Disinfecting a harmonica?

[ElectroVibe]

PS: already soaked it and poured hydrogen peroxide through it. It's fine.

That may work, but I don't know if it could be repeated.

 

[fhm555]

I played in a traditional electric blues band for a couple years. A blues guy would book a job then get on the phone and round up a band so harps were a big part of my musical education for quite a while.
I developed a foolproof cleaning method that never fails to work.
1. Obtain harp in need of cleaning
2. Place harp on a largish flat rock
3. Smash harp with another big rock* until it is unrecognizable as a harp. *Absent a second rock any heavy blunt object will serve.
This also works to tune a harp and is highly recommended for any and all harps belonging to players asking to sit in.

 

[mongo2]

In the recent hurricane Florence flooding, my bag with about 15 harps in got soaked by flood waters. How best to sanitize that many harps??. Very costly to replace. we evacuated before the winds started. Didn't expect the water to rise like it did.

When Sandy ripped through here six years ago we were under threat of evacuation so I put all my instruments and electronics in the attic which is a bit over 13 ft above ground level. After we lost power the laptop I had been using to follow the progress of the storm also went in the attic. The power outage was caused by the 16ft storm surge that roared up the river located about 1/2 mile away inundating the local power station. The outage lasted for nearly two weeks. Fortunately we didn't have to evacuate and that storm surge didn't reach us.

 

[SurferJoe46]

I'd just rinse them out with hot water and a little bleach a couple of times - rather quickly letting them dry after each dunking - but not the stuff they sell as laundry bleach these days which is Calcium Hypochlorite (sp?).

Sodium Hypochlorite was the old fashioned 'bleach' for washing clothes - but it was discontinued as being too hard on septic systems. You can find this as a pool additive.

From: Wikipedia: The most common chlorine-based bleaches are:

• Invalid Link Removed (NaClO), usually as a 3–6% solution in water, usually called "liquid bleach" or just "bleach". Historically called "Javel water". It is used in many households to whiten laundry, disinfect hard surfaces in kitchens and bathrooms, treat water for drinking and keep swimming pools free of infectious agents.
• Bleaching powder (formerly known as "chlorinated lime"), usually a mixture of calcium hypochlorite (Ca(ClO) calcium hydroxide (lime, Ca(OH) and Invalid Link Removed (CaCl in variable amounts. Sold as a white powder or in tablets, is used in many of the same applications as sodium hypochlorite, but is more stable and contains more available chlorine.

If they are take-apart-able, then do that to remove any/all the sediment and then air dry them after every quick soaking.
Sunshine, time and oxygen are three of the best sanitizers you can use.

I wouldn't be afraid of them after that sortta treatment.

 

[mongo2]

I developed a foolproof cleaning method that never fails to work.
1. Obtain harp in need of cleaning
2. Place harp on a largish flat rock
3. Smash harp with another big rock* until it is unrecognizable as a harp. *Absent a second rock any heavy blunt object will serve.
This also works to tune a harp and is highly recommended for any and all harps belonging to players asking to sit in.

LOL, we've had our share of bad singers and harp players sitting in but the worst was a trombone player.

 

[fhm555]

LOL, we've had our share of bad singers and harp players sitting in but the worst was a trombone player.

Whats the joke about when the trombone players kid went to the playground? He did fine on the slide but he never learned to swing.

 

[CallMeCHaz]

Y'all are making this way too hard. Germs are extremely fragile, and don't survive on dry surfaces. If disinfecting makes you feel good, do it. Cleaning to mitigate buildup on the reeds is more important than disinfecting. But if you insist, NEVER use bleach. Any first year chemical student will tell you it reacts with most metals, including brass! If you don't believe me, google it. Secondly, never brush a reed plate! It is not necessary, and you are begging for a bent reed. Third, washing a wood comb is a lot different than "soaking" it. Blowing into a harp for 2 hours on a gig imparts plenty of moisture into a wood comb. Dipping one into a warm, soapy disinfectant for 30 seconds will not "soak" into the comb, but it will get into every nook and cranny. Rinse, shake and blow the water out. Contrary to what is often published, dipping it into (minimim) 70% alcohol for a few seconds will kill anything will dry quickly, and will not react with the metal or swell the comb. Lee Oscar manufactures harps and recommends alcohol. Same with hydrogen peroxide. It kill germs quickly, and won't harm your wood comb if you dip it and let the peroxide do it's job for 30 seconds before rinsing and blowing. No bleach...don't soak...relax.