HawkeyeKane
676 posts
Jan 28, 2012
1:46 PM
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Those of you out there who use them on your harps, how often do you give your harps a treatment in that little jacuzzi? How long do you soak them, and how many do you put in at once? Right now I'm putting in five at a time in hot water and going 380 seconds.
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Hawkeye Kane
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harmonicanick
1434 posts
Jan 28, 2012
2:53 PM
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I do 3 at a time with a couple of capfulls of Sea Clean (brand in the uk) on my GMs.
They smell and taste sweet after:)
Yeah, 380, then let dry on kitchen paper towel
If its a wooden comb then I don't. I have one wooden comb on a GM from Florida Trader.
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HawkeyeKane
677 posts
Jan 28, 2012
3:07 PM
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Sea Clean a dish detergent or something?
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Hawkeye Kane
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GEEZER1
138 posts
Jan 28, 2012
3:40 PM
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put dawn detergent in mine and as many as four plastic comb harps, cleans them good, also eyeglasses get a good cleaning.
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HawkeyeKane
678 posts
Jan 28, 2012
7:35 PM
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I towel dry them first, then sometimes I use a blowdryer to make sure to get the residual moisture out.
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Hawkeye Kane
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Libertad
23 posts
Jan 29, 2012
3:20 AM
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Has anyone used an ultrasonic cleaner on a Suzuki harp, does it take the gold writing off? The Key name and key?
Can you put the whole harp in or do you need to completely strip it down?
Think I need one of these.
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arnenym
33 posts
Jan 29, 2012
3:45 AM
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I use to put down 2-3 there is no room for more. The water is "wash water temperated" - a little warmer than my hands. They goes in the ultra sonic cleaner for 540 seconds and maybe a little longer if it's needed.
I put down whole plasttic comb harp. The harps with wood combs i dissassemble the reed plates before i clean them.
I never use any chemicals.
But i've heard the chemicals you use to clean false teeth should work very fine.
Libertad.
If the material on the harp is waterproof you don't need to be worry.
Last Edited by on Jan 29, 2012 3:46 AM
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Gwythion
99 posts
Jan 29, 2012
7:06 AM
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I use Sea Clean on plastic combed harps in just the same way as Harmonica Nick and it works for me, too.
When wood comb harps get scuzzy I take them apart and put the metal parts in the ultrasonic with the same routine. I then use a toothbrush with a bit of mouthwash for the combs.
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Gwythion
100 posts
Jan 29, 2012
9:50 AM
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This is the one I've been using for a while now. It works well:
Amazon UK
What looks like the same model is a lot cheaper in the States:
Amazon USA
It cleans better than the last one I had, and is large enough for 10 hole diatonics. I have to clean larger tremolo harps half at a time then turn them around to fit the cleaner, but that works fine.
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GEEZER1
139 posts
Jan 29, 2012
10:10 AM
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I use paper toweling to lay them on while they drain . then I shake them out and let them dry a little longer, Most of my harps are plastic combed, the wooden ones I rinse out only, I don't like to tear down MB harps because of those funky nails... My unit is a "Crofton" purchased at Aldi , a chain grocery store. works great.. and it does not effect the key number on the harp.
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harpwrench
565 posts
Jan 29, 2012
12:28 PM
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That looks better than the 35W one I've used for a few years, I'm getting gear envy:) Might have to step up to a 50-watter!
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Spiers Harmonicas
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Tag
42 posts
Jan 29, 2012
1:02 PM
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Has anyone tried a wood comb that's been fully sealed? I've got a couple MB's that have been reworked with fully sealed combs and wondered about cleaning them in a USC without disassembling them. These have been sealed with Polyurethane.
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RyanMortos
1252 posts
Jan 29, 2012
3:14 PM
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So you guys use this machine to clean your harmonicas?
Are you cleaning the harmonica with just water or with a cleaning product as well? If so which product (US)?
Will cleaning harmonicas in this machine affect tuning or gaping in any way?
Do you normally just drop your harps in or would you remove the screws and separate the comb, reed plates, & covers to get a more thorough clean? (I really don't play harmonicas with unsealed wooden combs anymore most of those are just stored away if I ever need parts or whatever. It's a shame, I have some near new marine bands that I might've tooted once that are now spare parts, lol.)
