Wash your reed after playing each time or not?

[hellas]

Some of my band members said that DON'T wash reed by tap water after playing, just wipe off moisture with cloth or tissue paper and then put it back to reed case. Because of washing reed by water will shorten life of reeds!

However, some said washing reed will prevent development of mold and won't shorten lifespan of reeds. I'm really confused about this issue. :?

[GAS_Wyo]

The only mold I ever saw on a reed was not due to saliva moisture, but water moisture. Leave the reed on the mouthpiece and play it till it cracks or falls apart. I only take reeds off the mouthpiece when they (1) quit playing mid-session, (2) I'm wetting it before starting to play or (3) I'm breaking in a whole box. My reeds usually last about 6-8 hours of playing.

[quackattack]

Hmm.. maybe you can use some citrus oil spray or something to disinfect the reed so the mold doesn't grow...something non-toxic you can keep in your case!

[JJ]

I always use running water and a soft toothbrush. Just be careful not to damage the tip. I feel that when using the brush, the reed can be used up to 50 percent longer. (Not scientific proofed though :) )

[stefank]

If I'm at home I will always rinse the reed (and mouthpiece) in fresh water. If I'm somewhere else and that's not convenient (or likely to be hygenic) I don't worry about it.

[RandyJ]

I usually wash of my reed(s) and rinse my mouthpieces after a performance. If the dressing rooms do not have a sink I'll use the glass of water I wetted the reed in before playing to rinse it off again before putting it in a case.

JR

[swingmanstan]

Wash reed off with clean water, dry it, put it in the rred holder.
Run brush through mouthpiece every time and put "mouse" in it before back in the case.
Once a month wash mouthpiece with slightly soapy luke warm water, dry off with soft cloth.
Must be an Engineer!!!
StanB

[michaelbaird]

I prefer to soak mine in water 5min prior to playing and put them back when I'm done.

[retread]

I run them between my thumb and forefinger, then put them in the reed case, then run a cotton handkerchief through the mouthpiece.

[BlueTrane2028]

Hearing how everyone meticulously takes care of their reeds makes me feel like I'm gross or something. I'm not the one that leaves the reed on the mouthpiece for an eternity, but I only clean the mouthpiece out when it looks bad inside, and i just put the reed back in its holder when I'm done playing... no special treatment.

[gary]

Squeeze it between two fingers to get the excess moisture out and put it in a reed holder - although I think rinsing it off probably has its benefits.

[magical pig]

Wash mouthpiece with fingers and mild soap under tap water. Run tap water (and sometimes soap as well) inside neck. I leave my reeds in 90% water 10% mouth rinse solution so after playing, I squeeze it between my fingers, put it back there, rinse the whole thing and change the liquid with fresh one. Finally pass swab a couple times inside the body and I'm done. From time to time when I see a pad that's really looking bad and filthy I use on of those little cotton swabs for the ear, put lighter fluid on it and rub the pad mildly with them.

Victor.

[ScottyBlues]

Wash your reeds!?! Why? Then you don't get to have the wonderful experience of putting dried spit in your mouth the next time. And after 4 or 5 iterations, any decent reed should develop a veritable ecosystem of bacteria. Mmmm, bacteria.

Was that sufficiently sarcastic? I put this right up there with the practice I've seen where people "wash" their contact lenses by putting them in their mouth. Good thinking, dude!

[JoeScreamnShout]

Don't wash you reed OR mouthpiece, (unless they get all gross and sticky and covered in germs :blob:), cos it'll ruin the sound, especially with an older but not yet dead reed. Just wipe off the gross and case it, or be lazy like numerous friends of mine and leave it on the mouthpiece.

[SpeakNoEvil]

Don't wash you reed OR mouthpiece, (unless they get all gross and sticky and covered in germs :blob:), cos it'll ruin the sound.

The reed washing thing might be debatable, but the mouthpiece? Are you saying that when you get a new mouthpiece, it is not yet at it's true potential because it is clean?

[bluesaxgirl]

I don't understand the concept that a clean mouthpiece is no good. :?

