Don't use hot water if your mouthpiece is hard rubber-- it will turn a cloudy greenish color which isn't a big deal, but looks weird to me. You can use hot water with no issues on metal mouthpieces.
Using hot water for hard rubber can warp the facing. It can also make it smell like a burnt tire which isn't too pleasant.
Regarding using sodas: I assume the acid eats away at all the gunk and stuff. I've heard of people using diluted hydrochloric acid to clean mouthpieces because of the same principle. You just have to be sure not to not leave it in there too long. You don't want the acid to start eating away at the mouthpiece.
For my metal mouthpieces, I've always used warm water. I haven't had to use soap yet, because I usually wash them a few times a week (my lips usually leave dry, flaky skin behind on the mouthpiece, so I try to keep it clean for the sake of appearances). I wouldn't have any trouble using soap, though.
A mixture of vinegar and luke warm water will remove all the white gunk on any type of mouthpiece without any damage to it.
Use a old toothbrush to get the crude out under running cool tap water.
But then the mouthpiece smells like mouthwash, which is weird. Generally speaking, if my mouthpiece has anything but a more or less neutral smell/taste, it's time to clean it!
But then the mouthpiece smells like mouthwash, which is weird. Generally speaking, if my mouthpiece has anything but a more or less neutral smell/taste, it's time to clean it!
Put it in a glass of water and add 2 denture cleaner tablets. Let it sit for a few hours. It works, really. Also great for cleaning crystal and glassware.
Maybe you want to add some hydrogen peroxide for good measure. Someone mentioned that you can sanitize reeds with it. Seems like it would be good for mpcs too.
It might help to specify whether it's HR or metal. As some of the posts above suggest, it makes a difference in terms of what is or isn't a good idea in the cleaning process.
Toothpaste, a soft toothbrush and cold water.
I even scrub reeds this way on occasion if there looking a little funky.
This seems safe on metal or rubber or plastic pieces.
Lemon juice for hard rubber to remove deposits. Although this doesn't answer the question.
As was said earlier never use hot water on a hard rubber mouthpiece it will not only turn brownish green but will smell very bad.
I believe someone said hot water could even affect a metal mouthpiece. I would use slightly warm water to be safe.
Don't know if lemon juice will harm plating or the metal mouthpiece itself.
This came up a year or so ago and I gave the lemon juice suggestion for hard rubber.
I got a response that if I washed my hard rubber mouthpiece out every day then I wouldn't have this problem.
First of all I don't play a hard rubber mouthpiece, and secondly I do clean my mouthpiece each day except when coming in late from a gig and then I do it the next day.
I got a response that if I washed my hard rubber mouthpiece out every day then I wouldn't have this problem.
First of all I don't play a hard rubber mouthpiece, and secondly I do clean my mouthpiece each day except when coming in late from a gig and then I do it the next day.
So do I. But calcium (?) deposits still form, especially around a baffle, along the sides of the mpc and around the bite patch. I guess if you washed and thoroughly dried it off immediately after playing every single time, maybe it wouldn't happen, but that's hard to do when playing lots of gigs. I don't worry about it, but I like the lemon juice suggestion. I'll give that a try.
Be careful of using toothpaste - it is an abrasive and will remove material over time. My father even used Ultrabright to polish Plexiglas!!
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