How To Disinfect Your Dulcimer
Good Morning, Y'all - Happy Friday!
A couple of weeks ago, one of our dulcimer players wrote and asked about playing her mountain dulcimer (a MaxDAD!) in health care environments. Some of her audience members liked to touch her dulcimer while she played - feeling the vibrations on her soundboard. She asked about disinfecting her dulcimer between patients.
So, in typical Richard fashion, I replied with far too much information to be useful. I suppose I can't help myself!
Her concerns were twofold: disinfecting the instrument, and not harming the dulcimer's finish.
She had gotten suggestions ranging from alcohol, to hydrogen peroxide, to Pine-Sol.
How To Kill Germs - But Not Your Dulcimer's Finish
As you know, my name doesn't have an "M.D." behind it, so please take my advice on killing germs with a few grains of salt.
My understanding is that alcohol (regular 70% rubbing alcohol) is great for most of the bugs we encounter. Use the 70% kind, since the 95% evaporates too quickly to do its job. My RN wife suggested CHG wipes (Chlorhexidine Gluconate) as the standard disinfectant for medical environments. (Ever given blood, or had some blood drawn? They probably used a CHG wipe on your arm.) That said, I'm not recommending that you use CHG to disinfect your dulcimer. I do not know if there's anything in there that'll harm your finish.
Alcohol Is Not A Problem?
But alcohol? Not a problem. The lacquer on your dulcimers (your Folkcraft dulcimers, anyway) is quite resistant to pretty much everything. I've seen test results for the lacquer we used, when it is applied to kitchen cabinets. The lacquer manufacturer tested mild acids (catsup, mustard, vinegar), and found that letting the acid sit for 30 minutes, then wiping it off, had no effect on the finish.
They tried alcohols (from kitchens, again, since this was testing done for a cabinet making company) - wine, whiskey, even high concentration Everclear (85% alcohol). No effect on the lacquer.
They tested various spices, made into a paste (for high concentration of various compounds found in the spices). No effect on the finish.
Their findings went on, in pretty high detail. The results were fascinating to read, especially for a person who uses the lacquer to make mountain dulcimers.
Our Lacquer Is Tough Stuff
So in a nutshell, there's not much at all in your home that will hurt a lacquer finish. But Pine-Sol? I have no idea what's in that stuff. It wasn't tested. I'll bet it isn't an issue at all, but I wouldn't take the chance. (And if you have Chlorhexidine Gluconate wipes, don't use them, either. They'll probably be fine, but there's no testing to say for sure!)
I've also used Windex, with no ill effect on the instrument. I didn't soak the wood - I sprayed Windex on a rag, then used the rag to wipe down the dulcimer. I have rubbing alcohol at my workbench, and in my traveling tool kit (for festival repairs).
So we're down to using lots of caution. Why? The wood around the sound holes is exposed. There's lacquer on the top, but not inside the sound hole cutouts.
Windex and rubbing alcohol both dry really quickly. Both will leave a little bit of a film, but the film will rub off with a dry cloth.
So that's it for disinfecting the lacquered body of your dulcimer.
How To Disinfect The Rest Of Your Dulcimer
The fretboard. Under the strings is bare wood which has been treated with fretboard oil (usually linseed oil, sometimes mineral oil). Alcohol will break down an oil, so over time, you'll need to reapply fretboard oil. Alcohol won't hurt the fretboard, but you'll need to replenish the oil more often.
The strings. The plain steel strings will clean up easily. The wound bass string? Not so much. Zillions (that's a luthier term) of tiny grooves. (Actually, one long groove, wrapped round and round the string...) Those grooves fill up with skin cells, and you can't realistically clean the wound string. Alcohol will sanitize it, but the skin cells will remain in place. Kind of gross, but probably safe from viruses.
How Richard Cares For His Dulcimers
My personal dulcimers? I take them to festivals, and let anyone that's interested give them an audition. I wipe my dulcimers down, occasionally, with a clean microfiber cloth. I don't use sanitizers on my dulcimers (but I'm also not in a health care setting, so that might change things for some of you).
Now you know what I know on this subject, plus probably some of what I think I know.
For what it's worth.
Thanks for reading, Y'all. For some extracurricular education this weekend, look up "fomite." Your dulcimer is a fomite. It's fascinating reading.
Have a great weekend!
Richard Ash - luthier-who's-not-a-doctor-and-doesn't-play-a-doctor-on-TV-either
P.S. A "dulcimer doctor" is not the same as a medical doctor. I've played that role at festivals numerous times, working on fomites.
FOLKCRAFT® DULCIMER PLAYER OF THE WEEK: MATTHEW WALWORTH
Folkcraft: How long have you been playing the dulcimer?
Matthew: I first got my hands on a dulcimer in the late 1980's. It was a very traditional instrument built by Raymond Layne of Berea, Kentucky in 1975. A short while later I purchased a cherry and spruce Blue Lion which was my main instrument for many years. Then, as luck would have it, I ordered a kit for an all-walnut instrument from McSpadden that arrived in March of 2020. So you know what I did during the pandemic lock-down.
