Washing the Hair of your Bow

Prerequisite: You have enough hair on your bow to make it worthwhile,
and you have access to a faucet which will run a trickle of luke-warm
water.  The soap you will use will be Boraxo or Comet or some such
rough scouring soap.  A fine-toothed comb and a place to hang your bow
so the hairs can dry are also desirable.

Main Caution:  You must not get your bow stick wet!  you must not get
your frog wet!  These two points cannot be stressed enough.

Steps:

1.  Unscrew your nut completely, so that you can withdraw the screw.
Put the screw in a safe place.  You now have a bowstick, with hair
attached to its tip and dangling down with the frog attached at the 
other end.

2.  Put the stick at the side of the sink, where it can't get wet.
(mine rests on top of the dish-drying rack at the side of my kitchen
sink) Hold the frog with the hand on the opposite side from where the
stick has been put; the hair is now dangling in between, and can be
dangled low enough to be put under the thin trickle of luke-warm
water.

3.  Use the free hand, the one not holding the frog, to apply the
Boraxo to the wet hair.  I wudgle the hair around between my fingers,
near where the water is hitting the hair, so that I can work the Boraxo
in, and get as much rosin off as possible.  Do this thoroughly up and
down the length of the bow hair.  Did I remind you not to get the stick,
or frog, wet?  Well, I remind you again.

4.  Make sure the hair is carefully rinsed.  Then twirl the hair around,
holding the bow near the tip, and the frog with the other hand, to get
all excess water off.

5.  Put the screw back into the nut/frog, so that the bow is again
assembled, but don't tighten it.  Then use the comb to gently straighten
out the hairs; work first from the top, then the bottom.  Be gentle.

6.  Hang the bow up to dry.  It will be dry within two hours, but wait
overnight to be sure, if you are anxious.

7.  Rosin the bow.  Enough, but not too much!

Enjoy!

If this doesn't work for you, then you can take the bow in for rehairing;
nothing, except time, a bit of water, and some Boraxo, will have been lost.