Baltimore Recorders.org

Recorders and Hygiene

It is February and is still prime season for the flu, and respiratory infections. Someone asked me about disinfecting their instrument after they were sick. I thought that this would be an appropriate time to write an article on hygiene and instruments.

I will begin with a warning. Infections can be life threatening, and cleaning your instruments can damage them beyond repair. Thus there are significant risks involved regarding the topic discussed here. The advice provided cannot take into account your specific situation, and thus may not be appropriate for you. The advice I provide attempts to balance the risks from infection with those of the risk to the instrument. Use the advice provided here at your own risk, and that of your instruments. By reading further you agree that you will not hold Michael Berger, or the Society for Early Music liable for the results of your actions.

I will begin by encouraging basic hygiene. If you play a wind or brass instrument, then it is desirable to brush your teeth prior to playing. This decreases the potential contamination of the instrument with particulate matter from your mouth. Such matter can be host to infectious organisms, and can promote mold growth in the instrument. It is also desirable to wash your hands prior to playing, so as not to expose the instrument to contamination from dirt, or other substances that may effect its finish and or function.

Musical instruments can harbor harmful bacteria and viruses. Unfortunately, in many instances, the delicate nature of the instruments does not lend them to disinfection. However, there is a silver lining, that the risk of reinfecting yourself with a virus is low if you are not immuno-compromized and three to four weeks have passed which allow your body's primary antibody response to develop. Further, brass and wood do not harbor as many bacteria as plastics.

In most circumstances I do not believe that special care with respect to hygiene is necessary in regards to wooden recorders that you have played in the past, that you have not let other people play. (Exceptions to this may be if you are immuno-compromized, if you had a particularly grave condition such as Ebola virus, or if the instrument is moldy.) If you have recently acquired a wooden recorder and it is dry (it has not been played in more than a month and the wood is not moist) and it is not moldy, then I do not believe that there is significant risk of infection from the instrument.

If you believe that you are at risk of infection from an instrument then you can attempt to clean it, but you do risk damaging the instrument. There are three separate agents that are commonly available that can be used to clean a wooden instrument. The first is alcohol. A 70 percent solution of isopropol alcohol is one of the more desirable formulations, as the water helps the alcohol cross the cell membrane. The second is hydrogen peroxide. The 3 percent formulation is usually used. The last is ultra-violet light. Any one of these methods will greatly reduce the number of living viruses and bacteria on the instrument. However, it should be noted that even when using these disinfecting agents, the instrument will not truly be disinfected. Some bacteria can still live in the grain of the wood. Hydrogen peroxide and alcohol can be applied with a lint free swab. The most critical areas to disinfect are the beak and the interior of the beak. Submerging the beak in the solution is most effective, but is also by far the most damaging to the instrument. When using ultraviolet light be sure to expose the interior of the beak to the light. The amount of time that is needed for the UV light to kill bacteria and viruses is dependent on the intensity of the light. I believe that ultraviolet light may be the least harmful of the methods to the instrument. However, it may also be the least effective method, as the light may not penetrate the grain of the wood as well as the liquid agents. If all of the above agents are unsatisfactory, then you should consult a professional. They may use phenol based agents such as thymol (which are used in some mouthwashes), Ethylene Oxide gas, irradiation, iodine, silver, or even freezing the instrument. Again, any of these methods can severely damage the instrument.

Another course of action would be to sell the instrument. I believe that this would be rather drastic. You can ask yourself, do you dispose of your toothbrush after you have had a cold?

For plastic instruments, you can wash them with mild hand/dish soap and water. Be careful not to scratch the instrument, as such scratches in the bore can change the acoustics, and also can harbor bacteria. I would not recommend cleaning a plastic instrument with other chemicals. Most plastic recorders are made from Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) plastic. (An exception to this is Ecodear, which is used in some instruments made by Yamaha). Although hydrogen peroxide can be used on ABS resins, it may bleach them. Ultra violet light may discolor ABS plastics.

Bacteria and viruses do not survive well without moisture. Thus, thoroughly drying plastic instruments is desirable in killing bacteria and viruses. Drying also helps with wooden instruments. However, they may have coatings of oils in which bacteria and viruses can survive. Thus, it may not be possible to truly dry them.

In addition to bacteria and viruses there is another contagion, mold. Unfortunately, mold can withstand dry conditions and can live on wood and on plastic. To kill mold, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, or ultraviolet light is necessary. This is not to say that drying instruments is not important with respect to mold. In general mold will not propagate in dry conditions. Thus, keeping the instrument dry will help prevent mold. However, it will not remedy mold that has already been established.

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