Keep acoustic guitar strings fresh/clean -- without having to buy anything? :-)

Dave!

Hey folks,

I'm getting sick of my strings going rusty after a short time

Just wondering what ye folks do to prolong their lives?

I know there's various products for sale that proclaim to do this, but I don't have any money, so don't wanna buy anything

Any houeshold remedies? Obviously keeping the strings dry is the important thing, but wiping them with a tissue afterwards doesn't seem that effective!

Kenny_D

Elixir strings. Last twice as long as regular strings like martin/daddario's. Twice the price but last twice as long and sound way nicer as well

dumac

What about a bit of polish? As in a squirt of something like Pledge, in moderation of course.

Rigsby

I usually wipe my strings with a clean cotton cloth moistened with methylated spirit ( making sure to protect the fretboard with plastic paper ) after a practice session or gig. Then I wipe off the excess with a dry cloth. Meths only costs about five euro a bottle. Other tips that might help would be keeping the guitar in it's case/gig bag when not in use. You could also put some silica gel sachets in the bag to take in excess moisture. The rust could also be caused by the acid from the sweat on your hands. Try washing your hands before you play the guitar. Apart from the normal build up of dirt on the strings, I seldom get rust on them.

rcaz

Whenever I change strings, I always wipe the fretboard with lemon juice to take off all that black gunk that can build up behind frets. I've never noticed my strings actually rusting.