How do you disinfect a guitar?

Re: How do you disinfect a guitar?

Securb said:
When we were teenagers my drummer's dog lifted his leg and peed in the grill of the other guitarist's Fender Champ. God bless you, Paco, you were a good dog.
Click to expand...

Bought a Marshall combo one time that someones cat had been using as a ltter box and peeing in. Finally got the smell out but was a good fight. Not fun to deal with!!
 
Re: How do you disinfect a guitar?

I have to ask (because, well, I'm me)...


WHY on earth do you need to disinfect? Psychological disorder, or were you using a strippers @$$ crack as a stage stand?

guitar+stand+butt.jpg
 
Re: How do you disinfect a guitar?

Perhaps the guitar was in a household where black mold was present. Or a communicable disease, even.
I doubt the OP would've asked about disinfection if it were simply an odor issue.
But I could be completely mistaken about that.
Maybe it's just smelly or really, really grungy.
 
Re: How do you disinfect a guitar?

More detail is needed in order to answer the question.

What kind of "infection" does the guitar have? And where?

We are three pages in, and we have no information other than that it didn't happen at NAMM. That's helpful.
 
Re: How do you disinfect a guitar?

If we take 'disinfect' literally, it's not going to be as simple as wiping it down with ANYTHING. Medical laboratories use high heat and pressure (a device called an 'autoclave') to disinfect anything with crevices or inaccessible areas; something a guitar is covered in.

I've had to disinfect a room contaminated with sprayed, HIV-positive, blood. Medical advice was that anything less than a specific solution of chlorine bleach, dripping from every surface and infiltrated into every possible crevice, would not be reliable in terms of 'disinfection.'

If you're dealing with something like that, I'd consult a company specializing in disaster clean-up and remediation, to get clear direction on what will actually 'disinfect' the guitar. Those folks are experts at bloodborne pathogen clean-up.

Larry
 
Re: How do you disinfect a guitar?

Jeepers. Things are gettin' a little extreme here wouldn't you say??? LOL!!!

Dunno but I'm figuring if you're gonna have to contact a company that specializes in disaster clean-up and remediation: maybe it's time to ditch the thing and get a new one!!! LOL!!!

Given the OP's disappearance though: I hope he is alright i.e. not caught something from the guitar!!!
 
Re: How do you disinfect a guitar?

Aside from regular rock show sweat, blood, spit and beer that normally I am skeeved out about after a show anyways -has anyone here played on a Strip Club stage? Well I have and those girls rubbed themselves all over my guitar and such .... and being generally downright Seinfeldian when it comes to germs... you can bet I disinfected everything about that 335 and case before it re-entered my home -maybe 3 or 4 times.... the case smell from the smoke was terrible too -I pitched the case.

I killed the strings and strap, washed everything with deteregent and water, alcohol on the electronics like pickups and pots, then Naptha on most surfaces and in every crevice with a crevice tool

then after multiple passes -relubbed the nut, oiled the fretboard, relubbed pots etc etc.

the emotional toll was the hardest part though.
 
Re: How do you disinfect a guitar?

And here I am trying to get my sh*t together so that I can play pubs and clubs??? And this coming from someone who is anal about his own fingerprints on his guitars??? LOL!!! May be time for a re-evaluation of the goals!!! LOL!!!
 
Re: How do you disinfect a guitar?

Obsessive Compulsive said:
You could've used alcohol (common sense) and refrained from creating useless, pointless thread.
Click to expand...

And you could've kept your snotty response to yourself (common sense) and refrained from responding to my supposed useless, pointless thread. For your information I just received a response from Stew Mac and they don't recommend anything with alcohol as it could possibly ruin the finish and rather recommended Naphtha. Having said that, clearly you aren't as knowledgeable and as smart as you think you are and are a legend in your own mind.
 
Last edited:
Re: How do you disinfect a guitar?

^^^ Plus -how could this thread be pointless and useless -clearly we are just starting to uncover how to clean communicable stripper germs off a guitar.


