For any brass and wind player, it is important to keep your musical instrument clean to get the best sound as they tend to collect food particles, bacteria, fungi, mould and other grime because you are blowing into them. For health reasons it is important to take a proactive approach and clean the mouthpiece and instrument, particularly if you have hired the instrument. While it is possible to clean an instrument by flushing it with water and cleaning solutions along with some scrubbing, we use ultrasonic cleaning as it gives far better results and gets instruments as good as new. This technology replaces cleaning involving acid-base or toxic chemicals that were traditionally used to break down limescale deposits that can form as water evaporates. The build-up of limescale and other grime over time restricts the airflow through the instrument and the functioning of parts like valves. The acids and sugars in our saliva are also corrosive to the instrument over time. The chemicals used to remove these can be harmful to the musician, the instrument and the environment.

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Our ultrasonic machines are medical-grade and can clean all types of instruments including clarinets, flutes, saxophones, cornets, flugelhorns and trumpets as well as mouthpieces, tuning slides and valves. We disassemble the instrument and place all the parts in the ultrasonic cleaner and wait while the machine does its job. Instead of eating away at the metal while removing the residue as acidic cleaners do, ultrasonic cleaners use high-frequency sound waves (40,000 per second) to produce a highly effective bubbling in the water (called “cavitation”) to reach the smallest crevices in the instrument without damaging the metal parts. These microscopic bubbles “pop” along the surface, removing the dirt and lime off the walls of the instrument.With a mixture of tap water and special environmentally friendly water-soluble detergents, the ultrasonic cleaner can reach every curve, nook and crevice in every instrument and mouthpiece. It is the exact same technology used to clean medical, optical and dental tools. Once we remove the instrument from the machine we rinse off all the parts with clean water to remove any loose contaminants that may have settled in the instrument during the cleaning process. It is astonishing how effective ultrasonic cleaning is to the instrument; all of the parts come out looking brand new prolonging its life and value. The last step of the process is to lubricate, reassemble all the parts of the instrument and final hand polish to put it back to playing condition as good as new. 

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The ultrasonic clean can be added to any repair job or can be booked as a stand-alone service: please enquire.