Shofar Maintenance

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  • #2122311
    rightwriter
    Participant

    What is the best way to maintain a Shofar, storage, and cleaning?

    #2122369
    mobico
    Participant

    Store where it won’t fall from a height. If dusty, rinse. When buildup accrues inside from blowing, twist pipe cleaners together, 2 or 3 thick, lengthening if necessary by attaching them at the ends. Pour water and a bit of dish soap into the Shofar, and insert pipe cleaners, twisting, puling, and pushing. Rinse thoroughly.

    #2122403
    commonsaychel
    Participant

    you send it a erlicher yiddish speaking klay kodesh for maintenance and cleaning

    #2122411
    rightwriter
    Participant

    Does cleaning it over and over ruin the shofar over time?

    #2122428

    I was taught by the Baal Tokeah of the shul where i grew up to wash the inside of the shofar with vinegar a few weeks before rosh hashana. Pour it in and let it sit overnight. pour it out and rinse with water.

    #2122477
    mentsch1
    Participant

    In general I would think it is a mistake to soak a shofar
    Even though it is fairly solid, it will absorb and I can not see how this will help the sound, it would probably detract (and probably smell like vinegar)
    I have made a few shofros as a hobby (that doesn’t make me an expert) and I can tell you the shofar has a smell at the beginning
    The vinegar method is one method to reduce the smell, but I can not see the benefit of doing it regularly
    I certainly don’t
    I do not clean my shofar at all, after all you are blowing it and I assume the dust will be blown out
    But I will run a few cotton patches through it to see

    #2122529
    rightwriter
    Participant

    mentch-“I do not clean my shofar at all, after all you are blowing it and I assume the dust will be blown out”

    -and the saliva?

    #2122554
    mentsch1
    Participant

    rightwriter
    Ever try out a shofar in a store?
    who knows how many lips were put on that.
    and if you borrow the shul shofar and think a quick wipe is all it needs, since I am in the health care field, I can tell you that’s not how it works
    So definitely not for the faint of heart
    But it’s my shofar, why is there a need to clean it?

    #2122616
    rightwriter
    Participant

    “But it’s my shofar, why is there a need to clean it?”

    So its your shofar but how did you clean it to make sure its sanitized in the first place? Also even if its your saliva it still builds up bacteria and smell so wouldnt you want to keep it sanitized aside for the dust buildup?

    #2122652
    mobico
    Participant

    Anyone who blows regularly knows that there is a gradual buildup of saliva and other detritus that block easy and clear blowing, and also affect the sound.

    #2122672
    Kuvult
    Participant

    My father has a long Shofar he blows occasionally & it smelled like a farm for years.

    #2122720
    rightwriter
    Participant

    Kuvult so what is the best way to sanitize it to reduce or eliminate the smell without it being abrasive? Also do the glossed Shofar smell as much as the non gloss?

    #2122743
    Kuvult
    Participant

    I don’t know. He only blows it a few times a year in Elul if he missed it. So it was enough of a bother to fix it.

    #2122744
    Kuvult
    Participant

    I don’t know. He only blows it a few times a year in Elul if he missed it. So it wasn’t enough of a bother to fix it. I think the smell lasted 4-5 years.

    #2122747
    DovidBT
    Participant

    How about baking soda?

    #2122745
    alexander
    Participant

    My Shver Z”l was a master Shofar blower , One of the best and he would every year put vinegar inside for a few hours and rinse it after

    #2122906
    mentsch1
    Participant

    So a half hour after blowing in shul this am, for the sake of science and my brothers in the CR, I just ran a gun cleaning patch through my shofar.
    These patches are soft white cotton and anything will show up on them.
    At the mouthpiece it was completely clean. Internally after I reamed it through with a bent wire hanger a little bit of shmutz did come out.
    I’m guessing that it’s been there since it was manufactured, but I will have to repeat the test in a year to know for certain.

    #2122908
    mentsch1
    Participant

    For what it’s worth I bought my shofar from the famous beitar maker (he is featured in the “picture this” Feldheim book)
    At the time I asked him if any care was necessary and he said no. Though he recommended keeping it in the cotton bag that he sold it to me in.
    I’m just not sure why people feel vinegar is necessary. As I’ve stated its use (among other methods) is to remove the smell. But why yearly treatments are necessary escapes me. My father‘s shofar is 50 yrs old and still sounds/looks the same with no treatments or cleaning.

    #2123132
    @fakenews
    Participant

    Word of the day: “detritus“
    Posted by mobico, “detritus” means: Dead particulate organic material.

    #2123482
    rightwriter
    Participant

    Maybe just to sanitize the bacteria that stays from saliva even if it’s your own?

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