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C Melody Saxophone Forum / C-Tenor (C-Melody) Saxophones / Sinky Sax Sindrome

Next 20 Messages

Danny
User ID: 2992754 Oct 1st 1:45 AM
Hello folks, does any one out there know of a remedy for a stinky old C Melody Buescher. I mean this horn smells so bad I can't even approach it. My wife makes me keep it outside in a sheltered garage and I agree with her. When I play tested it the first time I just tried to blow and not breath in since the fumes seem toxic.
The case stinks as well. I don't want to take it apart and bathe it since the silver plate is very clean and nice and the pads are excellent. It actually plays very well and has a great sound. It needs nothing other than deodorant. Please help!!!

Danny
User ID: 2992754 Oct 1st 11:30 AM
Sorry I can't spell or type very well. That was supposed to be "Stinky Sax Syndrome".

Guy-UK
User ID: 1300074 Oct 1st 12:41 PM
If you still have sunny days in your part of the country the best thing to do is to remove the sax from the box and let the box sunbathe for as long as is possible. You can also use something like Fabreeze which you can buy in the supermarket, just spray the inside of the box with that and let it dry and it will eradicate the smell. You may need to do this two or three times though depending on how stinky the box is. As for the sax, if you have one of those pad savers, spray it with Fabreeze and clean the sax with it. Hope this helps

Danny
User ID: 2992754 Oct 1st 2:15 PM
Thanks so much for your suggestion. I have it bathing in the warm sun of New Orleans right now. I already tried Febreeze on the case but was afraid to put it on the horn. It didn't have any affect on the case initially so I sprinkled dry baking soda powder all over inside of the case, then wrapped the horn in paper and put in the case and closed it for about 10 hrs. Upon opening I vacuumed all powder out and it still stinks. After the sun goes down I’ll try your suggestion of spraying Febreeze on the fuzzy and stuffing it down the tube for an overnight treatment but first I will test Febreeze on some old kitchen silverware to see what happens to the silver plating. At this point I’ll continue to alternate between sun, Febreeze and baking soda for a few days. I wish there were something that would work faster because it is hard to look at my new toy and not be able to play it, after all a sax should be heard and not seen. Once again thanks for your help and I will continue posting the results on this web page.

Captain Muggles
User ID: 9454293 Oct 2nd 10:34 AM
Danny....That smell only comes from silver plated old saxophones. The lacqured saxophones do not have that smell. The smell comes from a chemical reaction from the tarnish on the silver. Even when you polish the saxophone the smell will not go away completely. As the other posters on this forum have said: "Air it out". The fabreeze will work on the case or anything that is made of cloth, but under no circumstances should you put it on the silver surface of the saxophone itself. To show you how strong that smell is, I bought a Silver C melody sax about 2 years ago. I used Fabreeze on the case and aired it out. It took about 75 Hours of airing in the summer sun over a period of about 15 days to get rid of the smell. Now I have the horn encased in a plastic pillow case cover. I take the horn out about once a month and set it by an open window with a nice breeze. I also leave the case open at all times until I take the horn to a gig. This procedure works fine for me. I make sure the horn is oiled at all times. I also clean it with a mild detergent and then dry it off. The horn does not smell any more, nor does the case! This is the problem with silver horns. Being in a closed case all the time traps the tarnish smell on the velour inside of the case. It is a tedious process of caring for the horn, but it is worth it in the long run. Also keep some scented dryer sheets in the case!

Danny
User ID: 2992754 Oct 3rd 10:30 PM
Thank you, Captain Muggles, for your input. But I already exposed the Febreeze to the metal. I sprayed it on a pad saver fuzzy stick and stuck it down the tube over night. I think the smell has abated 50% now which was enough to brave another test blowing session. WOW! I love the sound. I hope the Febreeze won't have any adverse affect on the plating. I'll try now to remove the Febreeze residue by
swabing out the tube really good with a clean/dry pad saver fuzzy stick.

Alan (UK)
User ID: 8200143 Oct 4th 3:58 AM
Danny - No harm in trying a fuzzy stick impregnated with (e.g.) one of those anti-bacterial hand washes. Febreeze leaves a neutral smell, but the washes get rid of odours better, and leave a fresh(er) smell to counteract residual odours.