I preferrably (perhaps of superstition) don't clean my mouthpiece before an audition just because, but really can a dirty mouthpiece be better than a clean one?

[JoeScreamnShout]

The reed washing thing might be debatable, but the mouthpiece? Are you saying that when you get a new mouthpiece, it is not yet at it's true potential because it is clean?

Pretty much yep. I know it sounds weird, but as the layer of saliva, (eww), develops inside the sax and mouth piece, it changes the sound. If you then wash all of this away, then your noise is gonna suddenly change and you have to get used to the sax all over again. Unless you clean out the whole thing religiously every day, then you shouldn't really clean it until it gets ridiculous
Either that, or I'm the weirdest sax guy I know.

[bluesaxgirl]

^ :shock:
Okay...do you think that's causing the my sound to be worse?

[JoeScreamnShout]

^ :shock:
Okay...do you think that's causing the my sound to be worse?

Probably not, (if you were referring to that anyway).
If you have always cleaned it out, then it shouldn't make any difference at all, but if like me you haven't washed it for a couple of weeks and then you do, then be prepared for a bit of a shock. I did that when I first got the sax and my mum thought I'd broken it or something. Now I wash it every now and again, but never before a concert or anything.

[bandmommy]

Don't wash you reed OR mouthpiece, (unless they get all gross and sticky and covered in germs :blob:), cos it'll ruin the sound, especially with an older but not yet dead reed. Just wipe off the gross and case it, or be lazy like numerous friends of mine and leave it on the mouthpiece.

Thats' just plain lazy and gross.

Keep your piece clean.

[JoeScreamnShout]

Well then "reed" below you, (sorry that's a terrible pun and I swear it won't happen again)

[Joy, John or Joyce]

The only mold I ever saw on a reed was not due to saliva moisture, but water moisture. Leave the reed on the mouthpiece and play it till it cracks or falls apart. I only take reeds off the mouthpiece when they (1) quit playing mid-session, (2) I'm wetting it before starting to play or (3) I'm breaking in a whole box. My reeds usually last about 6-8 hours of playing.

Mold problems may depend on where you are living (geographically speaking and the type of home you are living in). My guess is that anyone with mold problems in reeds etc may benefit from an AirFree purifier (nope, no shares ;) - I wish!). It is absolutely silent and looks cool, too. May work wonders for your resp. system as well!

I suspect that occasionally, the molds may already come with the reed (maybe with, say, reeds bought at stuffy shops about to go out of business). But that is just a hunch.

(I have a bit of a thing with fungi. It used to be really bad, but it's not as bad anymore as it used to be and I have no clue what might be growing in reeds. But eh, in general, the things are amazing. They can grow absolutely anywhere. I once burst out laughing when I encountered an article about molds on buckminsterfullerene aka buckyballs. :D)

(Oops, unintended hi-jack attempt - because I am a newbie and I don't have much else to add yet)

[hakukani]

I squeeze the moisture out by squeezing the reed between thumb and index finger, and go from vamp to tip. Then I put it in the reedguard (old style aluminum).

[Fader]

hmmm.......I wipe it off on my jeans and into the holder..... :)

the dang things only last a few days or so......and they're clean jeans.....

[CraigAB]

When I was a teenager I used to leave the reed on the mouthpiece until it broke. Now I'm 38 I always wash the mouthpiece. I don't like the idea of getting sick because of some germ living in the mouthpiece. As for the reed I rinse it before I put in the reed guard.

[jrvinson45]

If I don't clean the mouthpiece when I'm through practicing, I'll surely have to clean it before I start the next time. Also, if I don't rinse the reed, it starts to get a "taste"... sorta like chickens**t.

[retread]

Also, if I don't rinse the reed, it starts to get a "taste"... sorta like chickens**t.
Uh, I think I'll take your word about that taste. :D

[notes_norton]

When I'm done, I wipe the reed with a cloth and put it in the reed holder. Then I dry the mpc and put it in the case. I have 4 reeds in rotation (the capacity of my reed holder). Every once in a great while, I wash the mouthpiece, but really not that often (Link brass mpc)

You have to be tough to be a "real" saxophonist ;)

To tell you the truth, I don't worry about the germs on the mouthpiece. I brush my teeth before the gig, I don't eat on the gig, and I only drink a mixture of green and oolong tea (no sweeteners or other additives). Any "germs" that hang out on the reed came from me in the first place, so I figure I can handle them.

