Cleaning Elixir Nanowebs?

[lbwdog]

Just went back to Elixirs a few weeks ago. I've always liked the slightly smoother feel compared to conventional round wounds, and since I'm only playing two to three gigs a month, they seem to last a while.

Thing is, the first four gigs I've played with this set have been outdoors, and down here on the humid Southern Coast, you can immediately feel the effect on the neck and strings. Just last Sunday, I played an outdoor festival right on the gulf. A heavy squall sprang up and we got rained on before I could bag my bass. Needless to say, when I resumed playing, the strings and neck felt like they were coated with syrup, no matter how much I wiped them with a clean, dry cloth. FingerEase helped, but I don't like to leave this on the strings when not in use.

I know denatured alcohol is recommended for cleaning conventional strings, but feel it could be harmful to the Nanoweb coating......Any suggestions?

[redwood]

You know, it's probably more a matter of the moisture in/on your hands than the strings. I've found that if I use some of the alcohol antibacterial gel (that's everywhere now with the swine flu craze), it dries my hands really well, and helps to minimize the "stickyness" effect of high humidity.
Plus it's cheap, and might keep you from getting sick in the long run.
BTW - I use Elixers too.

[Meatrus]

Alcohol may well melt the coating, Acetone certainly does (dont ask me how I know that!). I dont get why its like syrup? Is it water mixed with dirt from your hands? If so I would just wash them in hot (not boiling) soapy water, then dry them with a hair drier (I'm making this up as I go along).

If its a big problem, just change the strings and lemon oil the board, and maybe as you dont play that often buy some cheaper strings so it doesnt sting too much!

[tercesyrev]

Forget the alcohol and acetone. Here's an old secret a guitar tech told me years ago. Use a dab of dish soap (Palmolive, Dawn etc) on a wet wash cloth and slide up & down the strings indivudally, wipe off with another damp wash cloth, then dry with a dry cloth. It's that easy, works on any type of string. Dish soap is made to cut through grease yet gentle on skin so it doesn't hurt the wood. It does a great job cleaning the skin oil and any other crap build up on the strings. It's the best thing to clean anything from car wheels to grease spatter on your clothes after cooking up some bacon.