And it's usually hypo-allergenic, so, if it doesn't damage my hands, it's not going to hurt the leather pads - if anything it'll soften them. That is, assuming you want to keep them ? A lot of the smell will have been absorbed into the leather....

(Must have had some brain food recently, there are some fancy words in there !)

Captain Muggles
User ID: 9454293 Oct 4th 4:06 PM
Danny....It's perfectly alright to put it inside the down tube. Just try not to get it on the outside plating! It is non corrosive, so it should not really harm anything.

WW2
User ID: 1585334 Oct 4th 8:02 PM
Captain Muggles, sorry to contradict you, but the first sax I played was a Conn Student Sax, lacquer plated not silver. This was way back in 1969, but I remember the "Bottom of a monkey's cage" smell as if it just hit me a minute ago. That is a unique smell and is difficult to get rid of! I tried to spray Lysol in the case, but just got a saxophone and case that smelled like the bottom of a monkey's cage that had been sprayed with Lysol. Thankfully, in 1970, my parents bought me a Buescher True Tone Alto in gold plate with no smell.

Right now, I have a bare brass C-Mel (Buescher) that has that horrible smell. I also have an old Silver Plated C-Mel (gee, another Buescher) with that smell. The smell permeates the cases and makes anything nearby reek! My wife made me park them in the garage. The stench is so bad that I have to wear rubber gloves to play them. If I touch them with my bare hands I cannot get the smell off even after several washings. After a day or so the smell leaves my hands.

I was told by a self-proclaimed expert that the smell is caused by bacteria that are living in the pads and in the saliva coating inside the sax. The bacteria are harmful to the pads and the materials in the case. Ozone gas or exposure to Sunlight will disinfect the case. The Ozone and the Sunlight KILL the bacteria. Perhaps Fabreeze does also.

The only permanent solution is to replace all pads, corks, and felts and thoroughly clean the metal parts inside and out. Can you say "Overhaul"?

The best preventative measures are exactly as the good Captain Muggles says; proper maintenance and let the thing air out and dry!

Of course, this is simply one man's opinion and is certainly worth the price you paid!

Captain Muggles
User ID: 9454293 Oct 5th 9:35 AM
WW2.....You did not contradict me. As you stated in your post; One of your horns is bare brass (suseptipal to tarnish) and one is silver plated, (also suseptipal to tarnish). The smell you remember on the lacquer sax was probably from saliva, (not swabbing the horn?). But without a doubt, the worst smell comes from the black patina tarnish when enclosed in a case for a long period of time along with the horn having saliva in the down tube and on the pads and rods. The bacteria from the saliva and the tarnish makes for a God awfully smell and an unsafe playing condition. (Bacterial infection)!

WW2
User ID: 1585334 Oct 5th 11:12 AM
Oh, that makes sense Captain.

Does this mean I should do a "sniff test" on my two stinky horns to verify that the silver one stinks more than the bare brass? If memory serves, it is the more odoriferous of the two.

Perhaps my dogs, who have noses 10,000 time more sensitive than mine, could do the test for me?

Anyway, thanks for the added information. Also, the noted "unsafe playing condition (Bacterial infection)!" is well taken. I think I will NOT mess with the horns until I properly overhaul them. This would be my first foray into a complete overhaul rather than my usual "emergency field repairs". Hey, what a great idea for a series of articles on this site!

Danny Oct 5th 12:57 PM
Here in New Orleans many (all) of the flooded homes have mold problems and mold remediation companies use an ozone machine or a baking soda solution. I’m not sure of the details but I will check into it. The ozone guys build a tent over the building and put their magic machine inside to do its’ work. The baking soda people spray the solution all over like sand blasting. Also HVAC (heating ventilation air conditioning) contractors clean old ducts with ozone treatments. Reverting

Alan (UK)
User ID: 8200143 Oct 5th 3:17 PM
As I said " A lot of the smell will have been absorbed into the leather...." Change those pads !

But once you start to overhaul thesax, you'll find that the bacterial smell will soon be replaced/overwhelmed by the penetrating/release agent that tou use on the stuck screws/rods. All the more reason to be generous with it, an big oily rag on a long stick will soon suffocate the bacteria !! Engineering hand cleaning jelly also works great in the bore, removes the residue left by the oily rag AND anything else.......

WW2
User ID: 1585334 Oct 6th 11:25 AM
Thank Alan (UK)!