BTW, as a side note, I've never-ever missed a gig, and I've been playing as my primary source of income since the 1960s. I catch a cold every 10 years or so and it is usually very mild.

Insights and incites by Notes

[ShedShark]

I wipe it off on my sock and put it on the shelf.

I also had a nightmare last night that if I rub my used reeds a worm will appear. It's selfish and doesn't ask me if I want to make a wish.

[zorroperro]

One of the good things of Plasticovers... wash them and to the reed holder...

[BowlegMonkey]

I take my reed off after I finish playing, but where I live the climate is very dry and putting the reed back in the reed case is a bad idea. Instead, I have a "poor man's humidifier" to keep my reeds from drying out. I take a small, sealed container (like Tupperware) and take a ladies nylon ankle height stocking and fill it with rock salt, then tie a know in the stocking to keep the salt in. Then I put about 2 - 3 OZ of water on the salt stocking, enough so that there is some water visible in the container. I use a small piece of glass (beveled edges) and secure the reeds flat on the glass using several rubber bands. This keeps the reeds flat and keeps some moisture around them so they don't warp and dry out.

[quackattack]

interesting thread.... I use a Selmer glass reed case, this has been the best aid for preserving reed life for me. The little plastic holders that come with the reeds do not work for storage. I don't wash off the reeds but I do dry them off on a cloth before I press them against the glass. I am curious though if some sort of treatment like a wipedown with antibacterial spray might be of value, to prevent the green stuff from growing? I don't think it's a good idea to wash the reeds off as this might make them warp faster.

[BYOB]

Hm. I've never actually washed my reeds - I've just wiped the moisture off by squeezing it between my thumb and forefinger. It seems to do the trick - I've never had mold, even on reeds that've been 6 months to a year old. They don't taste any different either - so I'd assume that enough moisture was wiped off that the rest can just disolve on its own.

[wersax]

I've always wiped off the reed and put it in a reed case, even with synthetics. And I clean the mouthpiece, especially wiping off the table/facing. No gunk there puh-leezzzz...........;)

[Jeff C]

I just wipe the reed carefully on a soft cloth, then into my Selmer reed case. The one w/ glass in it. I wipe my mouthpiece off, washing it occasionally. Then after all my equipment is secured, I soak it in cider, as often as she'll let me. :shock:

[Yamahaaltoplayer]

I wipe it dry with my lips. Never had a problem.

Btw, put all your reeds into the accesory compartment, and take a random reed each time! I do that, and they seem to last longer because they don't get played one day after another (usually). And you don't have to number them!

[notes_norton]

One of the good things of Plasticovers... wash them and to the reed holder...

I tried using Plasticovers, and I noticed that when they were brand new, they made my tongue a little numb. Then as the plastic started flaking off, I figured I was ingesting the same thing that made my tongue numb. Not knowing if this was harmful or not, I went back to Rico regulars.

BTW, the case that I store my reeds in is not the cardboard case they come in. It is a little plastic/aluminum (I think) case. I believe it was called a Reed Saver or something like that. I bought them over 20 years ago so I'm not sure.

Notes

[DavyRay]

I rinse the mouthpiece out if it is convenient. If not, I just shake it out. (Yeah, you could make a joke here.)

I sometimes remove the reed and put it on a smooth surface to dry. This is sometimes a problem, as I have about three mouthpieces around, and don't always keep up with which one was on which mouthpiece.

What do you do with loose reeds? Just stick with one main mpc? Keep the reeds separate? Not worry about mix and match?

[AA3NK]

Nah, just wipe it on the curtains! ;)

[quackattack]

After reading this thread, I am now dipping my reeds in mouthwash briefly after playing and wipe it off before storage, in hopes it will kill the mold and make them last longer!

[Saxmusiclover]

I wash it once a week together swabs.