RE: [Harp-L] Cleaning diatonic reed plates

["Steve Shaw" <moorcot@xxxxxxx>]

Over the years I've found that you don't have to do any dismantling of 
diatonic harps (thinking here only of unvalved ones) to keep them clean.  
I've read in many different places that you should never immerse harps in 
water but my view, in the light of experience, is that this is just 
poppycock.  After every session I rinse all my 10-hole harps fore and aft in 
a stream of tepid water then give them a thorough shake-out and tapping.  
They then spend the night out of their cases on a tray in a warm room to dry 
out.   I even do this with my MS wood-bodied harps and my Echo tremolos.  I 
swear they all come up sounding nice and bright.  If you don't believe me, 
just try it on one of those spare harps that lies around for months in your 
kitchen collecting dust and getting a quick blast every time you pass 
through.  The difference can be amazing.  I know that moisture is corrosive, 
but after a long night's use your harps are full of a moist mixture of all 
sorts that's much worse than the plain water resulting from your rinsing.  
And they'll be much more hygienic once washed, if you care about such 
things.  The only time I'd bother to dismantle to clean is in the case of a 
second-hand harp, in which case I use a warm solution of denture cleaner, 
once I've scraped off all the visible crud.  Give wood bodies a scrub with 
an old toothbrush and warm water but be quick about it.  If you ever use a 
toothbrush on reeds, always brush in one direction only, from the rivet to 
the free end, never in the other direction.   You WILL wreck reeds if you 
do!

Steve


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