Hi guys, I've been a lurker here for awhile. Been playing for about 3 years and have learned a lot from reading threads this forum.
Just wondering how sanitary it is to share harps? Very seldom do I ever let anyone try one of my harps, and then only if I know them really well. But I noticed at my first SPAH convention a couple of years ago that many players were swapping harps back and forth, sometimes without even wiping them off first. I'm not totally mysophobic or anything, but sometimes it seems like guys are too quick to swap harps, not knowing where the hell the other person's mouth has been, or if they're sick, etc. And can't germs live on the reed plates, and can't saliva build up on them too? And can't you inhale that stuff if you immediately swap harps back and forth with someone??? Sometimes it seems like guys get offended when I tell them I don't want to try their harp, or vice versa.
What are your thoughts? Am I being too careful or paranoid?
Last Edited by on Sep 27, 2011 3:27 AM
Swapping harps would be like swapping underpants, i cant believe anyone would even think of doing such a disgusting thing.If it was ok, then how about when you purchase one?...one blow and baby you buy it. I'm amazed you even popped the question here.
Last Edited by on Sep 27, 2011 2:33 PM
@ Beard, that is really not right, if i had the flu or a mouth infection then the store you buy from really don't give a shit, as long as you buy something, anyway in Australia its against the law.
1/Would you kiss a beautiful woman who is a stranger ? Or would you say, no its disgusting ?
2/Would you go to bed with her if she asked, with no condom? Or would you say, no its disgusting ?
3/Would you let a dog lick your face? Or would you say, no its disgusting ?
4/ Will you play other peoples harps or let them play yours ? Or would you say, no its disgusting ?
Number 2 is the only one I would think twice about.But put some alcohol into the equation and I wouldn't be thinking for long! Number 3, I'm not too keen on, but it won't do you any harm.
The germs in a harp are the same ones that live in your mouth. I'm more concerned with have they washed their hands after being to the can. ---------- The Pentatonics Myspace Youtube
"Why don't you leave some holes when you play, and maybe some music will fall out".
Hepatitis B, is well documented as being transmitted via saliva. BTW I never let a dog lick my face because they like sticking their noses in other dogs bum's.
I have done it a couple of times, as borrower and lender, no wiping, with absolutely no side effects. I am with 7LimitJL. Think about putting your hands on the door handle of a pub toilet. And remember, the remote control is the dirtiest thing in a hotel room.
Not saying it's a good idea but really we do way worse things then share harps every single day and do not think about it one bit. I have worked in resteraunts and seen dishes not washed that well and people use them without even thinking not to mention public toilets and well anytime you are in public at all. Like I said it is not the best idea but people just worry about stuff like this way way to much. Livin life worried aint livin baby!
@ Learning to Reed - "Very seldom do I ever let anyone try one of my harps, and then only if I know them really well."
You mean like if you regularly meet up with each other in the waiting room of the STD clinic? :-) No logic there, assuming all "strangers are dirty" is more like superstition...so if a stranger should play your harp, just throw another virgin in a volcano and you should be good to go ;-)
If you're not comfortable sharing then don't, if someone badly wants to show you their chops or sit in they can bring a harp with them, they're pretty portable instruments ;-)
Doesn't bother me...unless someone persistently turns up expecting to use my harps, puts them all back in the wrong compartments so I have to dig around my own case to find the harp I need, then complain because my harps stick when they blow too hard...on second thoughts it probably does bother me, but least of all because of the sanitary aspect. ---------- www.myspace.com/markburness
"the remote control is the dirtiest thing in a hotel room"
Hadn't thought about this!!
When you think about what your average male, away from home, watches on TV late at night !!! Controller in the left hand, c--k in the right. Oops cramping up, time to change hands!! ;o)
I hear what you're saying, but to me there a big difference between being a germaphobe about touching doornobs and handing someone your harp and saying "sure, shove that in your pie hole".
Maybe everyone draws their own line in the sand, I dunno. I have no phobias about shaking hands, touching doornobs etc. etc.....but when someone says "mind if I try your harp".....I politely say "uh, sorry, no offense, but I do"
I wouldn't share my harps, but then again, I don't walk in my house with my shoes on after being in a mens room!
