[BobD]

My new to me vintage Berg, which I love, leaves a nasty taste in my mouth and sort of a burning on the lips for hours after playing it. It's not dirty, discolored or covered with calcium, it just tastes bad.

I suspect that it's sulphur leaching out of the rubber but is there anything that can remove/reduce this taste. I'm also concerned about toxicity.

 

[saxyjare01]

Sounds like an allergy regarding the burning feeling. And yes, it’s probably leaching sulfur.

you’d have to have someone sand the piece down and use some polishing to get the sulfur taste out. Even then, there’s no guarantee.

 

[Sigmund451]

Go to the drug store and get some food grade mineral oil. Soak it for a half hour or so. Wipe it dry. That will help seal it. You are likely tasting the sulfur leeching out. Ive not known it to be harmful but it tastes bad. If it still does it repeat.

 

[Dr G]

Your description makes me wonder whether someone "sanitized" it before shipping, leaving chemical residue that you are sensitive to.

When I get an old HR mouthpiece, I gently clean with mild dish soap and tepid water, pat dry, then apply a light coating of olive oil (wiping off the excess).

Edit: I see that, once again, Phil is typing at the same time. I like his treatment as well.

 

[BobD]

Would this be ok to use?
Mineral Oil

 

[Sigmund451]

Yes but that is pretty expensive. You can pick it up at rite aid for less in a smaller bottle. Olive oil does work but some people say ot can go rancid. I haven’t had it happen. Do not use veggie oil. It will turn.

Doc uas a good idea. Give it a good cleaning first.

 

[turf3]

Yes, some years ago I was testing out mouthpieces and one of them had "sanitizer" residue and boy was that distasteful! I had to take it to the restroom and wash it thoroughly with soap and water. That's the first thing I'd try. I've never heard of anyone getting a bad taste from an ebonite mouthpiece; that's one of the reasons it's used; no taste (for most people).

 

[etc-etc]

You could put the HR mouthpiece for several hours (or even days) into a saturated solution of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) at room temperature to neutralize the sulphuric acid created by oxidation of sulfur that had been released by degradation of HR and bloomed/escaped onto the surface of the hard rubber. Once submerged into the solution, the mouthpiece will become covered in tiny bubbles of CO2 indicating that neutralization is continuing. Stir the solution from time to time to remove the bubbles and improve the surface contact with the liquid.

Using this method, I was able to remove the sulfuric / acidic taste from a new (but poorly vulcanized) HR mouthpiece. It took about a month until the bubble formation subsided.

I had treated in the same way a different HR mouthpiece that was originally creamy light brown but turned green-brown once washed in cold water. After a 24-hour submersion into the saturated baking soda solution, the green tinge was gone, and the mouthpiece became dark (not light) brown.

It appears that the time necessary for treatment is proportional to the degree of HR deterioration - hours or a few days for light deterioration, multiple days or weeks for strong deterioration. Eventually, the process becomes limited by the rate of migration/diffusion of sulfur from the bulk of HR material onto the surface.

I have not tried it, but I assume that washing soda (sodium carbonate, Na2CO3) saturated solution would have worked faster due to its higher pH compared to sodium bicarbonate (baking soda, NaHCO3).

 

[lydian]

No H in sodium hydrocarbonate? I don’t think those names match the formulas.

 

[Sacks Of Phones]

Yes but that is pretty expensive. You can pick it up at rite aid for less in a smaller bottle. Olive oil does work but some people say ot can go rancid. I haven’t had it happen. Do not use veggie oil. It will turn.

Doc uas a good idea. Give it a good cleaning first.

A repair tech once told me to add Vitamin E to olive oil before use to stop it from going rancid over time. I've done that and never had a any smelly oil problems on my wooden instruments.

 

[saxyjare01]

You could put the HR mouthpiece for several hours (or even days) into a saturated solution of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) at room temperature to neutralize the sulphuric acid created by oxidation of sulfur that had been released by degradation of HR and bloomed/escaped onto the surface of the hard rubber. Once submerged into the solution, the mouthpiece will become covered in tiny bubbles of CO2 indicating that neutralization is continuing. Stir the solution from time to time to remove the bubbles and improve the surface contact with the liquid.

Using this method, I was able to remove the sulfuric / acidic taste from a new (but poorly vulcanized) HR mouthpiece. It took about a month until the bubble formation subsided.

I had treated in the same way a different HR mouthpiece that was originally creamy light brown but turned green-brown once washed in cold water. After a 24-hour submersion into the saturated baking soda solution, the green tinge was gone, and the mouthpiece became dark (not light) brown.

It appears that the time necessary for treatment is proportional to the degree of HR deterioration - hours or a few days for light deterioration, multiple days or weeks for strong deterioration. Eventually, the process becomes limited by the rate of migration/diffusion of sulfur from the bulk of HR material onto the surface.

I have not tried it, but I assume that washing soda (sodium hydrocarbonate, Na2CO3) saturated solution would have worked faster due to its higher pH compared to sodium bicarbonate (baking soda, NaHCO3).

By solution do you just mean mixed with water? What’s the ratio?

 

[John_Dikeman]

I've always enjoyed the taste of a funky old mouthpiece. Not sure if that's a good sign or not...

 

[BobD]

Decided to try this: Cutting Board Wax

Says it's plant based, cleans and eliminates odors and does not go rancid. Bare in mind, that all pertains to a wood cutting board so not sure it will do anything on the mouthpiece. Should get it tomorrow. I will post my findings.

 

[KevinF]

Decided to try this: Cutting Board Wax

Says it's plant based, cleans and eliminates odors and does not go rancid. Bare in mind, that all pertains to a wood cutting board so not sure it will do anything on the mouthpiece. Should get it tomorrow. I will post my findings.

That page says "INGREDIENTS - Refined Coconut Oil, Raw Coconut Oil, Ricebran Wax, Proprietary Blend of Essential Oils"
Maybe add some essential oils to the mineral oil to give it a preferred taste?

 

[etc-etc]

No H in sodium hydrocarbonate? I don’t think those names match the formulas.

You are correct, hydrocarbonate is the synonym for bicarbonate.
Sodium bicarbonate: NaHCO3 (baking soda).
Sodium carbonate: Na2CO3 (washing soda).

 

[etc-etc]

By solution do you just mean mixed with water? What’s the ratio?

Add as much as will dissolve at room temperature, and then some more. Bicarbonate will be consumed during neutralization.

 

[stomias]

I've never 'warmed up' to any Bergs......See the 'warm air' thread.

 

[Sacks Of Phones]

You could buy a brand new Ted Klum New London HR tenor model.

 

[BobD]

I LOVE this mouthpiece. I tried the Klum a while back and I couldn't get it to work for me.

 

[BobD]

As an update, the cutting board wax seems to have done the trick. I put it on the inside as well as the outside. Let it sit for a while and then wiped it off. No more smell or taste.