In the course of time, all Steel, Bronze and Phosphor Bronze instrument strings lose their tone, clarity, brightness and eventually become tarnished This process is dramatically speeded up by the acid and dirt that rubs off fingers whilst playing. For a player whose fingers sweat, this can lead to a new set of strings within days Many players wipe the surface of their strings after playing, but most of the dirt is actually forced under the strings by the action of the fingers, and is then almost impossible to remove This not only damages the tone and life of the string but also then acts like sandpaper on the fret wires, eventually leading to premature string and very costly fret wire replacement The Swipe' easily removes the harmful sweat, grease and dirt build up, giving the strings and fret wires a longer life, as well as extending the period of tonal clarity