I don't clean my harmonicas enough. It's pretty bad, like pretty recently I cleaned a special 20 C harmonica that I've played nearly daily for possibly 3yrs for the first time. What I did was disassemble the whole thing, put it on like a sham wow cloth thing, and wiped it down with isopropyl alcohol. It seems like the machine you guys are talking about could cause me to clean my most frequently used harmonicas on maybe more of a monthly basis as long as it doesn't affect tuning & hopefully not too much affect on gaping.
"The spam prevention code you entered was not right." - Lies!
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~Ryan
"I play the harmonica. The only way I can play is if I get my car going really fast, and stick it out the window." - Steven Wright
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
See My Profile for contact info, etc.
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isaacullah
1762 posts
Jan 29, 2012
7:01 PM
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I just saw that harbor freight has a 1pint ultrasonic cleaner listed at $24... I have no idea on the quality of it, but that's a pretty good price!
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== I S A A C ==
View my videos on YouTube!
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HawkeyeKane
680 posts
Jan 30, 2012
5:38 AM
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I haven't been adding any kind of solutions or detergents. Just hot tap water seems to get a fair amount of gunk out. I even put wood combs in there for a shorter period of time to get the clingy dust bunnies off. I'll have to look into an added cleaning agent though.
@isaac
I love harbor freight myself. I get a lot of my tools there. But when it comes to small electronics...well...I buy their AA and AAA batteries and that's about it.
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Hawkeye Kane
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RyanMortos
1254 posts
Jan 30, 2012
5:50 AM
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In an earlier thread Buddha suggests he used a water vinegar 70/30 solution which sounds good to me.
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~Ryan
Advanced Intermediate: based on Adam's What Level Are You? guide.
"I play the harmonica. The only way I can play is if I get my car going really fast, and stick it out the window." - Steven Wright
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
See My Profile for contact info, etc.
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arzajac
736 posts
Jan 30, 2012
6:06 AM
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I sometimes use an ultrasonic cleaner on ebay-bought (used) harps.
I discovered that soaking the metal parts in vinegar and salt is very effective. Just don't put the coverplates in with the brass reedplates at the same time - the acid and salt act like a battery and the coverplates will change color. This is fixable, though by scrubbing them with Brasso.
So to clean up a harp, I would disassemble it and soak the parts in a plate with vinegar and a teaspoon of salt. I would rinse them off and then use a toothbrush along with a dab of Brasso. I would flatsand and seal a wooden comb. I would use toothpase to clean a plastic comb.
I would not put a harp in my ultrasonic cleaner without taking it apart. The water vibrates to perform the cleaning and the vibrations are attenuated as the parts are closed off.
Adding a few drops of dish soap lowers the water viscosity and increases the effect of the ultrasonic cleaning.
An ultrasonic cleaner does not affect the gaps or tuning. And it's fine to put a sealed wooden comb in the ultrasonic cleaner.
To clean a harp that I use regularly, I just use toothpaste and a toothbrush. But to get the heads of small screws nice and shiny, the ultrasonic cleaner is very effective.
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BronzeWailer
998 posts
May 22, 2013
9:35 PM
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Saw one today for A$17 (at ALDI), so snapped it up. Will give it a try later on...
My YouTube
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HawkeyeKane
1703 posts
May 23, 2013
7:51 AM
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@Bronzewailer
Good find! Since my last post here, I've developed a system to this, taking into account a lot of the advice from this very thread.
- Any harp that can be disassembled, disassemble it. The harps will get cleaner that way, and the ultrasonic vibrations are less likely to cause tuning issues if they're not resounded within the coverplates.
- Don't put wood combs in. Clean them by hand.
- Use about a 70/30 solution of water to vinegar. The acidity will eat off the corrosion and rust. There's another product out there called "Bartender's Friend" that is reputed to be the best agent for this, but I've yet to try it.
- Take a soft bristle toothbrush to any places that still have gunk or dirt on them and gently scrub it off.
- Let all parts dry completely before reassembling the harp.
Works like a charm every time.
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Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by HawkeyeKane on May 23, 2013 7:52 AM
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BronzeWailer
1000 posts
May 23, 2013
3:44 PM
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Thanks for the advice Hawkeye!
My YouTube
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