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how to clean a melodica

Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 7:19 pm
by dubproof
i have a Honer Piano 26. it's really, really, really old. i think it needs a cleaning. sometime the keys wont play the note and you have to blow in it real hard to get the sound. any tips on how to clean a melodica would be very helpful.

Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 8:58 pm
by Klaus5
IM afriad ive never seen an actual melodica in real life, so this could be way off the mark..

Can you not unscrew it and open it up?

I had a quick google and it looks like that should be possible, as to tune it you need to open it to get to the metal reeds.
http://www.melodicas.com/tuning.htm

Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 9:29 pm
by dubproof
yes you can unscrew it and open it, but i'm no expert and wouldn't want to break it. also i haven't been able to find what kind of cleaning agents are good for the reeds.. thanks for the link tho because i'm sure it will need tuning too.

Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 12:33 am
by JahNice
Dont fear.You dont need to be a scientist to open the melodica, just be very
carefull with the small metal plates(reed). If you change their position or
bend them you can easily destroy the sound of your melodica. If some of
the keys dont work as good as the others, it is propably also a reed
problem. I had this problem with my Hohner Soprano and it was due to
one plate that did not move properly because of a little oxidation.
I did not clean the reed cause the oxidation was just next to it,so i just
scrathed it off with a screwdriver.

Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 6:05 am
by dubproof
ok cool. i'll attempt operation.

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 7:13 am
by Flamprider
I took mine apart and used switch cleaner and a tooth brush on the metal reeds, carefully lifting them up to clean underneath them.
I think I spilt beer on it or summut.
That seemed to work for me.