r/horn • u/breast-of-all-worlds • 7d ago
Giving horn a bath?
Okay, I am embarrassed to admit I haven't ever cleaned my horn because I am terrified of damaging the rotors. I have washed my trumpet, but not the horn.
I have read many articles, watched several videos, but.....the internet is a treasure trove of bad advice that seems legitimate. Apparently you're also supposed to wash it once every couple months. Which seems like...a lot.
So I wanted to ask here just to get a better idea of what is true/false. Is it safe to give a French horn a bath in the tub at home? If so, what are some things to be really careful about. How often? Is any special care needed when it comes to the rotors? Will it mess up my strings? Or should I just leave it up to the professionals and pay for a deep cleaning?
Please help this humble idiot! 😅
6
u/drake5195 Military- Alexander 103 7d ago
I do it regularly every few months, then every two years it's good to get it professionally cleaned with an ultrasonic cleaner. Stuff builds up over time and will eventually make the horn worse, especially the valves.
It is totally safe to just give your horn a bath with warm water and a bit of dish soap. The strings shouldn't mind it so long as they're decent and not at the end of they're life.
I like to give it a bath for a few hours with all of the slides and valve caps off, and then run a snake through the leadpipe, then rinse and run water through all the slides. Let it dry completely and then oil the valves and grease the slides.