Boiled my strings for the first time....Holy Sh*t

[gregmon79]

The best tool is an ultrasonic cleaner. Distilled water, a few drops of an anti-biologicals detergent like Tween or Triton-X, a few drops of isopropanol, and 10 minutes in the US. No heat, corrosion, or other issues. Just removes hand oils, skin debris, fast food residue, etc.

Now I just have to go get me one of those. Home Depot??

 

[jmlee]

Actually they're pretty cheap, used by jewelers etc. Try Amazon, eBay. $100-200. I use the one in my lab.

 

[funky_boss_mx]

if you're on a tight budget try this, i've done it with excellent results:
get a toothbrush and mineral oil (baby oil will do), soak the toothbrush in the oil and brush your strings upwards, downwards, backwards, all directions.
clean thoroughly with a very absorbent material to retrieve al oil and dirt residues. do not rinse.
re string your bass and enjoy.

 

[Milk]

I've done it twice before some years back. Wouldn't say they sounded like new again but it was very much an improvement. You could also take the habit of washing them weekly with a bit of rubbing alcohol. I used to bother back in the days but lost the habit with time. Anyway, i've been meaning to change mine and AM a bit low on cash so i think i'm due to do this again.

 

[LordDog]

Soak them in Methylated Spirits, which is the UK name for Denatured Alcohol (I think), as it seems to work better than boiling IMO.