But I don't buy the argument about kissing a woman or a strange woman or whatever. While it kind of makes sense and I understand the point, you are referring to a man and a woman. Not a guy swapping spit with another guy. A guy isn't going to kiss his best friend (straight guys). There are different issues there to be considered when you add the "well what about this and that with a woman." ---------- Tommy
I wouldnt share a harp with someone I wouldnt share a toothbrush with.
The one exception Ive made is when it's a tester harmonica no one's used for more then 5mins and has been wiped plenty times with alchohol cloth.
You say you seen lots of guys at spah sharing harps. I think that's exaggerated cause the 2 years I went I didnt see much of that but remember some of those guys know each other very well & go to spah year after year for a long time & perhaps live in the same city. Perhaps they would share a toothbrush, lol.
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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)
My dad and I swap harps occasionally if one of us has bought a new one and the other want's to try it out.
My wife frowns on me kissing beautiful women (except herself) but she hasn't said anything about sharing harps with them. ---------- Ozark Rich __________ ##########
From my office at work I can hear the handwash sink in the restroom. I would say 1/2 the guys do not wash afterward. I am shocked that a large number do not wash after #2....share harps? yeah right.
Well, the working world tends to range between those who spend a lot of quality time picking their nose and who also never wash their hands after taking a dump, and their philosophical opposites who hold themselves to a different set of personal standards.
Usually the first type of guy is the kind who winds up with a job as, let's say, short order cook, or a proctologist, or a hotel housekeeper whereas the second figure is the type of dude whos job has him traveling a lot, which is why he tends to patronize businesses run by the first type of guy.
So you see... unless you just plain don't have a sense of humor, everything works out!
Musslewhite and I have gone back and forth with a harp (it was his, so he seems to allow some open-mindedness)
Mick Raphael grabbed the only Harrison B-Rad I ever received and messed with it for a while, since he'd never seen one in person.
Michaelek had no problems slobbering like one of his dogs through not only mine, but seemingly every harp he worked on.
'Lazy' Lester Johnson doesn't hesitate. That sweet dude is germ-free in my book. No problem. The first time was the same B-Rad as Mickey. Whatever communicable muck Raphael has.....
I will have a woman's tongue down my throat, no problem. Wet and almost like drool, no problem. I may even stick my tongue in places that shouldn't be mentioned in public. If I'm horny enough I don't even care if she showered.
But if she spit in my drink I wouldn't drink it!!!
"Saliva of people with hepatitis B can contain the hepatitis B virus, but in very low concentrations compared with blood. Injections of infected saliva can transmit the virus, so bite injuries can also spread the disease. There are no reports of people getting hepatitis B from mouth contact with infected CPR manikins or mouthpieces of musical instruments."
Nice to see a balanced and non-reactionary approach to risk from an organisation with "Health and Safety" in its name. wish we had that in nanny-state UK. I once got a written warning for changing a lightbulb at work without proper training. How many NHS minions does it take to change a lightbulb?..
I wipe them down if someone even touches them. If someone plays through one of my harps they just bought it. (Well, not really, but I'd use a germicide inside and out before I played it again.)
The funny thing is, if my harmonica falls on the floor, or the ground outside, I just dust it off. (Although I don't play it in men's rooms!)
As for 'it's like making out with someone' maybe I'm a bit of a prude, but I like to exchange phone numbers first, so if one of us had something communicable we could call.
Well a team of 3 from Estates to do a risk assessment and 1 senior manager to sign it off, 1 person to deliver "Step-Ladder training" (I kid you not), A team of 2 people to come to your community office to assess the "job" - most likely a week or more since you reported the "fault", 1 person to climb the ladder and one to hold it. Craziness. Your way sounds simpler!
Apologies for the threadjack
Last Edited by on Sep 27, 2011 11:22 AM
Many years ago i was with a band playing a pub gig when friends in the audience were gesturing me to look behind! when i did i saw a drunk had got onstage and had helped himself to one of my harps and had it in his mouth!well lets just say i removed it from his mouth and kicked him off the stage all without missing a beat! lol....oh and i did use the harp again but i never lend or borrow harps.
Last Edited by on Sep 27, 2011 4:18 AM
