How do you clean the skin on a drum, or the drumheads on a drum kit? It depends on the type of material the drum is made of. Traditional drums made of actual goat skin or similar materials, and they require different cleaning techniques than the plastic drum heads featured on most rock-style drum kits. While cleaning plastic drum heads is less vital, knowing how to clean the skin on a drum made of natural materials is important to the longevity and sound quality of the drum,
To clean the skin on a drum made of goat skin or other natural skins, you will need:
Step One
Use a soft, damp cloth to clean the skin on a drum. Don't use too much water, as water will cause the skin to loosen, changing its sound. Too much water can stretch the drum enough to make it unplayable. It will work again once it's dry, but too much stretching could damage the head, so keep this in mind when you clean the skin on a drum.
Step Two
Treat the drum skin with lotion. Lotions or lanolin-based creams can help maintain the suppleness of the drum skin, especially for a drum that is played with sticks, such as a bodhran. Drums played with the hands absorb oils from your skin and so do not necessarily need additional oils. Many drummers put massage oil on their hands before they begin to play to condition the skins a bit more, and periodically treat the drum with teak oil.