Herco HE185 Herco Jar Of 18 Sm Spitballs

by Herco

Product Features

• The amazing famous cleaning discs for brass instruments

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 1.9 x 1.9 x 1.8 inches ; 0.8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002E3GV4
• Item model number: HE185
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,775 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)

Product Description

The amazing famous cleaning discs for brass instruments! Specially treated moist foam. Blown through the horn to give instantaneous cleaning.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun to clean your horn, November 5, 2007

By 

K. McGill - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Herco HE185 Herco Jar Of 18 Sm Spitballs (Electronics)

I was a little skeptical to use these "spitballs" in my horn. I was sure that they would get stuck some place that I wouldn't be able to get to very easily. No spitballs got stuck! Actually, it was fun to blow the sponges through the horn. They went through with ease. And, it did get some "gunk" out of the horn.

The only thing I didn't care for was the fact that they were a little messy to put into the lead pipe of the horn. Other than that, I think I'll continue to use these fun little sponges.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I don't like it....., October 3, 2009

By 

jhoannaaaaaaa - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Herco HE185 Herco Jar Of 18 Sm Spitballs (Electronics)

I would have given it one star, but i gave it two because it does do some cleaning.
I was really scared because I didn't know if they would get stuck or what. But after reading some reviews, I decided to take a chance. That was the mistake.
My trumpet was really dirty, so when i got these, i followed the directions, and one of the "spitballs" got stuck in the horn. It took me about 5 minutes to take all the slides off and everything, but I finally did find it.
I was stupid enough to try it again, because i thought it was just that one spitball that didn't work. again, it got stuck somewhere in my horn. it says it works for small bore trombones, trumpets, cornets, and french horns. I didn't dare to try it on my french horn.

So the next day, I asked my band teacher about these spitballs, and she said not to use them. I guess I wasted time and money (shipping costed more than item)

i guess the only upside is that it cleans your horn, but only a bit.
i really wouldn't recommend these. just buy one of those snakes.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spitballing Fun, March 30, 2011

By 

Austin (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Herco HE185 Herco Jar Of 18 Sm Spitballs (Electronics)

I use these for my trombone. My other trombonist partner bought some and gave me half of them. Recently I seen them at a local music store and bought some to use (and give half of them back to my partner for her kind generosity of her spitballs).

They are great for cleaning the insides of your instrument. I can't stress this enough: Use a pencil or rod to push the spitball an inch or 2 into your instrument before blowing. If you just stick it in and blow you might notice it's impossible.

The reason why is because the mouthpiece is meant to be slid in and locked into place inside the narrow tube. The tube tightens to grip the mouthpiece an inch inwards. Past the tight mouth piece tubing the valves/tubes get wider. They are plenty wide enough to let a sponge squeeze by. All you have to do is blow.

When you insert and blow the sponge through your valves it scrubs the inner tubes removing dirt with it's cleaning liquid; and the sponge soaks the dirt up. After blowing the sponge sucessfully, it will literally shoot out your horn's bell! You may notice the sponge got larger. It's because the sponge was compressed inside and was releasing the liquids. When the sponge is shot back out the bell it expands because it is no longer wet and crammed in a tight tube.

Don't worry about it expanding in your horn, it can't. The sponge is very easy to blow out. If you're struggling blowing it, check the sponge. You may need to push it further in the horn. After you push it in further and it's still stuck use a rod to remove it and check for a smaller size. These are meant for Trombones, Baritones, and trumpets. I wouldn't put them in anything smaller.
Good luck!