How to Clean a Guitar With Household Products

Cleaning your guitar may not always be the first thing that crosses your mind when you head into the practice room or performance space, though it can be an important step in increasing your instrument's life and playability. While there are endless guitar-specific cleaning products on the market, you may be surprised to find that you have everything you need to keep your guitar clean right in your own home.

Things You'll Need

• Swiffer cleaning pads
• Shammy
• Teak oil
• Q-tips

Instructions

1. Using the shammy cloth, wipe down your guitar strings. Make sure to wipe the top of each string and the bottom, as this will extend your strings' life as well as keep them clean. If you do not have a shammy on hand, any cloth, hand towel or clean rag will work just as well.

2. Wipe down all of the metal parts of your guitar with the Swiffer cleaning pad. Depending on the make and model of guitar you own, be sure to use the Swiffer on your tuning pegs, pick-ups, input jack and bridge. This will help keep dust and grime off of your guitar. Dust and grime buildup can cause corrosion on your instrument which may result in these parts needing to be replaced. You can also use any dusting spray, such as Endust, and a cloth to complete this measure, but it is much easier to carry a small pack of Swiffer pads in your guitar case than it is to carry a can of spray and a dusting cloth.

3. Rub the teak oil into your guitar's fretboard after removing the strings. Since it is not recommended that you remove all six strings at once, try taking off two adjacent strings at a time before rubbing in the oil. Teak oil can help keep your fretboard moist, which extends its life, as well as bring out the woods natural luster and shine.

4. Using the Q-tips, clean any hard-to-reach area on your guitar such as underneath your strings, between the pick-ups and bridge, or around the bridge itself. While you may not always notice dirt build-up in these hard to reach areas, they are just as important to keep clean as the body or neck of the instrument.

Tips & Warnings

• Putting together a small "cleaning kit" in your guitar case that contains a Swiffer packet, shammy cloth and Q-tip box will ensure that you are always able to clean your guitar no matter where you are.

Resources

• Guitar Resource Page