thing that traps the smell the most will be the case. It's possible -- unlikely, but possible -- that you can clean the horn with bore oil and then just toss the case and your problem goes away. However, the mold sometimes does permeate pads and corks. And the wood itself.

Make sure the mouthpiece soaks in mouthwash for awhile and you clean that thoroughly. Get rid of old reeds, swabs or padsavers.

And welcome to the forum!

[SOTSDO]

Mine cost about $30.00 US (from Sharper Image, a firm no longer in business). We use it in shoes all of the time, as well as for the other stuff.

There's nothing worse than a hockey bad full of equipment not properly dried, but the generator cleans it up toute suite. When my son played juniors up in Saint Louis, he used to dry out the skate each day (he spent about four hours a day in the skates) to keep them from rotting from within.

[Tammi]

If the mold and mildew are in the wood body of the clarinet it will require a complete teardown to rid it of the majority of the offensive substance.

I generally wash them in warm soapy water and then follow up with a good wipe down with either peroxide, or clorox (only if the keywork is NOT silver). And then another wash. Repeat if needed.
You have to kill the stuff otherwise it will continue to grow. Plain soapy water doesn't kill it. You have to do the same with the keys.

As for the case,,,Replacement is the best option, but the interiors can be steam cleaned. It's difficult getting into all the tiny places and it's not always effective in getting rid of all of the old spores and odors.

[allycat]

what does chorox do to silver keys? Is there any danger of cracking the wood with steam cleaning?

[Tammi]

Chlorine bleach turns silver a nasty shade of grey that is sometimes difficult to polish away. Nickle doesn't seem to be effected.

After the bathing the wood will need to be rehydrated slowly using your favorite method. Some use Orange peels, I prefer Almond oil, others will have a different favorite way to get the moisture balance back to normal.

Steam cleaning the inside of the case won't damage the wood. It doesn't get saturated.
I've used the upholstery attachment to my home carpet steamer/shampooer on large cases and it's not fun. The little nooks and crannies are a pain in the posterior. And you need to follow up with an old towel to get out any puddles that may occur.
I've also used a TOBI Travel Steamer. Just as difficult, but the steam gets hotter and doesn't leave puddles.

[pete]

Is there any danger of cracking the wood with steam cleaning?
You're steam cleaning the CASE, not the CLARINET :). (If you're worried about cracking the case, I'd recommend just buying a new one. They're not that expensive. $50 or so for a good one, $20 or so for a cheap one. (http://wwbw.com/Search.list?N=61&Ntt=clarinet+case))

I've actually never tried bleach on a clarinet. I know that on my "wooden" table, if I use bleach, the finish turns white for awhile and then goes back to a "natural" color.

I'd also think that bleach + pads (particularly colored ones) = bad idea, but I haven't tried this, either.

Tammi, you're recommending disassembly, before the bleach (and I'm calling the Hydrogen Peroxide bleach, too -- it is), right?

The E13 *probably* has nickel plated keywork, BTB. I think that you could get either, tho ....

[Tammi]

Complete disassembly before decontamination.
Remove all pads before bleaching. Those pads also have mold/mildew spores.
I have a sensitivity to molds so I really go hard core. I've purchased a few antiques that I've had to decontaminate the body more than once.
You think you've taken care of the issue, but as soon as you introduce the warm moisties from playing....YACK

The white you get on your table is probably from moisture permiating the wax based finish. The clarinet body usually doesn't have any left after the bath. Hence the need for reconditioning the wood prior to reassembly.

I'm positive that the REAL techs here will say this is the absolute wrong way to handle the issue, but so far it's been the best way to get a moldy horn acceptable for ME to play.

[allycat]

What kind of resale value would a clarinet have if it has a slight odor? In good condition my clarinet according to the online site I viewed is supposed to be worth between 1000-1200 dollars--1969 Buffet E13 with silver keys.

[Tammi]

You can expect to get about half of what that site quoted.
$1200 is a little less than what you would pay for a new E13.

[SteveSklar]

or less. I've seen the old Evette-Schaeffer badged E13s go for much less. The E-S Master Models normally sell for about $250-350

the newer Buffet badged E-13s may go for $400 or more

that's for good playable condition. IF you say it's smelly, then less


FYI - i try not to dunk any wood clarinet in any water to prevent it from soaking in that water. I don't like introducing wood to clean/soak in water so I always go through a process of oiling & synthetic cleaning before increasing the cleaning solution to destroy mold spores. After all, that oil is in the wood to prevent it for soaking in water, and if it is dried out it will absorb some water.

[Tammi]

Steve,
I never soak a wood clarinet. Like I said I have a problem with mold/mildew and HAVE to go hard core with the cleaning. The washing process is done very quickly to minimize the amount of water that may be absorbed into the wood. Everything is dried off imediatly. I don't leave it to air dry. Also the oiling process is done slowly.
So far all of the clarinets I have used this method on have not suffered any ill effects.

Please note that I said the REAL techs will say it's the wrong way to deal with the issue. I don't claim to be anything more than a good Do it Yourselfer or capable of anything more than the basics.

[pete]

I wonder if there's a way of doing the cleaning that's water free and won't harm the horn. I understand that a little bit of the mold might seep into any hairline cracks/irregularities in the wood.

I don't *think* that even the ozone generator can kill mold. Just eliminate the smell.

My wife has a friend that does *ahem* crime scene clean-up. I'll ask if there's something they use for wood that doesn't waterlog it, but kills off all the nasties.

[SOTSDO]

I don't *think* that even the ozone generator can kill mold. Just eliminate the smell..

Nope. It cuts it down and kills it deader than dead.

My son's spare hockey skates (left here since he has little room for them in his east coast apartment) were a stinking mess when I deployed the generator into them (it has two prongs, one for each foot). Three or four eight hour treatments later, they are not only completely dry (a problem for most well used hockey skates - we sweat a lot out there on the ice) but totally stink free.

Moving and storage companies have "ozone rooms" that serve much the same purpose only for larger items. We went looking for them when we first had a mildewed item problem (books, very old books), but the owners there told us just to get the Sharper Image item and use a large plastic bag.

[SteveSklar]

Tammi - never meant ""soaking in water" I meant the wood soaking in (absorbing) water.

most of the time most a clarinet won't soak in (absorb) much water. normally around the barrel section in the sockets is where I check first to see if that section is dried out or not

FYI Selmer Paris uses a pressurized system to put linseed oil into the grenadilla, rosewood, etc wood to make sure no water will penetrate their instruments for quote some time.