As a band director, I've come to realize that most trumpet players don't clean their instruments often enough. I've actually seen trumpets that were almost totally clogged with crud. That is the "technical term" for the greenish, grayish, brownish sludge that forms inside an instrument over time. If it's been awhile since you cleaned your trumpet, prepare yourself for what will come out of it, but your trumpet will play better after it's clean.
Trumpets are fairly simple things. They are basically just 4 1/2 feet of brass tubing with valves and slides. It's the careful manufacturing and hand work that make it into a trumpet that plays well. A well-care-for trumpet of good quality will last minimally 10-20 years with a lot of playing. A trumpet cared for poorly will be trash in a short time.
Although this article makes it sound like cleaning a trumpet is a long and involved process, once you have done it a couple times, it will only take you 15-20 minutes to complete, and it will make your instrument last much longer.
Unlike woodwind instruments (flutes, clarinets, saxophones, etc.), trumpets can be given baths to clean them. In fact, it's the only good way to truly clean them. You could take them to a music repair shop for an "acid bath", but that's really not necessary if given baths once a month or so. Once you get accumulation of minerals in the horn, it will take an acid bath to remove them, but if you give the horn a bath often, your trumpet usually won't get mineral deposits.
You'll need a flexible cleaning brush or a cleaning snake, a valve casing brush, and a mouthpiece brush. You'll also need silver polish or a silver polishing cloth if it's silver plated, valve oil, and slide grease. I have always used liquid dishwashing soap in lukewarm water to clean my trumpets, but some manufacturers don't recommend the soap. Check with your product information or your manufacturer's website to make sure before you use it.
You'll also need a high-quality valve oil and slide grease if you want to make your trumpet last. Just like a car, the valves of a trumpet need a film of oil on them to work well. I've become sort of fanatical about how my trumpet valves work. I've tried just about every available brand of oil on the market, and I've decided that synthetic oils are the only oils to use. They last longer, and they minimize wear on the valves.
You also need a heavy grease for the main tuning slide and second valve slide. If you don't grease these slides, they will wear, and you'll start to see your slide moving when you least expect it throwing you out of tune...usually at the most inopportune times. They can also stick badly enough that it requires a trip to the repair shop to pull them. If you use a heavy grease, it will last until your next cleaning.
First, fill a bathtub with enough lukewarm water to cover the instrument. Hot water can damage the finish, so it's best avoided. Disassemble all of the instrument, but don't remove the water keys (spit valves), remove any triggers if so equipped, or disassemble the valves. If you have a trigger on the first or third valve slides, you'll need to remove the screw that hold the slide on, but don't remove any of the other parts of the trigger. Trust me, you don't want to try to put a trigger or water key spring back on without the necessary tool.
After it's disassembled, place all of the parts except the valves into the lukewarm water, and let them soak for a few minutes. After the soaking, run the snake through all of the tubing. Don't force it through any of the tight bends. Just go as far as you can. Then scrub the inside of the valve casings with the valve casing brush. After that, run clean water through all the tubing until the water runs clear.
Next, using a soft cloth clean between all the outer tubing to remove any dirt or tarnish. You might need to use silver polish to remove the tarnish on a silver trumpet. Never use silver or brass polish on the outside of a lacquered or "brass" looking trumpet. There is a clear lacquer protecting the finish, and polish can remove it. Next clean the inside of the bottom valve caps with a paper towel. A lot of the crud settles in these caps.
After all the tubing on the horn is clean, and the outer surface of the trumpet is clean, it's time to pay attention to the valves. I use one end of the cleaning snake to clean the ports of the valves, and rinse them off with soap and water. Be careful inside the ports, You don't want to damage the metal with the end of the brush.
After all that, it's time to reassemble the horn, oil the valves and 1st and 3rd valve slides, and grease the main tuning slide and second valve slide. No, grease does not belong on the third valve slide. it will move too slowly. Oil is all you need. I know that seems like a long process, but it actually takes longer to type it than to do it, and your horn will last longer and play better afterward.
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