removing mouldy smell from a clarinet bought on ebay

[DifficultQuestion2]

Hi,

I wondered if I could possibly draw on the cleaning expertise here, for a technical problem I'm having?

I've been having a go recently at reconditioning woodwind musical instruments bought on ebay. They are plastic with metal parts.

For some inexplicable reason, they all smell bad when they arrive. It's like the fustiness of old books but worse iykwim. I presume that it's because they've been habitually put away wet after playing and the wet has caused mould growth. The inside of the case is always worse than the instrument and the case generally has to be thrown away.

If I handle the instrument a lot, the smell comes off on my hands and it doesn't wash off with soap or hand sanitiser. It really like to stick around, but does go away after a few hours of normal hand washing and doing other stuff.

I just wondered if anybody would know what the best washing solution is for getting rid of the smell/mould from the instrument?

My current routine is to immerse them in:

1. Milton 2 for 30 mins (then rinse)
2. Persil bio laundry liquid for a few hours (then rinse)
3. Dettol Antibacterial Mould & Mildew Remover Spray for a few hours (then rinse)

I then wash with dish soap, polish the metal parts with Peek metal polish and then wash with soap again. My DH polishes the plastic parts with a special plastic abrasive polish that makes it shine again.

After that the mould smell is better and they just have a sort of pleasant warm fug.

I have read clarinet restoration forums online but the cleaning solutions they use are proprietary. I mean they are secret.

I wondered if you might have ideas of some better approach? I can't scrub the instrument because it is covered in sharp pins and little sticky-out bits and the inside needs washed too.

Thanks!

Hi OP. No idea and no experience so only commenting to see if it helps!

Thinking about it-
Do you have any brushes to clean the inside? Like a long soft bristled bottle brush type of thing.
When playing my plastic recorder I have bit of cloth on the end of stick to clean any condensation on the inside. There could be quite a build up coating on the inside of the instrument which may be contributing to the smell.
Try searching recorder cleaning- most of the usuall sizes do not have metal parts but they are a wind instrument of sorts so may have some applicable advice. Recorders can also come in plastic ( rather than wood). I have seen some that use rubbing alcohol.
Usually with cleaning you do need a level of friction accross surfaces.
Hope you get some useful responses.

Thank you very much, I will try that.

Ultrasonic cleaner machine as used for surgical instruments? You'd have to get measurements of the biggest bit of the instrument to check it would fit.
I assume you bin the reeds, old reeds are manky.

Can you incorporate bicarbonate of soda at the end of the cleaning process? Maybe fill a storage box and bury the instrument in there for 24hours or so? I have absolutely no experience so it may not be possible!

Even if you unscrew all the keys and rods and springs etc and take everything apart to wash the body of the clarinet (soft long brush and washing up liquid will be fine) the keys have pads which if mouldy will need to be replaced - this is not an easy job and you need some expertise and good memory to put it all back together again.

Replacement pads aren't expensive but if you don't fit them properly you'll ruin the clarinet/flute.

Have you tried steam cleaning the cases OP?
You've nothing to lose if you already have one and I assume the value will be more if you can sell the original case with them.

I’d take it to a professional tbh

Thanks :-)

My main plan was to have the fun of replacing the pads so that is going to happen. They all melted in the last solution so it's definitely got to happen.

I think I could try immersing the whole thing in a small mountain of bicarbonate of soda. I bought a big bucket of the stuff to try and persuade ants to move out last year and I still have it. I will try burying the clarinet in it and leave it there for a few days.

I'll have a go.

Thanks!

Chuck it in a box with some bicarbonate of soda? Works for fridges.

I'd take it to a professional- it sounds really unpleasant. It needs to be properly sterilised before you start playing it - god knows what nasties are lurking in there from the last player.

It's okay, I've very thoroughly disinfected it, 3 times, in 3 different things and for long enough to activate and kill spore forming organisms. Unless it has prions, I think we're good.

The plastic parts are now entirely buried in bicarbonate of soda. I will leave them there for a week and see what happens.

They do stink..... Even when in regular play. I remember the DD's always being a bit funky. Saliva etc. Assuming the whole thing will need re-corking, I would think any mild cleaning solution would be fine. I'm not sure you will make money, but the process will be fun.

Actually I need to sell DD's....Is eBay still a good place to offload??

@KnittedCardi Thanks, yes I think it will be fun.

I do think ebay is good, yes. It's a bit hit and miss buying as you don't get to see or smell them first, so if you have a local shop that would sell it on, then that might be better.

I just had a hilarious thing happen. I tried to buy pads for the clarinet from an online seller in the US and it turned out that it was a fraudulent company and they pinched my credit card details. The bank stopped the transaction and has cancelled my card, and so I will have no credit card for two weeks now. Blimey.