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How do you clean a trumpet?

How do you clean the inside of a trumpet?

  • I know this has been asked many times before, but I hear both sides - water and no water. I bought a used trumpet and the inside looks terrible. Her teacher thought something was stuck in it and was able to get a bunch of gunk out of it (not sure how, my daughter was there - not me!) He aslo told her to take it home and run some water through it. this didn't sound right, but I've seen all the sites that tell you to "give it a bath". I'm afraid to do that. Should I have it ultrasonically cleaned at a shop instead?

  • Answer:

    i use "spitballs." they are these little sponges with cleaning solution in them that you put in the mouthpiece reciever then blow through the horn. this only works if it's only a little bit of scum you need to get off. if it's like clogged with crap then yes, you can give it a bath and use a cleaning snake also. although ultrasonic cleaning may be a better option if it is really terrible. but shops usually take a while to return your instrument. my friend bathes hers all the time and it looks really good. doesn't harm it at all.

mommydea... at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

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There is zero chance that a good bath will hurt the trumpet--except for the little cork pad under the spit key, which might come loose (the cure for that is a drop of pad 'n cork cement--or just melt what's there already with a cigarette lighter flame to the key for a few seconds). Running water thru the inside of the horn will not even harm the cork pad--so try that. Twiddle all the keys as you do so to clean out all of the alternative tubing.

TR

Why not take it to your daughter's teacher and ask her? You already have one of the best resources available, a teacher of music, and hopefully that is a private lesson teacher who works nearly exclusively on trumpet. These are the experts to turn to. There are plenty of tools like a snake that you can run through the horn and get it clean.

cosaxteacher

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