How To Clean Your Saxophone Neck

How To Clean Your Saxophone Neck

How To Clean Your Saxophone Neck

This step-by-step guide will show you how to clean your saxophone neck and we’ll show you easy ways to clean the inside of a saxophone neck, care for the saxophone neck finish, and you’ll learn how to clean a tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, and even bari saxophone necks. Because each sax neck is slightly different!

Do you ever clean the saxophone neck?

Yes. Every time you finish playing your saxophone you should clean the neck using a swab. It’s that simple and should be a regular part of your saxophone care routine.

How to clean neck of a saxophone

To clean the neck of your saxophone, you should:

  1. Shake the moisture out of the saxophone neck after playing.
  2. Use a swab to remove extra moisture inside the sax neck.
  3. Use a soft cloth to wipe clean the saxophone neck exterior and cork.
  4. Wipe the saxophone neck tenon clean to remove dirt or grit.
  5. Store the saxophone neck in the neck slot of your case. If your sax case does not have a dedicated neck storage spot, use a soft cloth or pouch to protect the saxophone neck
  6. Keep the  saxophone neck cork clean and soft with cork grease. See our guide for that.
  7. Protect the exterior finish of your saxophone neck by occasionally using a clean soft cloth to wipe Lemon Pledge onto the exterior metal.

See the image below showing how a quality silk swab can be used to clean inside every part of the saxophone body including mouthpiece, neck, and body.

Gif of silk swab pulling through an alto saxophone to dry the inside and keep the pads clean and dry without sticking to tone holes

⚠️CAUTION: Never use hot or cold water to clean your saxophone neck. Extreme temperatures can damage the clear lacquer that covers and protects saxophone neck metal. Plus, intense temperatures can also cause sax neck cork to bloat and fall off. Extreme temperatures are not needed to clean your saxophone neck if you practice daily cleaning habits described above, and occasionally use lukewarm water as needed to clean the inside of the saxophone neck.

How to clean the inside of a saxophone neck

To clean the inside of a saxophone neck, you should:

  1. Shake the moisture out of the saxophone neck after playing.
  2. Use a swab to remove extra moisture inside the sax neck after playing.

Following these two simple steps after every saxophone playing session will help keep the inside of a saxophone neck clean! If you don’t clean the inside of your saxophone neck it will begin to rot and stink and corrode the metal. That’s bad for your health and bad for the health of your saxophone.

In addition to regular saxophone neck cleaning after each playing session, every month or so, run lukewarm water through the neck to help keep it clean. This is discussed in more detail below.

How to get mold out of saxophone neck

If you are asking this question it’s probably because your saxophone neck has already grown mold. Mold growth inside a sax neck is a symptom of much bigger problems - the sax has not been cleaned and cared for regularly as it should be. Thankfully you can often fix the root problem on your own, and if not, professional sax repair techs can.

To remove mold from inside a saxophone neck, follow these steps:

  1. Use lukewarm water (never hot or cold water) to gently rinse the inside of the sax neck.
  2. Rotate a coiled paper towel into the large end of the neck tube and rotate to rub loose the mold.
  3. Remove the paper towel in the reverse direction it was inserted. Repeat as needed. This should remove most of the mold and gunk inside a saxophone neck.
  4. If mold and gunk remains inside your saxophone neck, it’s time to take your saxophone into a professional repair tech for a cleaning oil and adjustment (COA). The repair tech can ultrasonic clean the saxophone to safely remove all the mold, oils, and gunk stuck inside your saxophone. This is a smart investment in the health of your saxophone and your personal health. Playing on a moldy saxophone is unhealthy, smelly and disgusting. Don’t do it to yourself! You deserve a clean well playing horn.

Prevention is the best medicine! To prevent mold growth inside a saxophone neck, follow these daily cleaning and care steps every time you play:

  1. Always remove the saxophone mouthpiece from the saxophone neck.
  2. Always clean the saxophone mouthpiece, sax neck, and sax body, after playing.
  3. Always avoid food and drink before and during saxophone playing sessions.
  4. Have your saxophone professionally serviced and cleaned every 18-36 months depending on how much you play.
  5. Discourage mold growth at the top of your saxophone by using a Vent Vine. This opens all the pads above the left hand so they air dry.

