Wiping the MP—using the cloth provided

[Gnarly He Man]

Hi everybody – –
You know, I do a lot of repairs, some of them warranty.
Many times, the harmonicas I receive for repair which are in their factory issued cases have the cloth that comes provided with a new harmonica in the case, unused.
How many of you use this cloth to wipe the mouthpiece down?
If not that cloth, what do you use?

[brorat]

Yes!  I use the cloth that’s provided … unless I just forget and use my pants leg😂😱

[Laina]

I use microfiber cloths - got a batch which get regularly washed - keep MPs nice & clean after quick safe rinse routine. Shine up metal covers nicely too.

[Age]

The cloths that comes with literally EVERYTHING work well but they're too stinkin' small to be practical! I have a couple bundles of them that I've collected over the years. Here's here's seventeen of'em that I have in my desk drawer. Don't really know what to do with them while not wanting to throw them away. I generally use a larger microfibre cloths that I get from Harbor Freight for stupid cheap.

[brorat]

The little cloths are good for cleaning my reading glasses.

[Gnarly He Man]

I like to use these cloths to apply the Maas polish Scotty recommended.
I also have larger ones that are good to polish the harmonica and remove the polish.
Here’s a related question—which manufacturer has the best cloths?

[Gnarly He Man]

https://hohner.de/fileadmin/documents/service/harmonica/clean-maintain/EN/C02%E2%80%93Cleaning.pdf

A clean harmonica plays better.

[John Broecker]

Hello, Sliders.

I use alcohol prep pads, sold by Walgreen's,
CVS, and other pharmacies. They are normally
used to wipe a patient's skin, before given
a vaccination shot, or other uses.

Each is individually-wrapped, for single-use.
They measure about 1" X 1", and they are
a fibrous material embedded with isopropyl
alcohol. Alcohol is a well-known cleaner and
disinfectant.

I'm too lazy to use the cloths the manufacturers
provide.

Best Regards

JB

[Age]

The little cloths are good for cleaning my reading glasses.

Yep. I actually use them for that, but not for my harmonicas

[Age]

I never use alcohol wipes. As long as I only play my own harmonicas, all I gotta worry about are my own germs, and they all love me anyway.

[servus]

I use non-alcoholic prep pads, the same as I use for my hearing aids. Harmonicas and hearing aids get washing once a week. Sometimes I use dampened T-shirt material for the cruddy cracks between mouthpiece and reed plate. Works just fine. The microfiber cloths I use for my glasses.

                 PJ

[Age]

A friend of mine says vodka on a rag does the trick for him. 
Actually, it makes sense; alcohol is alcohol, right? 

[Rich35]

  Hi
 My 2cents is I use micro cloths

[Age]

Yep! That makes two of us. I love'em for just about everything!

[Rich35]

 Hi All
 My use of micro cloths is because after using my Chro,s I have a very shallow pan about 3/8 the of a inch and fill with warm water then invert my chro to put the slide in the water  and work the slide , them slide down into cloth and shake and wipe ,have not had any slide problems In a While .

[Age]

Just make sure you smack it on your leg/thigh two different ways: one with the button out and also with the button in. (that's the tricky one) A lotta guys forget that. The excess water doesn't always wanna come out unless you open those little "sliding doors."


@ge

[Ed McCullough]

A damp washcloth works. An undershirt works. My bare fingers work just fine if water is flowing across the mouthpiece

[Gnarly He Man]

 Hi All
 My use of micro cloths is because after using my Chro,s I have a very shallow pan about 3/8 the of a inch and fill with warm water then invert my chro to put the slide in the water  and work the slide , them slide down into cloth and shake and wipe ,have not had any slide problems In a While .

Best practice—good show!

[Age]

I do the "water in a dish" slide cleaning bit too, but only "between" REAL CLEANINGS, where I actually take the mp assembly apart. Those "quickie" cleanings are more of a "band-aid," and are actually pretty inefficient by comparison. A real cleaning includes those tasty little goodies like bumper and surface inspection, shiny, drag-free" components and MP tension adjustments.

I think, the best thing about the old water trick is the temporary "super tightness" it affords; not too much different from dunking your suck-harp in a glass of water, except the "Chromatic" version tightens up the seal in the slide assembly insteadda just swelling up, (and ruining) the wooden comb in your suck-harp.

FTR, You can "work your button" in the water for twenty minutes and still never get things as clean as a real MP assembly removal and real cleaning.

Harrumph!