I guess I will be doing this in the garage rather than the house. Now I just have to figure out how to keep the cat away from the work area!

Alan (UK)
User ID: 8200143 Oct 6th 11:52 AM
A big hungry dog chained to the workbench....... (as long as the workbench is bolted to the wall....)

Danny
User ID: 2992754 Oct 11th 6:34 PM
Well folk I've rented a portable Ozone generating machine from the local hardware store that rents tools. I had to call around to find one. BEWARE ! They are dangerous and could cause death if an unsuspecting victim were to enter an ozone shock treated room, as I was told by the store 7 times before leaving with it, so protect people, pets, plants, etc... I have it now running in my garage with the sax and case and all smelly peices being exposed. It rents for US$25/day. I've seen them on the internet stores selling for US$400-2,000 depending on size and extra features. Will let it run over night and check on it in the morning.

ken uk
User ID: 0171704 Oct 16th 6:47 AM
I was going to make a suggestion at the start of this thread but could not remember the name. Now that I have found it, events seem to escalated somewhat. Anyway...it is an 8 ounce bottle of "Sterisol" (made in Cleveland, Ohio)Germicide pump spray for wind instruments. It is supposed to clean, deodorise and disinfect. It will not damage metal, lacquer, wood, hard rubber, plastic or garage doors! The bottle cost me £2.75.
Good luck Danny.

ken uk
User ID: 0171704 Oct 16th 8:05 AM
Danny, I keep having visions of your garage full of scientific equipmentand and danger signs surrounding a poor lonely old sax! I hope you don't mind this other suggestion:
When you have your sax in good order how about playing a variation of Phoebe Buffet's song from the 'Friends' series: "Smelly Cat". You could play "Smelly Sax". Sorry about this, I don't want to rub it in!
http://www.mystrands.com/group/101/journal/733
It's on U Tube.

Guy-UK
User ID: 1300074 Oct 16th 9:24 AM
Sterisol Germicide is available at MIR in the UK. Here's the link http://www.mir-sales.co.uk/acatalog/General_Brass_Accessories.html

ken uk
User ID: 0171704 Oct 16th 10:06 AM
Drat. The link above for "Smelly Cat" doesn't work.
Guy. MIR. That's where I bought mine. I'm lucky to have them just in the next town from me.

