Discovering Google Reader is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I now am updated on a TREMENDOUS amount of stuff I’m interested in. Curse, because I now monitor SaxontheWeb. Generally, the posts there are…..subpar to be nice. However, there are occasional questions that come up that some try to answer thoughtfully. Like this one on Can Bleach Damage a HR Mouthpiece.
As an owner of a Vintage Meyer Brothers Hard Rubber mouthpiece, and the owner of two Hard Rubber Slant Signature Otto Links, I’d NEVER SOAK my mouthpieces in Bleach. At all. Period. Even diluted. Period. My practices in cleaning a mouthpiece are to use lukewarm water, antibacterial soap, and a old soft toothbrush. I mildly scrub the mouthpiece out with the toothbrush and soap. That lasts maybe 30 seconds. I wash it off, then if there is some calcium deposits, I use Doctor’s Products Mouthpiece cleaner to remove them. This stuff works really well. Then, if I still want to make sure it is clean, I’ll take a Clorox Disinfectant wipe and run it over and through the mouthpiece (these don’t have Bleach).
Done. The short version of cleaning, like when I put on a new reed, is to run a Clorox Disinfectant wipe through the mouthpiece and on the outside. I think every other time (or every few months) I’ll do the more involved cleaning described above.