really really sticky pads
Moderators: Classitar, pied_piper, Phineas
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fluteplayer09
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 2:47 pm
really really sticky pads
I have had this flute for about 3 years. My pads have always been sticky so I used some absorbing paper/cigarette paper to get rid of the stickyness. This worked fine until about 1 month ago. My pads get sticky after about 10 min of playing and cleaning them with paper isnt helping. I dont eat sugary foods or anything and I cant figure out why the sudden change with my pads. No matter what I try they are really sticky. Should I get my flute looked at?
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fluteguy18
- Posts: 2311
- Joined: Sun Jul 16, 2006 3:11 pm
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fluteplayer09
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 2:47 pm
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fluteguy18
- Posts: 2311
- Joined: Sun Jul 16, 2006 3:11 pm
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fluteplayer09
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 2:47 pm
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fluteguy18
- Posts: 2311
- Joined: Sun Jul 16, 2006 3:11 pm
It could be lots of things then.
Eating ANYTHING or drinking ANYTHING before you play can contribute to sticky pads. They could just be dirty. Maybe you've oiled your flute [which isn't a good thing to do unless you know what you're doing] and the excess oil has gotten onto the pad. Maybe you are using toothpaste when you brush your teeth before you play. That could be the problem.
It could also be the weather. If the seasons are changing where you are, that could definitely be the problem. There could also be tarnish on the rims of the toneholes. Or, like sometimes, the flute fairy of misfortune and woe has visited you, and left behind sticky pads. She tends to do that sometimes, and has a knack for appearing right before important performances leaving a trail of broken instruments in her wake.
What I would do:
Make a solution that is 2 parts water, and one part denatured or rubbing alcohol. Take plain pad paper, and get the paper wet. Then put the wet paper under the pad. Press down. Lift the key up, then remove the wet paper. Take dry paper, and repeat until dry. Do this 2-3 times on each pad. Then let your pads dry completely. If they are felt pads, they will still have a soft 'sucking'/tacky sound for a few minutes.
If this doesn't work, then take it to your technitian.
And if you have one of those fuzzy 'pad saver' wand type things... throw it away. That could also be part of the problem. And if it isn't then it will eventially cause problems of another sort anyway.
Eating ANYTHING or drinking ANYTHING before you play can contribute to sticky pads. They could just be dirty. Maybe you've oiled your flute [which isn't a good thing to do unless you know what you're doing] and the excess oil has gotten onto the pad. Maybe you are using toothpaste when you brush your teeth before you play. That could be the problem.
It could also be the weather. If the seasons are changing where you are, that could definitely be the problem. There could also be tarnish on the rims of the toneholes. Or, like sometimes, the flute fairy of misfortune and woe has visited you, and left behind sticky pads. She tends to do that sometimes, and has a knack for appearing right before important performances leaving a trail of broken instruments in her wake.
What I would do:
Make a solution that is 2 parts water, and one part denatured or rubbing alcohol. Take plain pad paper, and get the paper wet. Then put the wet paper under the pad. Press down. Lift the key up, then remove the wet paper. Take dry paper, and repeat until dry. Do this 2-3 times on each pad. Then let your pads dry completely. If they are felt pads, they will still have a soft 'sucking'/tacky sound for a few minutes.
If this doesn't work, then take it to your technitian.
And if you have one of those fuzzy 'pad saver' wand type things... throw it away. That could also be part of the problem. And if it isn't then it will eventially cause problems of another sort anyway.
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fluteplayer09
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 2:47 pm
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fluteguy18
- Posts: 2311
- Joined: Sun Jul 16, 2006 3:11 pm
The residue from the toothpaste gets in your flute just like sugar residue from soft drinks. Trust me. I didn't think it would either until a few weeks ago. My pads were sticky, and I looked at them. Sure enough, I could see a teal/blue-ish ring on a few of my pads. Exactly the same color as my toothpaste. And it turns out that it WAS toothpaste.
The point of brushing your teeth before playing is to remove any residue from your teeth. So, if you use toothpaste when you brush before playing, make sure that you also take a few seconds to brush again with ONLY WATER. Then rinse your mouth out. That's what I do. I brush once with toothpaste, then a quick rinse. Then another speedy brushing without toothpaste [only water on the brush]. Then a last thorough rinsing.
I know it seems sort of OCD to do that, but I'm really REALLY fickle about my pads not being sticky/noisy. And because I have straubinger pads it's very easy to mess them up and have them start sticking/clicking when I play. Thank goodness I had a long talk with my technitian at the NFA conferance, and took some time to meet David Straubinger himself. I haven't had any problems since.
The point of brushing your teeth before playing is to remove any residue from your teeth. So, if you use toothpaste when you brush before playing, make sure that you also take a few seconds to brush again with ONLY WATER. Then rinse your mouth out. That's what I do. I brush once with toothpaste, then a quick rinse. Then another speedy brushing without toothpaste [only water on the brush]. Then a last thorough rinsing.
I know it seems sort of OCD to do that, but I'm really REALLY fickle about my pads not being sticky/noisy. And because I have straubinger pads it's very easy to mess them up and have them start sticking/clicking when I play. Thank goodness I had a long talk with my technitian at the NFA conferance, and took some time to meet David Straubinger himself. I haven't had any problems since.