Instrument Cleaning & Respiratory Health
Free Professional Cleanings for Wind Instrument Players
Helping musicians protect their instruments and respiratory health. Registered NOMAF musicians can sign up for access to free professional instrument cleaning services through Louisiana Instrument Repair, LLC. Clean your horn, keep your health in tune!
*Capacity is limited- sign-up now to reserve your spot
Why It’s Important
1. A Hidden Health Risk
Wind instruments accumulate mold, bacteria, and fungi in their interiors with regular use — pathogens that players breathe in directly with every performance.
2. An Access Problem
Professional instrument cleaning is expensive, and many musicians have never received guidance on proper hygiene practices or the respiratory risks involved.
3. A Free Solution
NOMAF provides free instrument cleaning services so every wind player can protect their respiratory health — regardless of income.
Free Wind Instrument Cleaning Services
Registered NOMAF musicians can sign-up for a free professional cleaning at Louisiana Instrument Repair, LLC.
✓ Open to all wind instrument players who are registered NOMAF musicians
✓ Performed by experienced instrument repair professionals
✓ Covers the full cost of a professional cleaning
Instrument Hygiene & Your Respiratory Health
Most wind players never consider what builds up inside their instrument. But what’s growing in there can have serious — and lasting — consequences for your lungs.
What Builds Up Inside Your Instrument
Every time you play a wind instrument, warm, humid air from your lungs passes through the bore, valves, and tone holes. Moisture, saliva, and organic matter settle on interior surfaces and don’t dry out completely between sessions. Over time, this creates the ideal conditions for mold, bacteria, and fungi to colonize the interior of your instrument.
Many musicians are surprised to learn that contamination accumulates even in instruments that are played regularly and look clean on the outside. The interior of a brass instrument that hasn’t been professionally cleaned can harbor visible mold colonies, bacterial biofilms, and fungal growth — all of which you inhale with every note you play.
Note: Contamination is often invisible until it becomes severe — meaning exposure is already happening long before most musicians notice anything wrong.
Long-Term Health Consequences
Chronic Respiratory Illness
Repeated inhalation of mold spores and bacteria is linked to chronic cough, persistent bronchitis, and worsening asthma — conditions that can permanently reduce lung function and end careers prematurely.
“Saxophone Lung”
Also known as hypersensitivity pneumonitis, is a serious immune reaction to inhaled organic matter — documented in trumpet, saxophone, and trombone players — can cause progressive lung scarring and shortness of breath that worsens with continued exposure.
Cumulative, Silent Damage
Early symptoms — persistent cough, shortness of breath, fatigue — are often dismissed as seasonal allergies. Many musicians experience years of cumulative lung damage before connecting it to their instrument.