Folkcraft: When did you get your first Folkcraft dulcimer?
Matthew: I got my walnut and spruce Folkcraft chromatic as a 60th birthday present in March of 2021. It's been a lot of fun learning the ins and outs of the chromatic instrument.
Folkcraft: Where do you enjoy playing your dulcimer?
Matthew: Over the years I have played a couple of times at church. I also love attending the Colorado Dulcimer Festival where I have played in the dulcimer orchestra and the contra dance band. Other than that I play for my own enjoyment.
Folkcraft: What other hobbies, or interests, do you have besides playing dulcimer?
Matthew: My wife would tell you that there are too many to count. I have a collection of musical instruments that includes...
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF MATTHEW'S STORY AND READ ABOUT OTHER FOLKCRAFT PLAYERS LIKE MATTHEW & YOU
FOLKCRAFT® PLAYERS - WE WANT TO INTERVIEW YOU!!
No new player to add to our online dulcimer community today, but we are happy to be able to re-feature multi-instrumentalist Matthew Walworth - including both mountain and hammered dulcimer - who first joined the family in January 2024. Hope life has been treating you well, Matthew.
There's still plenty of room for more of you, folks! Maybe we could feature you and your Folkcraft dulcimer(s) next week?
Who's Going To Write In Next? Keep The Family Growing?
It really is super-easy to join our online dulcimer community. Just three easy steps:
1) Send an email to: newsletter@folkcraft.com
2) With the answers to the four questions below
3) Attach a photo of yourself with your Folkcraft dulcimer(s)
We look forward to receiving your submission & featuring you in our newsletter real soon!
1. How long have you been playing the dulcimer?
2. When did you get your first Folkcraft dulcimer?
3. Where do you enjoy playing your dulcimer?
4. What other hobbies, or interests, do you have besides playing dulcimer?
WE'RE OFFERING A $25 FOLKCRAFT GIFT CARD TO ANYONE WHO ANSWERS THE FOUR EASY QUESTIONS LISTED ABOVE, AND SENDS IN A PHOTO (OF YOU WITH YOUR FOLKCRAFT DULCIMER). IT'S REALLY SO EASY TO DO!
WE JUST LOVE HEARING FROM Y'ALL!
This Week's Featured YouTube Video:
This week is a follow up to last week’s lesson on the baritone! Mandy shows you another way to play some chords. Have fun! Click on the image below to listen & learn.
We have a slew (that's a fancy luthier word for "bunch") of videos for you to watch on our YouTube channel. Click here to see the full list. Be sure to comment on a video, and subscribe to the channel - either action helps us a LOT with YouTube's suggestion algorithms.
I don't know what the weather's been like where you are, but here on the East Coast (where your newsletter editor lives) it's been up in the 100° range again this week and super humid. So how about we take a little ride on the "Christmas in July" train today? A good friend of mine recently posted a pic of his farm covered in snow and it made all of us who saw it go "Aaaah, snow would feel really good right now." So maybe a little December music will help us dulcimer players feel a little cooler, too.
Butch's book is full of fun arrangements of classic Christmas tunes, while Larry's book contains some lovely carols - many of them in alternate or altered (capo needed) tunings. Lovely! (Just click on either cover to download.)
THE CRASH BANG DULCIMER CHRISTMAS BOOK
by Butch Ross
Fun off-the-wall versions of Christmas classics. Pages and pages of dulcimer Christmas tab by the creative, inventive, and FUN Butch Ross. (41 pages)
CHRISTMAS WITH THE DULCIMER
by Larry Conger
The subtitle of the book "A unique collection of carols" says it all! Superb arrangements, great fun, and an outstanding variety of tunes. What could be better? Plus, this book makes a great Christmas gift for any of your dulcimer-playing friends and family members! (27 pages)
These books are published by Fingers Of Steel, and are made available here as an authorized, licensed download.
SONGS INCLUDED IN THIS BOOK:
Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring
Good King Wenceslas (Bing Futch, Chord Melody, Electric Dulcimer Solo & Dulcimer Harmony Versions)
Little Drummer Boy (Guy George Version)
Trepak (Melody, Baritone, Bass & DGdd versions)
Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairies
Waltz Of The Flowers
Christmastime Is Here
Bring A Torch, Jeanette Isabella
O, Holy Night
O, Little Town Of Bethlehem (Ukulele)
O, Little Town Of Bethlehem (Banjammer)
Let There Be Peace On Earth
In The Bleak Midwinter
Angels We Have Heard On High
SONGS INCLUDED IN THIS BOOK:
All Through The Night
Angels We Have Heard On High
Away In A Manger
Bring A Torch, Jeanette Isabella
Cherry Tree Carol
Good Christian Men Rejoice
Good King Wenceslas
I Saw Three Ships
I Wonder As I Wander
Kentucky Wassail
Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming
O Christmas Tree
O Come All Ye Faithful
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Sing We Now Of Christmas
The Friendly Beasts
The Holly And The Ivy
We Three Kings
What Child Is This