Bass strings are durable and barely snap, but they can still lose a lot of their sound quality due to built-up oil and dirt in the grooves. You can remove all that gunk by a few simple home methods. For instance, a lot of bass players swear by boiling the strings in water. You can also soak them in denatured alcohol, which is one of the more popular methods of cleaning the strings. In fact, denatured alcohol is better because water can cause rust buildup on the strings over time. But at the end of the day, it’s still your choice. Or if you want to keep things simple, why not invest in a specialist instrument cleaning kit.