How often do you give your trombone a bath…

[mainstay73]

…with complete disassembly?

[norbie2018]

Never. I clean individual part of the instrument but never submerse it in water.

[tbdana]

Monthly, on the first of each month. At least, for the horns I've been playing that month. They get a full bath and cleaning inside and out. I'm not into turning my horns into petri dishes for biology experiments.

[hyperbolica]

I've got several horns, so it's like changing the oil on a car - after a certain amount of usage. The bass is sensitive to getting stuff in the valves, so I clean the slide more often. Same is true for all horns, but I'm more paranoid about getting even water in the bass valves. Snake/rod as appropriate. Cheese cloth on the rod, and Dawn on the snake. I don't use the bathtub, I use a hose in the shower that puts full pressure in the slide tube. If I look down the top slide and don't like what I see, I wash it. I've got the shower right next to my instrument area, so it's easy to step in and just do it.

Cleaning the euphonium or tuba is a different issue, and takes more time and effort. Although I've heard a lot of tuba people say they don't wash at all (the tuba that is). All my worst cleaning stories come from tubas - dead mice, slime, green flakes, visible buildup... Can't even imagine what techs who clean school horns all day come across...

[BGuttman]

A routine bath does not involve things like disassembling a valve. You can soak an F-rotor, flush, and relube but if you find it needs disassembly it's Tech Time. I don't have a regular schedule for soak baths; just when it strikes my fancy.

[Burgerbob]

I don't typically bathe valve sections. Slides, sure.

[trombonedemon]

Slides get bathed every two weeks or so. For sure.

[Crazy4Tbone86]

A routine bath does not involve things like disassembling a valve. You can soak an F-rotor, flush, and relube but if you find it needs disassembly it's Tech Time. I don't have a regular schedule for soak baths; just when it strikes my fancy.

Yikes! Do you really place your entire bell section under water while the valve section is assembled? That is something I do not recommend. That will just encourage faster accumulation of mineral deposits in all the nooks and crannies of the valve.

[harrisonreed]

I wouldn't submerge the slide, either. The cork barrels definitely don't need water getting in them, especially if there is felt in there. You can funnel water through the tubes.

[AndrewMeronek]

I tend to focus on the mouthpiece side of the slide and clean that on a somewhat regular basis, every month or so. That's where the 'ol bodily fluids will do the most damage over time. I also try to get each horn to a professional cleaning every year.

[BrianJohnston]

I get my horns professionally cleaned once a year. I clean out my slide once a month & I bathe my entire trombone every 3 months. This seems to work for me.

[dukesboneman]

I use this on mine about once a week, depending on the amount of playing.
I like it because it`s long enough to clean the entire outer slide too
https://www.hickeys.com/music/brass/tro ... snake-.php

[tbonesullivan]

I use the brass saver through my inner slide every time I lube it. Even with brushing teeth and rinsing etc it's amazing how fast gunk builds up.

[Posaunus]

I use the brass saver through my inner slide every time I lube it. Even with brushing teeth and rinsing etc it's amazing how fast gunk builds up.

Brass Saver through inner AND outer slides (after wiping all old lube off outer surfaces of inner slides).

[Matt K]

More often than I want and less often than I should.

[tbonesullivan]

I use the brass saver through my inner slide every time I lube it. Even with brushing teeth and rinsing etc it's amazing how fast gunk builds up.

Brass Saver through inner AND outer slides (after wiping all old lube off outer surfaces of inner slides).

For the outers I use either the SOM swabs or a rod and cheese cloth to avoid gumming up the Brass Savr brush. I do usually run it through once to get stuff out of the crook though.

[whitbey]

I rinse out slides every week or two. Maybe one a month for a horn I rarely play.

Sometimes I just do a quick flush, Or I pour in white vinegar and Dawn soap. Push a snake though and maybe a bronze gun brush. Then flush it out.

The trick it the flush it out tool. I have old MP with a small shank and one with a large shank soldered to a garden hose fitting. Make the quick disconnect to my office/studio sink and turn on the water. Being able rinse everything out quick and easy is the way to go. This takes just minutes.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/15AN3J0 ... drive_link

[JameyMorgan]

Clean the slide with a non-metal brush and cleaning rod every week. Wipe off and re-apply tuning slide grease as necessary, typically every other week. I sometimes use Brasso on the slides if they're tarnishing. I may sometimes get some room-temperature dish soap and water on a towel and wipe down the exterior surfaces of the horn, but I never submerge any part in water.

I get my horns professionally cleaned once a year, or I did before I got to Hawaii.. they desperately need it now but I've tried to clean them more regularly myself here.

[Posaunus]

Clean the slide with a non-metal brush and cleaning rod every week. Wipe off and re-apply tuning slide grease as necessary, typically every other week. I sometimes use Brasso on the slides if they're tarnishing. I may sometimes get some room-temperature dish soap and water on a towel and wipe down the exterior surfaces of the horn, but I never submerge any part in water.

I get my horns professionally cleaned once a year, or I did before I got to Hawaii.. they desperately need it now but I've tried to clean them more regularly myself here.

Now that you've apparently moved to Hawaii, it's more important than ever to put away your trombones "dead dry" after playing. An occasional professional cleaning may help (I do not need to do that annually), but a regular hygiene protocol is mandatory to extend the efficient function (and life) of your instruments. I regularly swab both inner and outer slides with an HW Products Brass Saver (soft brush), followed by an absorbent cloth-wrapped cleaning rod (usually a Slide-O-Mix towel sheath) until completely dry. I don't find the need to re-apply tuning slide grease very often - it seems to last quite a while for me. I do lubricate my valves and linkages regularly - perhaps more than I need to, but lubricants are cheap. And I almost never give my trombones a bath any more - they are already meticulously cleaned by my normal hygiene protocol. With all this (and gentle wiping with a microfiber cloth) my trombones remain near perfect, with smooth slides (thank you Yamaha) and silent valves.

[TomWest]

Using an alto sax silk swab I swab out the inner slide, tuning slide and bell section after every time I play it. I wash the horn thoroughly weekly, give it a good wipe down and reapply tuning slide grease.