09/02/09: Washing Your Horn

Sometimes regular oiling just isn't enough. The valves just stick or move slowly despite your best efforts at valve maintenance. And while this could be signs of a more serious condition such as oxidation of the raw brass valves (which should be cleaned by a repair professional), a very common cause for sticky valves is simply that they are dirty.

A valve can become dirty for a number of reasons. Over time, despite even our best efforts not to blow crud through our horns (seriously, though, brushing your teeth before you play does wonders to keep your horn clean), food particles, dirt, dust, etc. find their way into the horn. And, since you are blowing air over the surface of the valves when you play, all of this crud eventually finds its way to the valves. Even more common than this, though, is the fact that a lot of the most commonly used slide greases on the market have chemical additives to help them last longer. These additives tend to gum up the valves when the grease is broken down by the valve oil. For a sure-fire way to prevent this from happening, check my past blogs for tips on proper valve and slide maintenance.

If your valves are slow or sticking, they must be cleaned to restore their speed. And just like dish-soap can cut the grease left on our plates, washing your horn with a good grease-cutting dish soap can help clean the dirt and grease deposited in the valve casings.

Fill a bath tub with warm (but not hot) water. Add a liberal amount of dish soap while the tub is filling. Pull out all of the slides of the horn and submerge all parts of the horn in the soapy water. Rotate the horn to allow the water to fill every pipe. Allow the horn to soak for at least an hour (maybe longer if one or more of your valves are completely stuck). After an hour, take a snake brush and use it to clean the inside surface of every pipe on the horn while the horn is still under water. Use an old cloth (like a bath wash cloth) to scrub the surfaces of the slides to remove old grease deposits. Rinse the inside and outside of every piece until all of the soap is removed. Dry the horn with a lint-free cloth or lint- free paper towels.

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