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In November, I am going to have a stem cell bone marrow transplant. Afterwards, I will be in isolated or semi-isolation for three to four weeks. I want to take a guitar with me while I am being sequestered. I normally just wipe my guitars down with a micro cloth. It works fine. But everything I take with me has to be disinfected. I don't want to hurt the finish on any guitar. Let me know if you have any ideas.

Thanks
Ken

I really hope some others with greater knowledge will jump in soon. It would really depend on the finish of your guitar and and might be a question for the maker. I know there are some really good wipes I use in my office but I would be nervous to say the least about using any of them on a guitar finish. if it comes down to it the standard answer is always test on a small inconspicuous place first, but I don't know where that would be on your guitar. Maybe the back of the head stock? I am sure others will have better answers but that's what I got. Best of luck with the procedures and your recovery.
Donovan

Ken
Instead of thinking in terms of wiping with something, I would contact your local museum and ask to speak with an object or furniture conservator. They usually have fumigation chambers and they may have some good ideas. Good luck with your treatment!
Wendy

Scotchbrite has a new disinfecting wipe made with Thymol (Thyme (the herb) extract) and water. They claim a 99.9% kill rate on most household germs and virus and food safe after it dries. Should not pose any danger to the surfaces of a guitar. We have to be careful d/t wife being on anti-rejection drugs. The Lemongrass version is not too bad but the Breeze scented is nasty smelling. http://www.scotch-brite.com.br/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Scotch-BriteBrand/Scotch-Brite/Products/Botanical-Wipes/
Good luck with the transplant!

Yikes, best of luck to you.
I think you could rub down the finish with rubbing alcohol and a paper towel? That'd probably disinfect it and wouldn't hurt the finish.

I hope your procedure goes well, as far as the guitar you might look into UV for disinfecting the interior and you might be able to alcohol wipe the exterior depending on the finish.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Alcohol is not an effective disinfectant. It's a good cleaner/surfactant but evaporates before it can accomplish much. Focus on killing MRSA, Klebsiella Pneumonia, C. Dif. and RSV. These are the bugs that are common in hospitals and are the biggest threat to an imuno-compromised person.

Think I would be more concerned about the strings than the body of the guitar.I'm sure evil thingies lurk in the wound strings.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Good to know, Thanks!

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

I agree, and that is easily fixed by boiling some new strings and placing them in a disinfected bag (boil that too). Put them on when you get to hosipital. I don't know how you solve the body problem. Seems as soon as you put it back in the case, your work will be for nought.

If the strings will rust, then maybe not so good an idea! Maybe jsut soak all of that in alcohol for a while...

I don't have an answer, but ask your oncologist. This has probably come up before. Not necesarily a guitar, but perhaps other personla items that cannot easily be disinfected. There may be some sort of quarenteen or fumigation that can be done.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Talk to your Doctor, and perhaps find any Doctor who's a woodworker, or guitar player. If you're worried about whatever process they come up with damaging the finish I can lend you my personal guitar which is finished with Polyester. (Chemicals won't damage Polyester) I'm ~60 miles away if I can help in any way. Good luck with your treatment.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

Chlorine and bleach are generally the gold standards for disinfecting surfaces, they literally kill everything. Hospitals have some other very nice surfactants that aren't common outside of the medical world. I'm a biochemist with expertise in wood, adhesives, and guitars. I would be happy to help any way that I can, so don't hesitate to contact me if a question comes up. If you can go with a solid body the process can be simplified quite a bit. Best wishes.

I have a hunch that anything you do on your own might be questioned at the hospital and they might refuse the guitar. I agree with the suggestion that you check with your doctor as to what is acceptable. Except for the suggestion to find someone with a disinfection chamber, I think all of the other suggestions are not sufficient for complete disinfection. If you locate the disinfection chamber, the processor may need to seal the guitar in a bag at the end of the process. You might want to look into getting a cheap guitar for the hospital stay, so that you do not need to worry if the disinfection process is harmful to the guitar. Good luck.

After being back at Duke UMC for two nights this past week, I got some answers. My Doctors suggest that I wipe down the guitar with micro cloth and alcohol as long as it doesn't hurt the finish. The strings should be new and wiped down with a waterless disenfectent. And after each time I play the instrument, I must wash my hands with disinfecting soap. That should do the trick. The biggest thing is not having any bacteria on my hands that might reach my mouth. So extensive hand washing will be the key. Thanks for all the suggestions.

Ken