How To Clean Your Drum Sets

Know-How To Clean a Drum Set With These Easy Steps

As Musicians, we all love to see our instruments shining and glowing. We want to maintain our instruments the best that we can. That is the case with drummers too. Cleaning up drum sets after performing gigs is a routine that every drummer follows. Although many a time, you may not know how to clean a drum set so that they get maintained with a high standard of hygiene. 

You not only have to save your drums from dust and dirt but you also have to keep a firm eye to ensure every bit of sweat and other particles are completely gone after a cleanup. Nobody wants to see rust on their drum sets and neither do you. So let\’s see these steps on how to clean a drum set. 

1. Disassemble the Drum Set and do the cleanup at every corner

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The first and foremost thing, to begin with, is to disassemble the drum set and look for the dirt built up at every corner of the set. This will allow you to do a detailed inspection of your drums and enable you to clean is thorough. To start with this step you can remove the head of your drums and keep all the hardware in a safe place.

You definitely need to know how to clean drum heads. You can then easily clean all the junk that has been built up in between the heads and the rims and also look for any missing or loose hardware. You must also check any damage to the tension lugs or the wires and repair if you find any. 

2. Cleaning the entire drum set

There are a lot of products available in the market to clean the drums. Although you may buy some of them to clean your drum set but do not commit the mistake of using ammonia or any harsh material to clean up the drums.

Drums are just like your furniture at the home and when you do not use ammonia on your furniture then why would you want to use that on your drums? It\’s a mistake that many people make only to lose the life of their drum sets. You can simply clean your drum set with water, a clean rag or a window cleaner and that is the best way to go about how to clean drums.

3. Post clean up polishing

After you have cleaned your drums thoroughly it is time to polish them to give them the brand new look that they deserve. You can use non-abrasive chrome to polish all the hardware. You only have to apply a very small amount of chrome polish on the rag and then you can apply that to every crevice.

After you are done applying it, you must wipe a clean rag on it so as to make it shine. Furniture polish can be sprayed afterward to prevent the dust from settling and you will see your drum sets being transformed into a brand new drum set

4. Cleaning up the cymbals 

Cleaning up of the cymbals is a very important step that many people take for granted. The cymbals of your drum set should be cleaned properly in order to keep them rust-free and shining.

Cymbals are made up of bronze most of the time and need soft cleaner instead of a harsh one. Cleaners such as dish soap work the best to remove all the fingerprints on Cymbals and polishing them make a lot more difference. After you are done cleaning up the cymbals, you will be happy to see them shining like they are new!

5. Cleaning up the hardware

Drum Hardware is the final part of cleaning up the drums. It is empirical to clean up the drum’s hardware with the utmost care. Hi-hat stands and bass pedals are more than important to get cleaner carefully as these hold up a lot of dirt. Polishing them with chrome is even better after cleaning up in order to maintain the hardware.

It is also very important to disassemble the stands and clean away all the dirt that has gathered at the point where tubes fit together.

A little bit of lubricant is also important like a silicone-based lubricant as it avoids damages to the finishes of the drums. It also helps when your drums have had rust and corrosion on them. In the end, cleaning up the hardware is an important step to maintain your drum set. 

6. Reassembly and Tuning of the Drums

After the clean up of your drums is over, the reassembly takes place and then the tuning up of drums also becomes important. You can search online about tuning up the drums and do so perfectly. 

Maintaining your drums after gigs

However, most of the people carry out the cleaning of their drums annually, but you can also do some exercises to maintain your drums cleanliness and hygiene after your gigs.

The first and foremost thing to do after a gig is to clean the whole drum set with a damp cloth. After that, you need to put the drums in cases. Soft cases are the best cases to keep your drums in and maintain them. 

Products to use for the clean up of drums

Brasso: Brasso is an all-purpose metal polish and if you use it to polish the hardware and cymbals of your drum set then you will be pleasantly surprised to see the transformation of your drums. Various drummers praise Brasso and it can be ordered from Amazon.

WD40 Silicone: This silicone is an amazing spray that will definitely keep all the hardware to function optimally. It prevents the hardware to catch rust and corrosion. Silicone can be found on Amazon easily.

Shop Towels: If you have not done the cleaning of your drums for a long time then it is of utmost importance that you buy a box of shop towels. Shop towels are much more durable than paper towels.

Every musician on this earth wants to keep their instruments in the best health that they can, but many times people do not really know about how to clean a drum set easily and what steps to take in the whole process.

This is the reason that we have discussed how to clean drums and have presented all the steps necessary to take in the process. Just follow these steps every year when you clean your drums you will be surprised to see your drums in a healthy and hygienic condition.

Social Bookmarking: Cleaning of drums is an essential part of any drummer’s role and doing it on routine after every gig ensures the longevity of the instrument. However, it is advisable to do a thorough cleaning of drums just once a year. So, how to clean a drum set? It is an important question and let’s answer the question comprehensively with proper steps.


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