HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR BASSOON
TAKING YOUR BASSOON APART
1) 
Take your reed off and put it in your reed case.
2) 
Take your bocal off and put it in your case.
3) 
With small twists, take the bell off and put it in your case key up.
4) 
Unhook the long joint from the wing joint. 
With small twists, take the long joint off the boot and put it in your case with the thumb keys on top.
5) 
With small twists, take the wing joint off the boot and put it in your case with the thumb keys on top. The wing joint and long joint should fit together like they do in the boot.
6) 
Place the boot in the case with thumb keys DOWN.
7) 
Don't forget your seat strap!
CLEANING YOUR BASSOON
The only recommended form of swab is a silk swab. Though silk is a bit more expensive, other materials become too thick when pulled through the parts of the instrument and often get stuck to the point that they will need to be taken in to the shop to be repaired. Silk swabs on the other hand, do the job without becoming stuck and will save you time, hassles and money in the long run.
For the bell, long joint and wing joint, you need only to pull the silk swab directly through them. The boot is a bit trickier to clean.
1) 
Place the chain (or bobber) into the larger of the two holes in the boot.
2) 
Feed the rest of your swab into the instrument
3) 
Flip upside down and the bobber and chain will come out of the smaller hole.
4) 
Pull the Silk Swab through the hole and VOILA! You've done it!