Re: [Harp-L] taste of tobacco

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

I've encountered this occasionally on used chromatics. 

If it's screwed together and has a plastic comb, you can simply disassemble it 
and wash the parts in warm water with mild dish soap, then rinse thoroughly.

If it has a wood comb and is nailed together, you've got a bigger problem, but 
you need to do basically the same thing.  

You can unscrew and wash the covers, mouthpiece, and slide assembly, but you're 
still left with the reedplates and the comb. 

First thing is to get a good knife to pry up the reedplates. it should be thin 
enough to insert under the long back edge of a reedplate, be as least as long as 
the reedplate, and wide enough to give good leverage. A cheap kitchen knife 
should work. Pry up the back being careful not to dig the knife into the comb 
surface. Then pry up each side.

Saving the nails in their original configuration (perhaps on a piece of adhesive 
tape) will allow you to re-insert the nails later in their original holes. Or 
you may choose to drill the comb and reedplates for screws. If you go this 
route, leave the side screws in place to hold the ressplates on the comb and 
drill out the holes along the back, first with a drill size that will allow the 
bottom plate to be tapped for your chosen size of screw (look up tap drill sizes 
on the net), then, after removing the bottom plate, with the clearance drill 
size.

WARNING: If you live in a humid climate, or a fairly dry one, the comb can 
change shape once both reedplates have been removed. removing one plate and 
leaving the other attached, or leaving the comb totally exposed for only a short 
period, can increase your chances of having the comb and reedplates fit when you 
reassemble. Alternately, if you need to do a lot of work on the reedplates, 
attached another set of plates from the same model while you work on the plates 
in question.

If the harmonica is really smoke fouled, you should replace all the windsavers, 
as these trap smoke residues and are more easily replaced than fully cleaned. 
Pull them off and scrape away any glue residue. 


You can wash reedplates in warm soapy water. You can use a toothbrush, but be 
careful not to snag the reeds. If you want to remove grit and tarnish, I might 
recommend MAAS metal polish, which won't abrade the metal surface significantly.

Once the reedplates are clean, install new valves. You may want to gap and tune 
the reeds as well, testing by holding the reedplates and covers on the comb with 
the slide assembly in place.

Cleaning a wood comb is more ticklish. Moisture can make it swell and change 
shape, so cleaning with liquids of any kind is to be avoided.

First, removing odors is not enough. You want to actually remove the 
cancer-causing residues themselves. I mention this because you may have heard 
about building an ozone chamber to get rid of smells, but the more I read about 
this, the more it seems to be pure hocus pocus and it won't get rid of the 
residue anyway.

Sanding the top and bottom of the comb can remove whatever particles might have 
crept between the reedplates and the comb and help to ensure or restore 
flatness, but your main target is the reed chambers. Mild sanding with a sanding 
wand might be helpful. I generally buy old chromatics for parts, and seldom 
reuse wood combs, so maybe someone else has better advice. 

When you're done, though, why not just sale the comb against moisture and also 
cover up any remaining residues. Use a spray-on acrylic. Spraying has the 
advantage of relatively even coverage and not introducing enough moisture to 
cause swelling or warping. Hang the comb up by a thread through one of the screw 
holes and lightly spray, applying several coats between the recommended drying 
period. You can paint it on inside the reed chambers for better coverage, but 
you run the risk of introducing enough moisture to cause swelling and warping.  
Winslow
Winslow Yerxa
Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
Harmonica instructor, The Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance
Resident expert, bluesharmonica.com
Columnist, harmonicasessions.com




________________________________
From: John Taylor <johnatjumpjiveandswing@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tue, February 1, 2011 3:08:24 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] taste of tobacco

Hi. just bought a 12 hole chromatic off ebay in excellent condition but the 
previous owner was a smoker
the taste is so strong that I feel as though I could get throat cancer from 
playing it anybody offer a method of removing the smell and taste so I can start 
to learn how to play the instrument, this effect
is probably worsened by the fact that I have never smoked and the same applies 
to almost all my
friends so I am not around the smell of tobacco. Hope you can help ------- John

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