Not sure if this has been brought up before...

Larry

"Uncle Larry"
Today I was in my studio and smelled something funny. I noticed it up when I would walk by one of the drum thrones that are lying about. Putting my nose right on my Roc&Soc seat top, a black felt tractor style....and taking a sniff....yea it was not good. Pretty bad. I dare you to do the same. (with your own throne silly) You have to wonder how many cubic feet of gas the foam has had to filter through all the years lol. Ewww.

So the question is...how do you clean a Roc&Soc seat top? I mean really clean, not mask with perfume or Fabreze.

I guess I'll just take it outside and hose it down after soaping it all up. I have a portable thing that shoots steam. I don't want to wreck the foam with too much heat though. Maybe immerse it in paint thinner then hose it down. But paint thinner might mess the foam up. So I guess immersing it soapy hot water is best. Any good reason not to do that?

Anybody ever clean their seat top? Mine needs it bad. I'm not what you would call a gassy person. But you wouldn't think that if you sniffed my seat lol.

It's so bad I want to strap it to White Chocolate's face permanently...What do you think Phil?

Sorry for the not so wonderful topic.
 
don't use paint thinner. reacts with all kinds of rubbers and polymers - so forget your foam or anything vinyl. it will degrade.

run it through a car wash?
 
Yeah? Geez mate, mine smells like potpourri.

Screw you Jules! I can always count on your schoolyard humor lol.

Ever hear of Lysol?
............

Same to you Ian!

For that matter, ever hear of wiping your arse? :)

No please explain. You mean you don't just leave it there?

don't use paint thinner. reacts with all kinds of rubbers and polymers - so forget your foam or anything vinyl. it will degrade.

run it through a car wash?

Degrade...you mean like this thread? Lol.

Finally! A sane person. Thank you Louis. No paint thinner. Screw those wise guys! :p

I owe you a beer Louis.
 
And screw you in advance to any wise guys! Now get off my thread! Sniff your thrones!
 
I've only had vinyl seat tops which clean fairly easily so I can't relate. The steam clean sounds like a good idea. You want to kill the bacteria.

Fabric seats just don't seem like a good idea as comfy as they may be.
 
I use carpet/fabric spray from a can. I scrub the foam in and then I vacuum the residue out just like you spot clean carpet and upholstery in your home and car.
I recently was spring cleaning my car and I did my thrones at the same time.
 
Freezing it? Hmm. I wouldn't have thunk that. I don't want dead frozen bacteria in there, I want to flush it all out and have it smell meadow fresh lol. I'm also a little wary of steam, too hot. I betcha pouring a quart of alcohol or peroxide before the hot soapy water thing would help too. Then Fabreze just for good measure.

The foam is OK I guess. I want a complete flush job.
 
Cryogenic cleaning is something commonly used in hospital deep clean & other antibacterial applications. Usually delivered with an additional agent, but not always. A freezer might get you part way there, but liquid nitrogen is your friend :) Maybe discharge an old fire extinguisher with the nozzle held on the surface of the seat top after pre freezing it will get you a long way towards the pro gear used for this.

From a seat design pov, using a closed cell foam (such as neoprene) with a removable secure seat cover would be a practical design upgrade for the gigging drummer. I know it seems like captain obvious, but why not ask the seat manufacturer for advice. Surely this is something they've considered. They'd certainly know what foam they used. If you're lucky, they used a closed cell foam, & that means the foam will be largely impervious to bacteria & also cleaning agents/water, etc. Use of any form of solvent is a huge no no.
 
Freezing it? Hmm. I wouldn't have thunk that. I don't want dead frozen bacteria in there...

Just like you don't want dead bacteria corpses littering your food that you have heated up to a safe temperature to kill everything off?

Another option would be putting potpourri pouches in your jeans, try to place them in the spots where you know you're bound to get smelly.
 
Short of getting in touch with the manufacturer, what if you consulted with folks who clean sofas and such? I'm sure they know how you can safely clean your throne, it's basically the same as a couch, no?

I also have a Roc n Soc top and this hasn't concerned me yet, but I suppose I should start thinking about it. I like the comfy feeling of the Roc n soc, but maybe there's a reason thrones have always been made of vinyl.

On the other hand, after you've spent all that time researching and then cleaning your seat top, in $$$ terms, you may have spent enough to buy a new seat top to begin with. I bought just the Roc N Soc seat top for $65 two years ago.
 
Strangely enough this thread has gotten my attention.
My throne is used by other drummers all night long during the jam.

And NO !
I am NOT going to smell it to see how bad it smells !

Yeah, I had better figure out a way to clean it, and soon.
Thank you for your smelly story Larry.

.
 
Wow. I've had mine for about 12 years now, and I gig almost every weekend. I've never noticed an "aroma" but maybe it's time I check it out ......
 
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