Trumpet is a musical wind instrument. If you are a person who can play trumpet then you must know how to clean your trumpet. Being a wind instrument it will be subjected to constant debris and air from your mouth and it times it may clog the valves and will spoil the instrument. Thus proper care and cleaning of the trumpet becomes mandatory for an artist.

Clean the Trumpet

1.    First of all you need to dismantle the instrument and this will ensure proper cleaning of every part. Remove the valves carefully by gently sliding them out. While removing the valves you have to number them accordingly and this will help you to keep the valves back to its normal place. Also remove the tuning slides of the respective valve and then with a slight twist remove the mouthpiece.

2.    Piston being the most fragile part of the trumpet has to be removed with maximum care. The hubs on the outer covering of the piston and the finger pearls on the top of the piston have to be unscrewed carefully.

3.    There will be lubricating oil on the spit valves and tuning slides and you have to clean them by wiping it with a paper towel. If the slides of the trumpet are jammed then apply some penetrating oil to them and allow it to sit for half an hour.

4.    Make mild soap solution with water and immerse the instrument in the soap water. For cleaning trumpets a long springy wire with bristles attached to both ends called “snake” is available in the market. Snake is very flexible and will reach all the curves of the trumpet. You can insert the snake through the mouthpiece with a gentle pull.

5.    In order to clean the valves and slides thoroughly you have to keep the snake inside the trumpet and then run water through it.

6.    For cleaning the mouthpiece you will get mouthpiece brush. Immerse the brush in soap water and stroke the mouthpiece gently while keeping it under running water.

7.    Clean each part of the trumpet with the snake and brush and allow it to dry in air. After two hours take the trumpet and wipe it with a dry cloth and then with a polishing cloth.

8.    Now reassemble your trumpet and give valve oil to the valves and grease the slides and slide them slowly back to their position. Put back the piston and all other parts in to place and screw them properly.