-Also -IMO Alcohol really should only be used on pickups and some other electronics on a guitar.
 
Re: How do you disinfect a guitar?

Jeffblue said:
Go buy Lysol wipes. Designed to kill germs.
Click to expand...

Someone already recommended Clorox Wipes. These wipes are for household cleaning not cleaning finished wood instruments. That's the point of this thread you can't use any old product as you risk ruining your guitars finish, etc. They may be designed to kill germs but they aren't designed to be used on guitars. With all the junk they probably put in those it's not likely that they'd be guitar safe.
 
Last edited:
Re: How do you disinfect a guitar?

Seriously, guitar is painted wood and pieces metal! You don't need a degree in chemistry to clean it.

Nitro finish may have some limitations in regards of harder cleansing products. But if it's poly, alkyd or acryl, any of the usual modern paints generally, just about anything you don't need special protection to use is fine.

I once cleaned my guitars fretboard with a brake cleaner. I won't do that again as it looked like it had been under desert sun for a decade for a two weeks afterwards. It was perfectly good later on so no lasting harm. Now I know that.

EDIT: Guitarists are generally that familiar with alcohol I'm sure we'd all know if it would melt your guitars finish...
 
Last edited:
Re: How do you disinfect a guitar?

I’m dumbfounded that his thread is still going.
The last thread where I asked for pickup recommendations got 3 responses....3!
 
Re: How do you disinfect a guitar?

larryguitar said:
If we take 'disinfect' literally, it's not going to be as simple as wiping it down with ANYTHING. Medical laboratories use high heat and pressure (a device called an 'autoclave') to disinfect anything with crevices or inaccessible areas; something a guitar is covered in.

I've had to disinfect a room contaminated with sprayed, HIV-positive, blood. Medical advice was that anything less than a specific solution of chlorine bleach, dripping from every surface and infiltrated into every possible crevice, would not be reliable in terms of 'disinfection.'

If you're dealing with something like that, I'd consult a company specializing in disaster clean-up and remediation, to get clear direction on what will actually 'disinfect' the guitar. Those folks are experts at bloodborne pathogen clean-up.

Larry
Click to expand...


Nope you are conflating disinfection with sterilization. I disinfect tools before I sterilize them in an autoclave. If you take disinfect literally it means to clean something of infection. it doesnt mean kill everything. This is why there are biocides and antiseptics. They do different things.

HIV is actually a fairly easy pathogen to deal with. A 10% solution of bleach kills it quite rapidly. Hell it will even die if you let it dry out. But I digress.

The point we should be getting at is that not all infections require the same level of disinfectant. If someone sneezed on his guitar that is a different situation from it having been doused with necrotizing fasciitis.

Odds are depending on the finish of his guitar some simple rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide will do the trick.
 
Re: How do you disinfect a guitar?

Question: "If it is recommended on this forum to simply use warm soapy water to clean a guitar, why am I the only one who thinks that antibacterial hand soap will 'disinfect' a guitar...???"

You're 3 year old nose-picking nephew comes over and decides to have a go at it with your guitar. Warm soapy water.

Puke that you fortunately didn't choke on last night in your sleep. Warm soapy water.

Now we're "disinfecting" a guitar.

Pet urine...??? Sure, we have to disinfect, but now the REAL issue is "How To Remove A Smell." Same with a used guitar that you bought from a smoker.

Contaminated biohazard...??? Now we've crossed the line.

WARM SOAPY WATER...!!! Use antibacterial hand soap. Why am I the only one...!?!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Securb
How well do we know each other?
2 3
Replies
45
Views
362
Artie
Artie
blakejcan
how do you make the heel of a Les Paul Jr neck?
Replies
17
Views
125
blakejcan
blakejcan
N
How many months should I wait?
2 3
Replies
42
Views
287
switchman
S
C
What guage do you use for Db?
Replies
14
Views
91
weepingminotaur
weepingminotaur
W
Waiting after setup
Replies
10
Views
149
Securb
Securb
Back
Top