I've always thought that viruses and bacteria couldn't survive on and in harmonicas. However, I've had a bronchial infection for two months and I am beginning to wonder if I am reinfecting myself with my harps. (I don't typically clean my harps unless a reed is nonresponsive). Can anybody advise regarding this? Also, is 91% alcohol the best way to kill germs? Thanks.
Oh yes, that nastiness thrives in harps:a warm, moist environment. A good spraydown with isopropyl routinely is a good idea, plus taking your harps down completely, cleaning the combs and reed plates. That black funk on reed plates not only harbors gnarly germs, but most likely will make your notes flat. Get some Barkeeper's friend and a wet toothbrush, and they'll be shinier than when you first got the harp. And keep taking those antibiotics so YOU can shake that crap! ---------- Todd L Greene. V.P.
Last Edited by on May 24, 2010 5:24 AM
Thanks for the advice all, it is much appreciated. I've been to the doctor and I am going back to the doctor today. My bass player, who is a doctor, recommended soaking my harps (sp20) in a warm bleach/water solution. Not sure that's the best because it will discolor/ruin the screws. I have 91% alcohol and may try that.
Strip your harps down to bare bones and soak the reedplates, comb & coverplates in warm water with a Steradent denture tablet. Rinse in clean water and allow to air dry and then reassemble. Germs gone & a shiny like new harp. The gunk flattens notes & the tablets dissolve this gunk so harps sound new again.
Hey guys: Antibiotics work on cell wall synthesis and viruses do not have cells walls so relative to viruses per se they do nothing ( other than potentially catalyze resistance) to disempower them. Also different viruses have different staying viability, e.g., enveloped viruses: HIV, HCV, HBV, require a higher concentration alcohols than bacterium. A 1 part bleach to 20 parts water is quite effective with both viruses and bacteria but I can't speak to the untoward effects it would have on the harp and you would need to clean it with soap and water after the bleach prep dried. There is so much misinformation out there about such matters. Pasteur suggested (I'm paraphrasing) it is not the strength of the pathogen but the fertility of the soil. Skip the antibiotics unless you're diagnosed with a bacterial infection per se, and galvanize your immune system any way you can. And remember it's allergy season in many parts of the U.S.A. which has to do with histamine rather than bacteria or viruses. Enough lecturing: Take what you want- leave the rest (I've got a show to prepare for) My best. d ---------- Myspace: dennis moriarty
Good advice, BigD...the bleach would be good, medically...but your reed plates would be compromised and probably turn black with oxidation. ---------- Todd L Greene. V.P.
For a Special 20, just take it apart and clean thoroughly with soap and water. That will take care of 99.9 percent of the microorganisms there. Unless you will use it for surgery, there is no point in sterilizing it.
Plastic or metal combs are a start. Rubbing alcohol to disinfect. Bigd is right about antibiotics. Unless your infection is bacterial all they'll do is kill of the good bacteria in your system. Another thing is if you've still got a bad cold deep breathing, all though it may help get all that crud out of your lungs, may also trigger coughing fits. If you use anything abrasive, even a tooth brush, on your reed plates, make sure you rinse them off. Some reed plates have nasty stuff in them and if you scrape it loose and then breath it in it's no good. Hopefully, if you 'reinfect' yourself your body will be ready for it. I'm not a doctor or anything, but my understanding of germs and antibodies would make me guess that you could fight off a few germs from your harp pretty well when you are still primed to fight that cold. Now if you leave it somewhere for a long time and your body's immunity gets time to lower you might reinfect yourself.
Harmonicas are, in general, pretty good for breathing. Some doctors even proscribe playing as a treatment for asthma. They also seem to work well for disorders where your breathing becomes irregular, like during panic attacks, since they force you to breath at a regulated rate.
here is from a brewing site A solution of two parts white vinegar to one part hydrogen peroxide (common 3% solution) will remove tarnish and surface lead from brass parts when they are soaked for 15 minutes at room temperature. The brass will turn a buttery yellow color as it is cleaned. If the solution starts to turn green, then the parts have been soaking too long and the copper in the brass is beginning to dissolve.
the peroxide kills both bacteria and viruses.
chlorine bleach will also eat brass and should only be used for short periods of time.
I forgot to mention earlier that unless you wash your hands every single time you pick up your harp, don't count on any method of keeping your harp clean. Your hands carry loads more bugs than your harps.
To put things into perspective, if you leave your harp as it is and wash your hands a little more often during the day, your likelihood of getting sick will drop significantly.
you cannot infect yourself with your own germs remember they are coming from a human mouth has more germs than a dog or cat their bite may or may not infect if it breaks the skin but a human bite that breaks the skin will cause an infection 100% of the time just never loan your harps out to others
I just had to go through a course of antibiotics because the neighbors sometimes outside cat bit me really good. And then yesterday the other neighbors cat bit me, although that one was really shallow. I don't understand it. Little kids love being swung around in circles... Why don't cats?
(Just kidding, the one cat rolled over on his belly after I was scratching his ear. I thought he wanted a belly rub. The other one was just being frisky, and yes, they've both had their shots.) Neither one seems to care for the harmonica.
No I'm an RN specializing in pain management in a hospice context. I spent many years sorting out myths in infection control via education when I witnessed the errors around AIDS fears that further marginalized vulnerable patients. I'm not aware of any literature that supports your docs posture. Probably best for us to just stop biting each other and leave it at that. I promised myself I wouldn't engage in any of the rabid amplifier invective around here only to land in an infection control disambiguation. Well: It is more pertinent than Pizza threads. Anyway no disrespect intended on my part. My best. d ---------- Myspace: dennis moriarty
BigD, what you said about infection seemed to jive with what I know. I'm no doctor, but I have OCD and well, I'm a little obsessed with how germs work. I suspect what the doctor was trying to convey was that 100% of people bites should be treated as if they could be infected. Now off to threads that won't send me into a hand and harp washing tizzy.