Next 20 Messages

Danny User ID: 2992754	Oct 1st 1:45 AM Hello folks, does any one out there know of a remedy for a stinky old C Melody Buescher. I mean this horn smells so bad I can't even approach it. My wife makes me keep it outside in a sheltered garage and I agree with her. When I play tested it the first time I just tried to blow and not breath in since the fumes seem toxic. The case stinks as well. I don't want to take it apart and bathe it since the silver plate is very clean and nice and the pads are excellent. It actually plays very well and has a great sound. It needs nothing other than deodorant. Please help!!!
Danny User ID: 2992754	Oct 1st 11:30 AM Sorry I can't spell or type very well. That was supposed to be "Stinky Sax Syndrome".
Guy-UK User ID: 1300074	Oct 1st 12:41 PM If you still have sunny days in your part of the country the best thing to do is to remove the sax from the box and let the box sunbathe for as long as is possible. You can also use something like Fabreeze which you can buy in the supermarket, just spray the inside of the box with that and let it dry and it will eradicate the smell. You may need to do this two or three times though depending on how stinky the box is. As for the sax, if you have one of those pad savers, spray it with Fabreeze and clean the sax with it. Hope this helps
Danny User ID: 2992754	Oct 1st 2:15 PM Thanks so much for your suggestion. I have it bathing in the warm sun of New Orleans right now. I already tried Febreeze on the case but was afraid to put it on the horn. It didn't have any affect on the case initially so I sprinkled dry baking soda powder all over inside of the case, then wrapped the horn in paper and put in the case and closed it for about 10 hrs. Upon opening I vacuumed all powder out and it still stinks. After the sun goes down I’ll try your suggestion of spraying Febreeze on the fuzzy and stuffing it down the tube for an overnight treatment but first I will test Febreeze on some old kitchen silverware to see what happens to the silver plating. At this point I’ll continue to alternate between sun, Febreeze and baking soda for a few days. I wish there were something that would work faster because it is hard to look at my new toy and not be able to play it, after all a sax should be heard and not seen. Once again thanks for your help and I will continue posting the results on this web page.
Captain Muggles User ID: 9454293	Oct 2nd 10:34 AM Danny....That smell only comes from silver plated old saxophones. The lacqured saxophones do not have that smell. The smell comes from a chemical reaction from the tarnish on the silver. Even when you polish the saxophone the smell will not go away completely. As the other posters on this forum have said: "Air it out". The fabreeze will work on the case or anything that is made of cloth, but under no circumstances should you put it on the silver surface of the saxophone itself. To show you how strong that smell is, I bought a Silver C melody sax about 2 years ago. I used Fabreeze on the case and aired it out. It took about 75 Hours of airing in the summer sun over a period of about 15 days to get rid of the smell. Now I have the horn encased in a plastic pillow case cover. I take the horn out about once a month and set it by an open window with a nice breeze. I also leave the case open at all times until I take the horn to a gig. This procedure works fine for me. I make sure the horn is oiled at all times. I also clean it with a mild detergent and then dry it off. The horn does not smell any more, nor does the case! This is the problem with silver horns. Being in a closed case all the time traps the tarnish smell on the velour inside of the case. It is a tedious process of caring for the horn, but it is worth it in the long run. Also keep some scented dryer sheets in the case!
Danny User ID: 2992754	Oct 3rd 10:30 PM Thank you, Captain Muggles, for your input. But I already exposed the Febreeze to the metal. I sprayed it on a pad saver fuzzy stick and stuck it down the tube over night. I think the smell has abated 50% now which was enough to brave another test blowing session. WOW! I love the sound. I hope the Febreeze won't have any adverse affect on the plating. I'll try now to remove the Febreeze residue by swabing out the tube really good with a clean/dry pad saver fuzzy stick.
Alan (UK) User ID: 8200143	Oct 4th 3:58 AM Danny - No harm in trying a fuzzy stick impregnated with (e.g.) one of those anti-bacterial hand washes. Febreeze leaves a neutral smell, but the washes get rid of odours better, and leave a fresh(er) smell to counteract residual odours. And it's usually hypo-allergenic, so, if it doesn't damage my hands, it's not going to hurt the leather pads - if anything it'll soften them. That is, assuming you want to keep them ? A lot of the smell will have been absorbed into the leather.... (Must have had some brain food recently, there are some fancy words in there !)
Captain Muggles User ID: 9454293	Oct 4th 4:06 PM Danny....It's perfectly alright to put it inside the down tube. Just try not to get it on the outside plating! It is non corrosive, so it should not really harm anything.
