{"id":851,"date":"2020-05-01T19:28:25","date_gmt":"2020-05-02T00:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/soundadventurer.com\/?p=851"},"modified":"2020-05-01T19:28:38","modified_gmt":"2020-05-02T00:28:38","slug":"how-to-clean-drumheads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/soundadventurer.com\/how-to-clean-drumheads\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Clean Drumheads: Animal Skin, Mylar, Coated, Polyester, etc."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After months of playing, it’s pretty normal for your drumheads to get pretty gross. I wanted to find out how to clean drumheads without having to worry about damaging them and did some research on the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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All drumheads should be cleaned with the gentlest means possible, while animal skins are particularly sensitive to rapid changes in humidity and require special care. A tiny amount of water combined with a non-abrasive cloth will clean most drumheads, effectively. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are some differences between animal skin drumheads and plastic drumheads, though–I’ll dive into the differences and explain what is popularly used for cleaning drumheads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How To Safely Clean Plastic-Based Drumheads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First! Are you trying to clean your entire drumset? I talk about how to clean each part of your drumkit since they all have different needs here.<\/a> Another bonus is that I stick to household goods that you are likely to have in your house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are trying to clean your drumset you might get stuck when you’re trying to clean up your drumheads. Drumheads on a drumset are often made of a plastic, and are either coated with a white finish or are simply a clear plastic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Synthetic drumheads are durable, to be certain, but they do require some care. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By far the best thing to do is try the most gentle form of cleaning possible, which is, of course, a little bit of water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Moisten a lint-free cloth (a paper towel is okay, but it will start flaking off). The cloth should be slightly damp but not sopping–<\/strong>you don’t want water to get caught in the bearing edge (the outer part of the drumhead)<\/li>
  2. Rub the drumhead in a gentle circular motion to try and remove any scuff marks. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    If you find you have to add some elbow grease–pause! <\/strong>let’s up the ante. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The First Cleaner to Try: Dish Soap<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Don’t reach for the window cleaner! In fact, you should avoid ammonia-based <\/strong>cleaners such as many types of Windex because they can actually weaken the plastic, if it’s Mylar or polyester or another polymer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Instead, a couple drops of dish soap in a cup of water should be your first place to start. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Moisten your lint-free cloth in your diluted dish soap and use this to try and remove the scuffs.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The goal is to find a cleaner that is gentle and won’t force you into scrubbing your drumhead. Remember, avoid ammonia, bleach, and other caustic chemicals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Tackling Tougher Scuffs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    If dishsoap is forcing you to scrub harder than you want to, you can try a diluted vinegar. Make sure to wipe the drumhead clean as you don’t want the acid from the vinegar to stay on the drumhead and potentially damage it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Removing Sticky Residue Off Your Drumhead<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    It’s super unfortunate when it happens but sometimes drums get some duct-tape on them to try and dampen the drumhead–this is effective, but if you ever change your mind, you now have a terrible mess of a sticky residue to clean up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Rubbing Alcohol<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    You have some options here, the first cleaner that you can try using is rubbing alcohol.<\/strong> Try using 50% or diluting your 70-90% rubbing alcohol first. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Since rubbing alcohol evaporates quickly, you can very lightly moisten a rag and leave it on the sticky portion for several minutes before attempting to gently scrape off the sticky residue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Mayonnaise <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Before jumping to the stronger chemicals, you can try some mayonnaise! Mayonnaise has plenty of fat and can act as a lubricant that can help remove some stuck-on residue that doesn’t want to leave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Other Lubricants<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Goo-Gone, WD-40 or other lubricants are definitely powerful, but they may not be the best option–they will definitely work but kerosene or other oil-based cleaners may not react in a way that you want with your drumheads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For example, in this video, this gentleman uses a type of Goo-Gone that works really well for his Remo coated drumhead but in the same video mentions that Evans coated drumheads melt with this spray.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    Drum Hacks - How to Clean Remo Coated Drumheads<\/div><\/div>
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