Wash a Trumpet
You probably don't think about it, but when you play the trumpet, you are forcing quite a bit of air through your mouth. This air is not just air, but also saliva and food particles. Not to mention a large amount of bacteria that take up residence in the mouth. And over time, that can build up inside a trumpet and leave a gunk. This gunk leads to a fuzzy sounds, corrosion, and is just rather disgusting in general. There are a few steps that you can use to successfully clean and maintenance your horn. The process should be done every one to three months.
Contents
Steps
- Fill your bathtub with warm water and soap.
- Lay out a towel on the bottom of the bathtub, under the water to avoid scratching.
- Take off the mouthpiece and set it aside.
- Flush out your trumpet. You can do this by turning on the faucet and running warm water down the bell, this will get lose particles out, and make the lead tubing easier to clean with the snake later.
- Take out all of the slides, and put them in the bathtub.
- Take out all 3 valves. You must make sure to remember the order of your valves if they don't have numbers on them. This is very important, so check to see if all of the valves have numbers on them saying 1,2, and 3 before mixing them up. Now some of the valves might have S1, S2 and S3 written on them so please keep then in order. If they don't, just set them aside (In order).
- Put your trumpet in the tub, add some more soap to the water, and let it sit for 5- 10 minutes.
- While your trumpet is setting in the water, take your mouthpiece and run some VERY hot water through it with some soap. Take a washcloth and clean the mouthpiece out with some soap. Also, if you own a mouthpiece brush, you should run it through your mouthpiece to get all the gunk out of inside of it.
- Let mouthpiece sit in hot water after.
- Go back to your trumpet, and run the snake through all of the slides, and through the inside of your trumpet.
- Take one valve, and dip it in the water. Do not put the top part of the valve in the water because of the felt at the top can get ruined. Run your mouthpiece brush through all of the 3 holes in the valve, making sure to get all buildup out. Repeat with other valves.
- Take a washcloth and soap and wash the outside of the trumpet, and other areas you think you missed. Make sure to clean the inside of the bell.
- Start putting your trumpet back together, Take a piece out of the water one by one, and set them on a towel, then dry them off with a washcloth.
- Take your slide grease and grease all of the slides to make sure they do not stick, then put them back into the trumpet slides.
- Dry off your valves, and then take your valve oil, and use it the oil the valves. Make sure to put them back in the right place.
- Once all slides and valves are back in place, take your washcloth to dry it off one last time, and empty your spit valve of all the spare water inside.
- Take your polishing cloth, and go over your trumpet with it. This will make it look cleaner and shinier.
- Take your mouthpiece out of the water, dry it off, put it in your trumpet, and then you're ready to play!
Tips
- Be sure to screw the valves all the way in or you will get a very bad sound.
- While you are cleaning your trumpet, you should look to see if anything on your trumpet needs to be replaced. This includes the springs inside of the valves, the felt on top of your valves, and the corks in your spit valves.
- Check to make sure everything is working properly after you clean your horn.
- Make sure remove all cloth pieces of your trumpet (if it has any) before submerging it in water.
- If you do not own a mouthpiece brush, when you are washing your valves, you can use a toothbrush.
- Check for any dings in your trumpet, because dings can cause problems in air flow, which causes intonation problems.
- Don't put the slides in water while doing the first few steps.
- Be careful if your spit valve has a cork plug on the end, or else it might fall off or break.
- Never fully submerge your trumpet in water - just rinse it off.
Warnings
- Make sure to lay a towel on the bottom of the tub where your setting your trumpet, to avoid scratching.
- Do not use mouthpiece brush or snake on the outside of your trumpet, it will scratch it up.
- Do not use any kind of household cleaning product when washing your trumpet.
- If the water is too hot when washing your trumpet (this does not include your mouthpiece), it could cause your lacquer to peel off, so make sure the water is warm, not too hot, not too cold.
Things You'll Need
- A bathtub or large basin
- Trumpet/valve snake
- Antibacterial dish soap
- Washcloths
- Valve oil
- Mouthpiece brush
- Sponge
- 2 towels
- Polishing cloths
- Slide grease