WW2 User ID: 1585334	Oct 4th 8:02 PM Captain Muggles, sorry to contradict you, but the first sax I played was a Conn Student Sax, lacquer plated not silver. This was way back in 1969, but I remember the "Bottom of a monkey's cage" smell as if it just hit me a minute ago. That is a unique smell and is difficult to get rid of! I tried to spray Lysol in the case, but just got a saxophone and case that smelled like the bottom of a monkey's cage that had been sprayed with Lysol. Thankfully, in 1970, my parents bought me a Buescher True Tone Alto in gold plate with no smell. Right now, I have a bare brass C-Mel (Buescher) that has that horrible smell. I also have an old Silver Plated C-Mel (gee, another Buescher) with that smell. The smell permeates the cases and makes anything nearby reek! My wife made me park them in the garage. The stench is so bad that I have to wear rubber gloves to play them. If I touch them with my bare hands I cannot get the smell off even after several washings. After a day or so the smell leaves my hands. I was told by a self-proclaimed expert that the smell is caused by bacteria that are living in the pads and in the saliva coating inside the sax. The bacteria are harmful to the pads and the materials in the case. Ozone gas or exposure to Sunlight will disinfect the case. The Ozone and the Sunlight KILL the bacteria. Perhaps Fabreeze does also. The only permanent solution is to replace all pads, corks, and felts and thoroughly clean the metal parts inside and out. Can you say "Overhaul"? The best preventative measures are exactly as the good Captain Muggles says; proper maintenance and let the thing air out and dry! Of course, this is simply one man's opinion and is certainly worth the price you paid!
Captain Muggles User ID: 9454293	Oct 5th 9:35 AM WW2.....You did not contradict me. As you stated in your post; One of your horns is bare brass (suseptipal to tarnish) and one is silver plated, (also suseptipal to tarnish). The smell you remember on the lacquer sax was probably from saliva, (not swabbing the horn?). But without a doubt, the worst smell comes from the black patina tarnish when enclosed in a case for a long period of time along with the horn having saliva in the down tube and on the pads and rods. The bacteria from the saliva and the tarnish makes for a God awfully smell and an unsafe playing condition. (Bacterial infection)!
WW2 User ID: 1585334	Oct 5th 11:12 AM Oh, that makes sense Captain. Does this mean I should do a "sniff test" on my two stinky horns to verify that the silver one stinks more than the bare brass? If memory serves, it is the more odoriferous of the two. Perhaps my dogs, who have noses 10,000 time more sensitive than mine, could do the test for me? Anyway, thanks for the added information. Also, the noted "unsafe playing condition (Bacterial infection)!" is well taken. I think I will NOT mess with the horns until I properly overhaul them. This would be my first foray into a complete overhaul rather than my usual "emergency field repairs". Hey, what a great idea for a series of articles on this site!
Danny	Oct 5th 12:57 PM Here in New Orleans many (all) of the flooded homes have mold problems and mold remediation companies use an ozone machine or a baking soda solution. I’m not sure of the details but I will check into it. The ozone guys build a tent over the building and put their magic machine inside to do its’ work. The baking soda people spray the solution all over like sand blasting. Also HVAC (heating ventilation air conditioning) contractors clean old ducts with ozone treatments. Reverting
Alan (UK) User ID: 8200143	Oct 5th 3:17 PM As I said " A lot of the smell will have been absorbed into the leather...." Change those pads ! But once you start to overhaul thesax, you'll find that the bacterial smell will soon be replaced/overwhelmed by the penetrating/release agent that tou use on the stuck screws/rods. All the more reason to be generous with it, an big oily rag on a long stick will soon suffocate the bacteria !! Engineering hand cleaning jelly also works great in the bore, removes the residue left by the oily rag AND anything else.......
WW2 User ID: 1585334	Oct 6th 11:25 AM Thank Alan (UK)! I guess I will be doing this in the garage rather than the house. Now I just have to figure out how to keep the cat away from the work area!
Alan (UK) User ID: 8200143	Oct 6th 11:52 AM A big hungry dog chained to the workbench....... (as long as the workbench is bolted to the wall....)
Danny User ID: 2992754	Oct 11th 6:34 PM Well folk I've rented a portable Ozone generating machine from the local hardware store that rents tools. I had to call around to find one. BEWARE ! They are dangerous and could cause death if an unsuspecting victim were to enter an ozone shock treated room, as I was told by the store 7 times before leaving with it, so protect people, pets, plants, etc... I have it now running in my garage with the sax and case and all smelly peices being exposed. It rents for US$25/day. I've seen them on the internet stores selling for US$400-2,000 depending on size and extra features. Will let it run over night and check on it in the morning.
ken uk User ID: 0171704	Oct 16th 6:47 AM I was going to make a suggestion at the start of this thread but could not remember the name. Now that I have found it, events seem to escalated somewhat. Anyway...it is an 8 ounce bottle of "Sterisol" (made in Cleveland, Ohio)Germicide pump spray for wind instruments. It is supposed to clean, deodorise and disinfect. It will not damage metal, lacquer, wood, hard rubber, plastic or garage doors! The bottle cost me £2.75. Good luck Danny.
ken uk User ID: 0171704	Oct 16th 8:05 AM Danny, I keep having visions of your garage full of scientific equipmentand and danger signs surrounding a poor lonely old sax! I hope you don't mind this other suggestion: When you have your sax in good order how about playing a variation of Phoebe Buffet's song from the 'Friends' series: "Smelly Cat". You could play "Smelly Sax". Sorry about this, I don't want to rub it in! http://www.mystrands.com/group/101/journal/733 It's on U Tube.
Guy-UK User ID: 1300074	Oct 16th 9:24 AM Sterisol Germicide is available at MIR in the UK. Here's the link http://www.mir-sales.co.uk/acatalog/General_Brass_Accessories.html
ken uk User ID: 0171704	Oct 16th 10:06 AM Drat. The link above for "Smelly Cat" doesn't work. Guy. MIR. That's where I bought mine. I'm lucky to have them just in the next town from me.