Catfish

Hello everyone. I tried to find a more appropriate area for my question but there didn't seem to be one so I guess this is the right place.

I have been playing Trumpet for 2 years now and I have recently given up smoking.

Trouble is my trumpet stinks of cigarette smoke and it is driving me up the wall . I have already pulled the poor fellow apart and given it a bath, but I can still taste nicotine (it seems to be more noticeable in the bore).

Has anyone else been through this and does anyone have any suggestions.

screamingmorris

The bath could include vinegar or baking soda or a tablespoon of Lysol liquid concentrate.
Or I would think that pouring full-strength ammonia down the tubing and then proceeding with a scrub with the tube brush followed by a regular soap bath and rinse should do the trick, since ammonia will dissolve stuff like built-up wax.
Or (*my favorite*) you could spray a large amount of WD-40 down the tubing, since WD-40 will dissolve deposits while also lubricating and water-proofiing the inside of the tubing against red rot.

If such at-home remedies don't work because the nicotine film inside the trumpet won't dissolve, any repair shop could give it one of those typical chemical baths that remove deposits from inside trumpets.

Edit:
I forgot to add a warning.
Some players have accidently removed the lacquer from their trumpets by using water that is too warm / too hot, or by allowing their trumpets to soak in warm water over-night.
I think that usually is just a problem with vintage trumpets that use the older type of lacquer, but it might also happen to some newer trumpets?

- Morris

Catfish

Thanks screamingmorris, I will give this a try.

I have indeed removed the lacquer from my trumpet by bathing it in water which was too hot. It is a newer trumpet, but a little on the cheap side.

I plan to buy another one, but I won't be able to afford it until the end of the year.

screamingmorris

If the lacquer is already gone and not in danger of being affected, have you tried pouring bleach inside the trumpet's tubing?
You would need to wash the trumpet well with soap and water afterward to get the bleach residue out.

- Morris

stchasking

It may not be the trumpet.
You need to get a mouthpiece brush and clean the back bore.
Use dish washing liquid and hot water and run the brush in and out until it is shining in the bore.

Some of the advice given above is corrosive to brass. Take your trumpet to an instrument repair shop and ask them to clean it. They may use an ultrasonic cleaner and they know what not to do that will ruin your horn.

__________________
"I was performing professionally at age 17 and have never had a real job." Allen Vizzutti

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Mark Bradley

Don't give it up... quit for good!!

God bless!

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Catfish

Thanks .. It is an awful habit and i have been trying to kick it for years.

I do think it is the bore that is the problem. I will try to clean this first before trying any of the other suggestions.

Etjoeflo

I'm a former submariner so after each deployment my clothes would smell horrible from the nasty chemicals that they put in the air. The best thing to get rid of the smell was vinegar and the other thing that other guys told me about was Sprite (as in the soda). Not sure as to what the side effect would be with the sprite but apparently its good at getting rid of bad smells.

Another approach...use Zaja Valve oil. One of the guys I played with recently used some and his trumpet always smelled really good!!

Miyot

Etjoeflo, stop smelling his trumpet. It could cause talk among the woodwinds.

oldlou

[quote=screamingmorris;370737]The bath could include vinegar or baking soda or a tablespoon of Lysol liquid concentrate.
Or I would think that pouring full-strength ammonia down the tubing and then proceeding with a scrub with the tube brush followed by a regular soap bath and rinse should do the trick, since ammonia will dissolve stuff like built-up wax.
Or (*my favorite*) you could spray a large amount of WD-40 down the tubing, since WD-40 will dissolve deposits while also lubricating and water-proofiing the inside of the tubing against red rot.



Coming from a segment of the trucking industry that specializes in hauling such commodities as concentrated amonia,( Anhydrous ), I can state with great authority that exposing any cupric alloy,such as brass to amonia will cause a breakdown of the brass, making it brittle to the point of very easy fracture. Never use amonia on or in a brass object.


OLDLOU>>

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