Two things to add: 1) hydrogen peroxide will decompose into water and oxygen when exposed to light, which is why they are generally sold in the dark brown bottles. The Roche-Thomas spray bottle lets a lot of light in, so you may not get much fizzing. 2) even in a fairly stable storage environment, there will be some change in the moisture content of the reed. Perfectly flat surfaces against the table will promote warping because the exposed cut off the reed will lose moisture faster. Use a reed holder with grooves and that won’t be a problem.
Amazon sells bundles of Boveda humidity control packets for a reasonable cost. They come in various %s. I find that 72% or 75% work well and each lasts a good while. Take the reeds out, lick them, and they are good to go…
I put my reeds in those maroon wooden cases with the glass plate, then put the whole thing in a ziplock bag with a Boveda humidity control pack. Never had mould in over 10 years.
Thanks Tom - A less moldy alternative is to purchase a water tight Pelican case (model 1060 works for me) along with an Arion in-case humidifier. I put all my reeds in the old Vito 4 pack holders and put them in. I dip the reed in water for 10 seconds and it is ready to play. I dip them in water after playing to remove mucus and enzymes, and put them back. They last forever, play under any circumstance, and never get moldy. My old teacher William Stubbins used to say "buy your reeds when you get where you are going." I guess to have cane adjusted to the local climate, but I've travelled to the middle east, to Europe with my case and never had a problem.
What’s been working for me just fine since I started using it a year ago: An airtight plastic container, sponge dipped in Listerine every few weeks, reeds stored in their original plastic container (Rico works best since they are loaded from the back, not the side like Vandoren and pressure is applied equally on all sides). Open box, take reed out, put it on, play! PS I tried ziplock bags first but several times the mold snuck in. Not perfectly airtight after all.
Great video-When I was younger I would play then put the reed in my plastic reed holder until I played again which was daily-yuk-now I immediately rinse the reed-blow through the thick end of it to get some bubbles-then repeat. I then let the reed dry at room temperature-completely-THEN-I put it back in the reed holder until wetting before the next gig-this process prevents contamination and mold. This must be done every time the reed is used.
Ingredients for Dr. Tichenor's peppermint mouthwash: alcohol (70%), peppermint oil, arnica, saccharum carbonate, USP purified water. (Info from the website). Looks like there's enough alcohol to knock out anything....LOL!
Mitchell Lurie, as I recall, told us at his master class that he just left the reed on the mouthpiece. I've been doing that lately and it seems to be fine. For sure, you have to play on it for a minute or so to get it going but I'm still playing on the same reed now for two weeks with no problems...p.s. I remember Gigliotti at his master class saying that he always kept his in a seal tight bag on some glass and that the mold didn't bother him a bit..he said."well, it cures alot of diseases so it's ok"
This is so helpful and timely, Tom; I have also not been playing consistently on my legit set up (play all the time on my jazz one), and have major issues with keeping reeds playable. I just did 3 concerts in the past 3 weekends and was fighting with reeds the entire time. THANK YOU SO MUCH! btw, Tom, I have a few contra clarinet and bari sax reeds that are over 20 years old, too!
Hello Tom, How many % is the hydrogen peroxide that you use? I tried your method with 3% but unfortunately there is still mold.... Thanks in advance! All best
