![]() ![]() Guitars made from kiln-dried wood are more susceptible to changes temperature and humidity. Kiln drying is designed to speed up the aging process, but only time can truly age a piece of wood. Modern guitars are primarily made from kiln-dried wood. The older harvested wood gets, the more stable it becomes, but it's a lengthy, painstaking way to dry wood. This wood was dried out over several decades, and during this process any pieces that cracked were culled out. Here's why: Most older or vintage guitars were made from air-dried wood. New guitars tend to be more prone to humidity cracks than older instruments. Conditioning wood certainly helps prevent it from cracking, but it's also a good idea to use a humidifier. When a guitar gets too dry, the wood cracks (Fig. This guitar back has seen better days.Ĭontrolling humidity is another important aspect of guitar care. When wood isn't sufficiently humidified, it can dry out and crack. Silicone prevents the wood from breathing and can cause the finish on your guitar to become hazy. Alcohol dries out the fretboard, bridge, and other unfinished wood, and can cause cloudiness in certain types of finish. These acids can act as a solvent and break down finishes and cause the wood around the frets to deteriorate. Avoid anything that contains d-Limonene, alcohol, or silicone.ĭerived from oil extracted from citrus rind, d-Limonene contains natural acids. But be aware that most of these products, including lemon oil, contain harmful chemicals and solvents that will damage your guitar's wood and finish. Many string and accessory manufacturers offer conditioners for your guitar. These corrosive materials have the same effect on potentiometers and switches (Fig. When acids and salts build up on a pickup, they can corrode the coils and magnets and cause the pickup to fail. If they're not cleaned regularly, pickups, potentiometers, and switches can become corroded by the salts and acids in sweat.Ī guitar's electronics can also suffer from dead skin cells and sweat. When sweat evaporates, it can dry out the fretboard and cause it to crack.įig. If you don't clean and condition your fretboard, it may crack.Ĭracks are another terrifying byproduct of not conditioning your fretboard (Fig. After I remove the old frets, I can see nasty gunk on the tangs and green corrosion all over the fret wire (Fig. This is especially noticeable when I'm doing a refret. I can always tell if a fretboard hasn't been conditioned when I examine the frets. These frets have become corroded through neglect. This can cause dry rot in the fretboard, which results in loose frets and very expensive repairs.įig. 2), but the moisture, acids, and salts in sweat cause the wood around the frets to deteriorate. Not only does fretboard gunk look unattractive, over time it can damage your instrument.Īs we play, dead skin cells, sweat, and dirt build up on the fretboard and collect around the frets. And that's a worthy investment: Keeping your instrument in top condition will save you a lot of money in future repairs.įig. However, it's not difficult to clean and condition a guitar-it simply takes a little time and effort. ![]() Without proper care, a guitar will lose value and eventually become unplayable. Over the years, I've seen many extreme cases of guitars that were permanently damaged from neglect. I ran my Magic Eraser under the kitchen faucet, wrung it out, then began polishing the charging contacts on my Roomba’s home base.The proper cleaning and conditioning of your instrument is critical to its health. You’ll need to apply a fair amount of elbow grease to clean the charging contacts on your Roomba’s home base. Clean’s Magic Eraser Remove non-product link (or one of these brands Remove non-product link). If you’re wondering what melamine foam is (I know I was), just think Mr. ![]() Roomba manufacturer iRobot recommends regularly cleaning your vacuum’s charging contacts and cliff sensors with a damp melamine foam. How to clean your Roomba’s charging contacts One of the sensors was almost completely covered in dirt, while the other three were clearly due for a wipe-down. I admit that I’d never bothered to look closely at my Roomba’s cliff sensors until very recently, and when I did … yuck. Related: The best way to clean your Roomba’s hairy brushesĪlso, have you noticed that your Roomba has been moving slowly or erratic lately? If the Roomba’s IR-enabled cliff sensors get too dusty and dirty, they’ll block the IR beam that’s supposed to reflect back, which means the vacuum might think that it’s continually approaching a wall or about to tumble down the stairs. ![]()
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