Cleaning Your Trombone with a Snake

The video below demonstrates how to clean your entire slide safely, using a snake. This post also explains how often to clean your slide, and other general tips for trombone care and maintenance.

Trombone maintenance is quite simple once you get the hang of it. Clean your slide along with this video. After each step is demonstrated, press pause and do that step yourself.

Things to keep in mind:
1. Never let any part of your slide bump against anything at all. Dings, or a misalignment of the inner tubes can easily make your slide difficult to move. Clean your slide carefully and slowly. If you have a trombone stand, you may use that instead of setting the trombone down as is demonstrated in the video (with slide NOT touching the ground).

2. Do not touch or grab the inner tubes. When running the snake through the inner tubes, pull the snake straight down. Do not angle it against the tubes at all.

If you did not receive a trombone care kit with your trombone, you can purchase a trombone snake for $7-15. I recommend the Brass Savers snake because it has no metal, and therefore there is no risk of scratching your slide.

How often should I clean my trombone?

If you are practicing a lot, clean your slide once a week.
Take your trombone to a professional for a full cleaning once a year.

If you take great care of your instrument, you can keep in great playing shape for decades.