How Do You Keep Your Strings Clean?

I sometimes use Fast-Fret, but there are others

Today, I was thinking about how I keep my strings clean, and I thought I could pass on a few things to you.

The Gross Bit

You can't beat the feel and sound of a fresh set of guitar strings, but unfortunately they don't stay like that for long. It's quite gross, but skin, sweat and oils from your fingers end up on the strings, so they become dull, dirty and don't sound as good as they once did. We can, however, extend the life of our strings by following some simple steps - but you might need to grab a few things first.

There Is Hope For Our Strings

We can't stop our strings going fooshty (translate: minging/corroded), but we can delay the effects of our finger oils and environment by giving them a quick clean after we've finished practicing or playing. Get yourself a clean cloth - a microfibre cloth is perfect, but I've also used old pieces of t-shirt in the past (cotton t-shirts are best). So don't chuck away that old moth-eaten band t-shirt just yet. Cut it up into pieces that you can use to clean your guitar! If you prefer to use a quality cloth for your beloved guitar, then you can buy cleaning cloths from your local guitar shop. I like the soft D'Addario ones.

Get Cleaning

Step 1: Use the dry cloth to wipe down your strings. Get in-about the strings from the bridge end to the headstock end, and get rid of all that finger gunk (gross). You can stop at this step if you like, but continue for extra clean strings.

Step 2: Use a string cleaner to keep the strings fresh. There are lots of brands out there that you can use, but some of my favourites are:

• GHS Fast-Fret - smells nice, and it comes with a little cloth for wiping off any excess.

• D'Addario XLR8 - kinda like Fast-Fret. Just wipe it on your strings.

• Ernie Ball String Wipes - you can only use these once, so they feel like a bit of a waste, but they're decent.

• Dunlop 65 String Cleaner & Conditioner - it's a liquid in a bottle, but it has a cloth-like dispenser on top, so you just squeeze it and wipe it on the strings.

Step 3: Use a clean cloth to dry the strings. Wipe them down and you should good to go.

That's It!

Try to get into the habit of wiping down your strings after playing and you should notice that your strings last that little bit longer. I'm guilty of not cleaning my strings as often as I should, so I'll try to take my own advice. I don't have a preference for string cleaner, and I like to try anything new, but I have used Fast-Fret for the longest time. It lasts ages!