These are the 2 methods I have heard of for cleaning strings.
Soaking in Denatured Alcohol
Get a plastic pvc pipe tube, about 40" long and 1/4" diameter. Cap one end permantently, fill it with denatured alcohol, then cap the other end. When you want to soak your strings, its ready to go, just pull the top cap off and slip in your strings to soak in it overnight. When done, pull the strings out, put the top cap back on and the alcohol stays in, no mess, no fuss, and you can lay the pipe down under a bed, it takes up NO room whatsoever, and there is NO mess at all.
The denatured alcohol stays effective for a long, long time. I'm over a year on the same batch in my pipe.
Denatured alcohol is available at any hardware store (Lowes, Home Depot, etc.) and is cheaper than isopropyl/rubbing alcohol. It is purer, undiluted, and doesn't have water and sometimes SKIN SOFTENERS in it like rubbing alcohol does.
Boiling
Coil the strings up and place them into a pot. Fill the pot with water and boil the strings for a few minutes. After you boil them, take them out of the pot and hang them somewhere to dry. You need to make sure the strings get dry, otherwise they will rust.
DO NOT REUSE THIS POT FOR COOKING FOOD AS CHEMICALS FROM THE STRINGS CAN BOND WITH THE POT also
DO NOT BOIL GUITAR STRINGS, YOU CAN SOAK THEM IN ALCOHOL, HOWEVER
Both of these methods can be used with stainless steel strings aswell. Do not use either of these methods with coated strings (elixers, etc.), as this will remove the coating from the strings. While the strings are off, it is a good time to clean your fretboard with lemon oil.
feel free to post any other methods you know of for cleaning strings.