A Vent Vine show installed on an alto saxophone to help air dry the high pads of the saxophone.

This is proven to help prevent mold, fungus, and gunk from growing inside the saxophone and sax neck. See images below.
An image showing sticky rotten mold growth inside saxophone tone holes. One sax has bad mold and the other does not because it used Key Leaves care products.An image showing sticky rotten mold growth inside two alto saxophone necks. One sax has bad mold and the other does not because it used Key Leaves care products.

    How to clean tenor saxophone neck

    Clean your tenor saxophone neck by following the steps above and be sure you are using a swab designed to fit through the tenor saxophone neck. The tenor saxophone neck has an extra curve, so if you use a cleaning swab that is too bulky, it will become stuck! We recommend using a silk swab because it is compressible and designed to clean the entire inner tube of the saxophone including the body, neck, and even the mouthpiece.

    How to clean alto saxophone neck

    The best way to clean an alto saxophone neck is to simply run a cleaning swab through the neck after each playing session. This helps keep the alto saxophone neck clean and prevents mold and mildew from taking root inside the instrument. See detailed instructions above.

    How to clean baritone (bari) sax neck

    To clean a baritone (bari) saxophone neck, pull a swab cleaner through the neck and mouthpiece after every playing session. Also be sure to clean the “crook” of the bari saxophone using a bari sax silk swab cleaner. Bari saxophone necks tend to get dirty faster because they connect directly with the “crook” of the baritone sax (the twisted part near the top of the sax). That area of the bari sax traps a lot of nasty moisture that can grow gunk inside the saxophone. So it is vital to practice daily cleaning of your baritone sax neck and bari mouthpiece.

    How to clean soprano saxophone neck

    To clean a soprano saxophone neck you should swab clean the instrument after ever playing session and use a soft bristle brush for deeper cleaning of the soprano saxophone neck. Because the soprano sax neck tube is so tiny and sometimes curved or detachable, using a soft bristle cleaning brush helps keep the soprano neck as clean as possible. See image below showing two soprano saxophone necks being cleaned with a soft bristle RULON cleaning brush.

    A soprano saxophone neck being cleaned with a RULON soft bristle cleaning brush.

    How to clean the neck of an alto saxophone

    To clean the neck of an alto saxophone, follow the steps above. Alto sax is the most widely played saxophone on earth and it’s important for every player to learn how to clean the neck of an alto saxophone. Thankfully it’s quick, easy, and effective using the right tools and keeping a good cleaning routine.

    Frequently Asked Questions About How To Clean Your Saxophone Neck

    Can you use hot or boiling water to clean a saxophone neck?

    No! It’s a mistake to use hot or boiling water to clean your saxophone neck. Extreme temperature (even extreme cold) can cause the saxophone neck metal to expand or contract quickly, causing lacquer damage or the neck cork to fall off. It’s best to only use lukewarm water when cleaning a saxophone neck. 

    Can you wash a saxophone neck?

    Yes. Rinsing a saxophone neck with water is good to do using lukewarm water (never hot or cold) and avoid soaking the neck cork or octave key pad with water. This can be done every few months and helps keep the inside of the saxophone neck cleaner. See the detailed guide above for more information.

    We hope this article on How to Clean a Saxophone Neck has been helpful and informative! 

    Learn More

    Dive deeper into the world of saxophone care and cleaning with these helpful articles and explore the range of saxophone care products available from KeyLeaves.com/Saxophone

    Here are quick links to the tools suggested in the guide above:
    Cleaning Cloths for Saxophone
    Silk Swabs for Saxophone
    Soft Bristle Brush for Cleaning Soprano Sax Necks and Sax Mouthpieces
    Bari Saxophone Cleaner
    Vent Vine to keep the top of your saxophone clean

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