How to clean the straps?

[Acon]

Hi guys do you clean tour straps? I live in one of the hottest countries in the world. It's Australia . And it's in summer!
I don't have air condition in my room so I sweat a lot when playing the accordion. My straps start to have some smell now and I want to know how to clean them. Since they are made from leather and cloth together so I guess they can't be clean by my laundry machine right?

Any idea?

 

[Corsaire]

That's the reason I didn't get neoprene straps. They may be comfortable, but user comments said they start to smell after a time !

You can buy liquid soaps designed to clean leather so you could give the straps a good scrub, including the fabric bits. Rinse well and hang them out in the fresh air if possible, and when dry, put some liquid paraffin on the leather - it really keeps it soft !
I know liquid paraffin has other uses but .......

 

[Soulsaver]

I thought you can machine wash Neotechs... Jim? I've not tried it though.
You can definately wash (some?) Hohner cotton/nylon ones, I've done it.

 

[JIM D.]

Yes, Neotechs can be machine washed ( a positive when considering a strap replacement).
The quality accordion straps on the market today (leather & cloth or vinyl ) will not survive a machine wash.
They will require a hand cleaning or dry clean.
The options for conventional straps today that will survive heavy use are sets byintelcinte ---

or straps of Canadian make from --

http://frment.com/

A quality set of leather and cloth or vinyl today will cost $100.00 USD, A set of Neotech.s will be half that price and just might out live the box itself.
80% of my customers today buy Neotechs, Sometime from me or order them from Amazon or Ebay.

 

[JerryPH]

I know Frank Romano personally... He moved from Montreal to near Boston about 25 years ago. He's a US citizen now.

Actially he is in Revere, MA. about 7 miles outside Boston. I bought my Iorio and Elka 83 from him way back when.

As far as straps are concned, give me all leather or don't offer me anything else. To clean them, wipe with soft damp cloth and they will give you an honest 20-30 years of service.

BTW, Italcnte do not sell to the public... I know, because I asked them personally. You have to go through a dealer. Good luck finding someone with stock, at least in Canada.

 

[Acon]

Thanks guys for all your advice. My straps is a two-piece one designed by an Italian accordionist Claudio Jacomucci (http://www.claudiojacomucci.com/Ergonomic_Straps.html ). The leather parts and the cloth parts are combined by metal parts. I dont get any smell from the leather parts actually, but some from the cloth parts because they soaked in some sweat during the playing. The upper piece of the design will go through your armpits and I guess thats why it happened. I worry about the rust issue if I wash them but Ill give it a try anyway.

 

[Corsaire]

I don't know what happened to my reply - it seems to have vanished !

You can scrub the fabric part of the straps, then rinse well. Dry slowly then put a leather cream or liquid paraffin on the leather bits to soften them.
To avoid rusting, put a thick dollop of Vaseline on the metal rivets, and scrub round them. The Vaseline should stay in place when you rinse, and you can then just wipe it off.

 

[Acon]

Thanks for your advice Corsaire. Vaseline is a wonderful idea, and I got lots of Vaseline!!

I'll try recently!!