cleaning and maintenance of whistle…tips

AlonE · Post by **AlonE** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 11:16 pm

Thus it is, that type of maintenance must have one whistle typical?.
All the possible information.

Thank all very much!!

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 4:25 am

You need to be a bit careful with wooden whistles, but for other materials, I really don't worry about it at ALL. If I don't get a sound out of a whistle, I inspect the windway for bits of extra material in there (food morsels, pocket lint etc) but otherwise simply don't bother.

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 4:25 am

You need to be a bit careful with wooden whistles, but for other materials, I really don't worry about it at ALL. If I don't get a sound out of a whistle, I inspect the windway for bits of extra material in there (food morsels, pocket lint etc) but otherwise simply don't bother.

sbhikes · Post by **sbhikes** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 8:04 am

Mine became a bit stinky at one point, so I rinsed them out with soapy water as if I was washing dishes. Good as new. They aren't wood whistles.

riverman · Post by **riverman** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 8:12 am

Mack Hoover gave us a good tip on the Praise Whistler's Abroad site. In order to put dish soap in the mouthpiece to prevent clogging while playing, and also to clean it out, get those gummy (brush) toothpicks at the drug store, The soft material won't scratch the inside of your windway, and it gets the soap right in there where it's needed. Then play and play and play!

fearfaoin · Post by **fearfaoin** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 8:57 am

I'm usually very blasé about cleaning my non-wooden whistles,
but I'm starting to rethink that. I recently took some Brasso to my
brass Copeland, which made it gleam splendidly. Then I learned
from this thread:

CranberryDog wrote:I understand that any cleaner with petroleum distllates
(Brasso is one of them) has a chemical reaction with
delrin that may lead to clogging and degradation.

So, I think I'll be switching to Flitz. Less danger to my skin, too.

Also, in this thread, crookedtune received a message from Mike
Burke about his whistles. The Burkes have parts that are glued
together, and immersion can apparantly dislodge the glue. I think
this could probably be extended to other high end whistles that
use glue to create a metal-metal joint.

crookedtune, himself quoting Mike Burke wrote:I recommend swabbing it out with a cloth soaked in
Isopropyl alcohol. Immersing can do some damage
and is never a good idea.

AlonE · Post by **AlonE** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 10:56 am

mmm already I see!!

Thank you very much by its aid!

It will clean with a little cotton and water to it, to avoid damages to the glue. (DixonTrad)

TonyHiggins · Post by **TonyHiggins** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 12:08 pm

Mainly, I cut a piece of business card and slide it through the windway. That's about all I see the need for. It can make a big difference in improving the clarity of the tone.

Putting soap through a brass whistle has caused a blue deposit on the brass near the windway.
Tony

PhilO · Post by **PhilO** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 2:19 pm

With respect to cleaning non wood whistles, other than as suggested by Tony Higgins, don't. I never touch my whistles over years (they are stored neatly and well kept when not in use) and never a problem. The one time I did try to clean out a brass whistle, I didn't like the tone for a while.

As for the outside, patina is beautiful; but if you insist, 0000 steel wool used lightly followed by a jeweler's cloth wipe brings brass back to new look.

Be careful with aluminum because you can remove special finishes, including that nice matte pearl grey finish on some whistles.

Metal slides - if you leave tuneables together over long periods (I tend to), slides may stick a bit. Assuming you get them apart via reverse hand twisting whilst pulling (rubber gloves can be helpful), some makers like Copeland will recommend chap stick for example to help. I tend to give a very light one swipe with 0000 steel wool even on the silver Abells just to clear the black gunk that developes and make the tolerance just right. Per Loren, don't rub away the metal of the slide. Also you should probably avoid putting most stuff on the slides and follow makers' recommendations.

Bottom line - with metal and plastic, just play them and tune as needed and there shouldn't be a problem unless small debris is stuck in the mouthpiece, hence the Tony Higgins fix.

Philo

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 5:48 pm

Cleaning whistles is untraditional.

Strom · Post by **Strom** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 3:41 pm

Just got a Hoover Whitecap and Mack sent a couple of the soft picks with it. They seem to be just the thing for cleaning out a windway. They are soft and flexable but have rubber bristles to clean out any gunk.

Craig-y-Nos · Post by **Craig-y-Nos** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 9:29 am

Bloomfield wrote:Cleaning whistles is untraditional.

Therefore, NOT cleaning your whistle is traditional.
That's the sort of tradition I like.

Whitmores75087 · Post by **Whitmores75087** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 1:03 pm

Bloomfield wrote:Cleaning whistles is untraditional.

Cheap whistles get better sounding with time as gunk builds up inside, but expensive ones don't benefit, from my experience.
Soaking for 10 minutes in a solution of warm water and "Cascade Complete" dishwasher detergent will eat up that stuff.

Steamwalker · Post by **Steamwalker** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 5:23 pm

My brass whistles are turning all sorts of nasty colors and they tend to smell like old pennies. Not something I'd like to shove in my face. I say clean 'em if you can.

Cynth · Post by **Cynth** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 8:37 pm

In the US there is a saying "as clean as a whistle"---I don't know if they have that saying in other countries. I also don't know what sort of whistle it means and why the whistle would be clean.

My maker said to mix a pretty concentrated solution of dish-washing detergent and water. I put some in a little dropper bottle and I liberally drip the solution through the mouthpiece when I am done playing. I wipe the whole whistle off with a damp cloth because some of the soapy solution gets on the outside. Then I let it stand upright and dry. The soapy solution is supposed to prevent clogging---the detergent contains an anti-surfactant. That is why, for these instructions, you don't rinse the soap out. My whistle has stayed as clean as a whistle that way. I also drink some water before playing it so I don't get coffee or whatever in it. My other whistle really got gunked-up to the point that it wouldn't make sounds hardly. I guess you can wait until it is gunked-up to clean it (although you have to make sure you don't poke with something that could damage things) or you can clean up as you go. I like the clean up as you go method myself.