Cleaning Flute

[JazzGirl301]

What would you recommend in keeping your flute in good condition?

[pied_piper]

Use a microfiber cloth to GENTLY wipe off the exterior, but be careful around the pads, especially at the edge of each key. It's easy to tear a pad skin. Occasionally, you can wipe the embouchure plate with alcohol. Use alcohol on a cotton swab (Q-Tip) to gently clean inside the embouchure hole. Do not use any other cleaning solutions or silver polish anywhere on your flute.

Anything more than that should be performed by a flute technician.

[cflutist]

Occasionally, you can wipe the embouchure plate with alcohol. Use alcohol on a cotton swab (Q-Tip) to gently clean inside the embouchure hole. Anything more than that should be performed by a flute technician.

pp, why would that be only occasionally? I've been wiping my headjoint off with alcohol every time I play it. I also wipe off the flute body and keys with a slightly damp cloth with alcohol which does seem to keep the tarnish away from the keys. Am I doing something that will damage my flute in the long run? I am careful to not touch any of the Straubinger pads (which I"ve heard themselves are very delicate).

I promised myself back in September 2010 that I would take care of this new Brannen flute. In the past, there were times that I put my Haynes away without swabbing it out, or wiping the keys, which I know was bad:-(

[pied_piper]

Wiping the headjoint with alcohol after each use should cause no harm as long as you don't use so much alcohol that it could seep into the headjoint cork. A soft cloth lightly moistened with alcohol should be safe for daily use. I clean mine that way once a week or so, but more often would not be harmful.

If you do the same type of treatment on the keys and body, you need to be sure that alcohol does not seep into the joints around the posts or onto cork/felt bumpers. If alcohol gets into the mechanism, it can dilute the oil which can reduce it's effectiveness and result in premature wear to the mechanism. Alcohol can also loosen some glues that are used on felt or cork bumpers, so caution is urged there.

[cflutist]

Thank you pp.

No, I just blot the rag on the open bottle top once, so it is very little alcohol, in fact most of it evaporates so that the rag is barely damp.

[pied_piper]

One more thing for anyone who has an ABS plastic instrument (like some piccolos and clarinets).

Under no circumstances should alcohol (especially denatured alcohol) be used on plastic instruments.

ABS plastic reacts chemically with alcohol and it becomes very brittle. I have heard stories from other repair techs telling about players who did this and after some time, pieces will break off, it can crack and break in half, or in extreme circumstances the entire instrument shattered like broken glass.

[Fox]

I usually only use a microfiber cloth to wipe the outside and run a cotton cloth through with the cleaning rod. On rare occasions I use a Q-tip dipped in alcohol to clean the embouchure plate. Anything more than that I leave to the tech. I don't let alcohol get near the pads at all. I've seen how easily it can dissolve the glue.

[Zevang]

I usually use a small amount of water on the lip plate, just to remove the saliva markings left by my lips.
From time to time the alcohol is good for prophylactic reasons.
As well pointed above, the exterior of the flute must be cleaned with a microfiber only, and this cloth must be used ONLY for that purpose. The other cloth you use to dry the inside of the flute must be other than the microfiber, preferably a peace of old cotton diaper.

[zummerzet_lou]

Ooops ... I always swab my flute out after playing ... but I also wipe down the outside with a silver polishing cloth. Have been doing this for years with no sign of damage etc. Why shouldn't I be doing this?

[pied_piper]

Ooops ... I always swab my flute out after playing ... but I also wipe down the outside with a silver polishing cloth. Have been doing this for years with no sign of damage etc. Why shouldn't I be doing this?

It depends upon what type of silver polishing cloth you are using. A plain microfiber cloth is sometimes called a silver polishing cloth, but it's really just a very soft cloth. That will do no harm as long as you don't rub the edge of the pads. If your cloth is a reddish brown color on one side, it has jeweler's rouge on it. That type is not good to use on a flute because the jeweler's rouge will work it's way into the key shafts and contaminate the oil, making it less effective. That can lead to premature wear of the mechanism.

[Bo]

For the keys, you can also use a cigarette paper. I use it every day.
I use alcohol about every 10-14 days.

Every two months or so I also do some general maintenance (oil, grease), and it really seems to work wonders. My flute sounds like new after that.