@ge

[Ed McCullough]

I take this small sprayer with my harmonicas when I am going to play or practice at some place other than home. When I have this sprayer, I don't have to look for a sink or a water fountain. I can wash the outside of the mouthpiece and also my lips. Clean outside of mouthpiece and clean lips means you can move faster. You never realize how slow your motions are until you wash the mouthpiece and you can jump many holes very quickly.

[Age]

Yeah, in a real pinch, (and may be seen as a bit yucky) you can just blow some spit into the button end of the Chromatic, while simultaneously working the button in and out with your tongue. Yeah, I know, it's kinda gross, but it'll help the "show go on" till you can do a proper cleaning job. Yeah, I know: Bleah!🤮

[Ed McCullough]

I always dribble water through the button end of the mouthpiece assembly when I finish playing. I no longer dip dip the mouthpiece into a tray of water. Too much bother. The Water Rinse keeps mouthpiece clean enough for me. I never have to use soapy water. I never took the mouthpiece apart just to clean it.
Ain't no Burger pieces in my harmonica. I always brush brush my teeth before playing. I always have a toothbrush in my fanny pack. There's also a toothbrush in each of my backpacks. My backpacks also have water bottles.

[Ed McCullough]

I never bought a water bottle from a grocery store in my life. 16 oz vinegar bottles are very durable. I've got four or five of those, and I bet they're 15 years old. No waste.

[Age]

I always dribble water through the button end of the mouthpiece assembly when I finish playing. I no longer dip dip the mouthpiece into a tray of water. Too much bother. The Water Rinse keeps mouthpiece clean enough for me. I never have to use soapy water. I never took the mouthpiece apart just to clean it.
Ain't no Burger pieces in my harmonica. I always brush brush my teeth before playing. I always have a toothbrush in my fanny pack. There's also a toothbrush in each of my backpacks. My backpacks also have water bottles.

That's the method I've always used for my old wood combed, 270's, cuz the "dunking" method will definitely screw up the comb after a while. The plastic combs are unaffected by the "dunk" (which is another reason I pretty much quit wood combs altogether.).

Water bottles and stuff? Not me! I'm a slob! (with papers) I often play (carefully of course) right after eating. Heck, Last week, on the Zoom meeting, I think I was eating a piece of cake and a cuppa coffee or something between numbers! Oink!

I usta avoid food, cola or sweet drinks and stuff, now I don't even care anymore, mostly since realizing I've never had a problem with "debris" since way back when my nephew blew a mouth fulla carrots in my new 64, when I was eleven years old. That was the last time I had any kind of an issue with food. I've had a couple times where I found a piece of my mustache whisker stuck in a reed gap, but never food. (knock-knock)

Yep, I guess I musta turned into a slob in my old age. I probably get away with nonsense like that cuz I'm such a dry player, I guess.

[Age]

I never bought a water bottle from a grocery store in my life. 16 oz vinegar bottles are very durable. I've got four or five of those, and I bet they're 15 years old. No waste.

Yeah those "store bought" water bottles (just filtered and "ozoned" tap water anyway) get thinner all the time.  I often wonder why they don't leak. 

[Ed McCullough]

I used to try using the store-bought half liter water bottles for myself. They always leaked after a bit of handling.

[Lockjaw Larry]

My Neprologist strongly suggested I only drink water from store bought source.  Said I should not drink our city water.  ‘Spain that…

Studies a few years ago suggested plastic water bottles ( the cheap flimsy kind) should not be reused due to bacteria build up.  Not sure I believe that ‘cause I ain’t dead yet and been reusing them for years.  I do buy jugs of water for my dispenser in addition to individual bottles.

While a kid I often drank out of a spring and well with no ill effects.  Once I was hunting and was so thirsty I drank from an abandoned concrete spring that had salimanders living in it.  Farm boys gotta be tough.

[Ed McCullough]

20 years ago a doctor who had a daily call-in question and answer program on daytime radio said that City water in Houston is just fine and that buying water in the grocery store is a waste of money. I am sure there are a few parts of town that have bad water pipes and actually there was a city-owned building across the street from City Hall that was tagged for having bad water. For the most part, I just use city water.

[Age]

It's a long story, but I get (30 gal + per minute) of great tasting well water, but I recently read some interesting stuff about drinking distilled water, and despite all the reasons why some say not to drink it, I just started drinking a couple glasses a day, We'll see, I guess. So far, I'm startin' to like the stuff.