This covers everything from daily habits to a thorough clean, but please
if you own a Customised Harmonica ask your customiser for guidelines
on safe cleaning habits as they may have different design features that are
vunerable to some products.
eg. Bleach, solvents & detergents could be a problem for certain designs.
* Bleach will ruin and discolour any silver plating or components.
* Some custom designed harmonicas rely on certain adhesives which
solvents and detergents could ruin or remove.
* Wood if submerged in water will swell, warp, and later on shrink and
possibly split.
* Some solvents (and solvent glues) can ruin certain types of plastic on contact.
I think it is important to thoroughly clean my chromatics from time to time for health reasons,
as well as to avoid a sticky slide action and reduce windsaver problems.
Thourough cleaning is especially important when you sell or purchase a second hand harmonica.
By its nature the harmonica is an ideal breeding ground for little nasty cultures, when food debris and sticky saliva is blown through with a players warm breath.
In the past I have been disgusted by the green fuzz & other unmentionables I've found under the covers after a few months of playing.
Hopefully that's enough motivation for you to get the covers off your instrument.
An ounce of prevention is worth a ton of .... well you know.
What you put in your mouth will end up in your harmonica when you play it.
Unsticking the Slide, Errant Windsavers and Keeping the Mouthpiece Clean
When you go to play your chromatic you may find the slide is stuck,
usually its due to dried saliva and residue from playing that makes the slide stick.
There are a few things you can do to free up the slide action:
Cleaning the slide assembly & windsavers on a fairly regular basis will avoid problems.
I figure about once a month is close enough, but whenever troubles begin is a good indicator anyway.
When the slide resists pushing, sticks regularly or has sluggish reaction its time to give the slide assembly a good clean.
Cleaning the Slide Assembly
As a general rule water is the best lubricant for the slide action. Other lubricants can be poisonous, and also can cause collection of food particals and bacteria. Its better to keep the slide mechanism clean and use a small amount of water.
If you are using a toothbrush take care not to poke it into the holes because of the windsavers & reeds.
When you start getting regular popping and buzzing from your harmonica its time to give the windsavers a good clean.
Following the disassembly instructions above, remove the covers & reedplates from your harmonica. (The mouthpiece & slide can stay)
However with Gold or Silver plated parts typically the mouthpiece, DO NOT use abrassives. You can safely use PURE lemon juice and water with a soft cloth, this can also remove mild tarnishing.
This is a full blown routine I follow when I receive or sell a second hand chromatic harmonica. Its also good to do once in a while just to keep your harmonica healthy for you. The idea is to wash out or kill anything that can breed and make it nice & clean so it works smoothly. If you own a customised harmonica please ask your customiser on safe methods, some bleaches & detergents can cause problems for custom harmonicas. Don't use bleach with silver plating or components.
However Denture Cleaning Tablets are useful for sanitising certain parts of the harp depending what they are made of. For instance a chrom plated mouthpiece would be a good candidate since matter gets caught in nooks & crannies. However I wouldn't put a silver plated components in with these tablets. If you're not sure, then don't do it.