[Harp-L] Jason Ricci's Mongoose Free Harp Cleaning Method

["sam Blancato" <samblancato@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

People aren't going to like this post.

It's kind of funny reading everybody's approach to cleaning their
harmonicas.  After fooling around with them for so long now I'm finding two
things to be true.  First, brass is pretty durable material and it will
stand up to most cleaners you have around the house with maybe the exception
of bleach and ammonia; and I think denture cleaner is pretty mild stuff too.
And getting it rinsed off really well is probably more important than
anything.  Secondly, as Jason's video demonstrates it's really easy, when
you're really into harmonicas, to turn anything to do with caring for our
harps into a fetish of sorts.  If you just stop and think about it a minute
you can see that any mild soap and maybe just a little brushing with a soft
brush will do the job; and it only needs to be done every 6 or 7 months.
Sonic cleaners, denture tablets, searching out cleaners with unusual names
like Kaboom, it all starts to get a little silly.  

Sorry if I sound kind of snotty; I just think it's a bit much, especially
Jason's cleaning ritual - I don't care how good a harp player he is.
There's not correct protocol here; just clean the gunk off.  Most of the
time this can be done by running warm water over the harp without even
taking it apart and this goes for wood combed harps too if you shake out the
water right away.  I do it all the time and haven't had one swell out of
shape yet.  

Of course I only clean harps on the third day after the Feast of Beltane -
that's why it never gets jinxed.

Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh