Dark Mold on Selbie Drone Reeds- Help!!

[psychodonald]

I play a set of Highland Pipes, here is my problem-- I have a dark mold growing on my drone reeds, all three of them. I live in a high deseret environment, cold in winter, hot/dry in summer. I use a case humidifier, one of the block type arrangements that you soak in water then insert in a plactic case. My pipes are made of Black Wood and I have a Ross Canister System in the bag. I've never had a problem with this mold until this winter. Typically, I'm not a "wet blower". I would like advice on how to clean up the drone reeds and get the mold off of them. I've given some thought to using a cotton ball and carefully cleaning them off with Peroxide or perhaps Rubbing Alcohol. I'm using Selbie Drone Reeds. Note that the Selbie Drone Reeds have what I would call a "wood" body with the reed tonge being synthetic material. Also, I haven't unzipped my bag after playing; however, since I discovered the mold growing, I unzip the bag and let any moisture dry out. Also, I regularly change the "kitty litter" in the Ross System. Please advise. Thanks, Don.

[psychodonald]

Somewhat surprised with the lack of response as I thought this might be more of a common problem that others may have encountered-- guess not. I still have hopes in as much as the post is still quite new. I have emailed the maker and have hopes that he will respond. In addition, I emailed Andrew Lenz asking for his thoughts/ ideas; no feedback as yet. I've given some thought to simply buying a new set of drone reeds, and just taking the drone reeds out each time after playing. Kinda hate doing that as I think the removal and re-insertion of the reeds makes them loose and more apt to fall into the bag during play. Oh well, all thoughts welcome.

[Ciarameddaru]

I don't play highland pipes, just zampognas. I probably shouldn't respond, but I'm wondering if the problems could be from the de-humidifier you have in your bag. I play pipes with goat bags and cane reeds and have never had problems with moisture causing mold or anything like that. Have you considered ditching the litter box and just getting a natural skin bag and playing the pipe like people have been doing for the past few hundred (or thousand) years until someone realized they could make a few $ selling people complex plastic tube systems and cat litter? Just a thought from a guy still blowin into the old goat hide.

[psychodonald]

Hi Ciarameddaru: thanks for the response; for a moment there, I thought I might be living the History Channel "Life After People" series. You know, I have given some thought to the removal of the Ross system. I had the notion that it would keep moisture away from things??? As far as the Goat Bag is concerned, I knew a person who tried a Goat Bag with negative results, mostly due, I think to the lack of humidity in this environment. It is very dry here both winter and summer, basically all year long, and the one person that I knew who tried the Goat Skin Bag, wait a minute, it wasn't Goat it was Sheep Skin. At any rate, it fell apart very quickly. I tried an Elk Skin Bag and that was good, except when a drone fell into the bag and it took me quite a while to fish it out. That's when I went high teck., and got a bag with a zipper. Thanks for your thoughts.

[psychodonald]

Here's one for your "Gee Whiz" file. Got a reply from the maker of the drone reeds and he states: "The best way to clean the reeds is first mark where the bridles are set. Remove the tongues and tuning screws, then wash in warm soapy water. You could then rub with peroxide or alcohol.

I always recommend keeping the bag open to help dry the reeds.
Thanks again for playing our reeds."

At any rate, should any of you encounter a mold problem and you happen to be playing Selbie Drone Reeds in your GHB, the above should address your problem. I shall try this out this evening.

[Ciarameddaru]

I really think you need to ditch all the tubes and cat litter and just get a natural bag that breathes. Might make all this a lot easier.

[Celtpastor]

Seriously - Gore is even better than leather to keep humidity low. I think, the Ross-system is - unless You remove the anti-humidity-stuff very regularly - absolutely contra-productive. With Gore-bag, You won't need ANY anti-humidity-system - not even in wet Scotland!

[psychodonald]

Pastor: I think you and Clarameddaru are right on with regard to the Ross System. It's coming out next week; I'm certain that I don't need it and I fear that it may even effect the tone of the pipes. I put it in a long time ago, when I didn't know straight up from Tuesday

[MichaelLoos]

BTW - have you ever thought of the sense of using a humidifier as well as a dryer system?
A goat skin bag, as ciarameddaru proposed, will most probably not withstand the pressure required by modern Highland pipes which might lead to the bag exploding sooner or later. Goat skins, having their own "built-in" moisture control system due to the salt tanning and the hair inside, are perfect for zampogna and for bulgarian gaida (and many other south- and east European bagpipes), but these pipes need a lot less pressure than GHB.
You will need to disinfect your bag (if you're not getting a new one), because the mold you see on your reeds is also in the bag where you don't see it. Also, you'll have to disinfect all the parts that stick into the bag and especially the blowpipe. Removing chanter and/or blowpipe after playing should suffice to keep the bag dry.

[azw]

I've encountered a similar problem with the Asturian gaita. It uses a Gor-Tex bag and no drying system, but in the winter I practice in an area that is cold, as low as 50 degrees F. The problem is not salvia. The problem is that cold surroundings allow a lot of moisture to condense inside the pipes.

I first noticed the problem when the chanter reed grew dark spots, which I later realized was mold. I was able to salvage the reed by cleaning it with vinegar. I actually soaked it in regular vinegar for a few minutes and used stiff paper to try to clean out the inside surfaces. Although I was told that the reed wouldn't be as good as before, it seemed to play just fine.

When storing the gaita, I always separate the top half of the drone from the bottom and remove the blow pipe. But after that mold experience, in cold weather I also remove the drone from its stock and put a cap over the reed. The cap I made from a length of 3/4" CPVC plumbing pipe and a 3/4" CPVC cap. There's a small 1/16" hole drilled in the side of the tubing to allow moisture to escape. In the winter I also remove the chanter from it's stock and put a similar cap over it.

Another piece of this experience resulted from storing my reeds in hermetically-sealed containers. I had been keeping my reeds in a film canister. If a reed was damp when I put it in the can, it'd mold up. Duh. Drilling a small hole in the side fixed that.

So far, these steps have prevented further problems.