Hi, Thanks to everyone that responded to my previous posts. I bought a used flute off ebay (2SP Gemeinhardt). My daughter's band director looked it over and says its in good shape.
I won't let my daughter play it, til we have properly cleaned and disinfected it. Well, we know how to clean a flute but how do you disinfect it?
How do you disinfect a used flute?
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fluttiegurl
- Posts: 882
- Joined: Fri Dec 10, 2004 11:05 pm
That is a tough one. In order to COMPLETELY clean and disinfect a flute, it must be taken apart, which REQUIRES a trained tech, and could get into a great deal of money. However, you can clean the headjoint with soap and water. First, make sure that you allow the water to run out of the end of the headjoint as you run it under water. There is a cork on one end. If that cork gets wet, it could cause problems later on. I don't suggest removing the cork as it may cause problems as well. You can use an alcohol wipe to clean the lip plate. That would more than likely do the trick. Generally, flutes are pretty safe since we do not actually put our mouth on them, but cleaning the lip pate is a good idea. Just be very careful as you can actually rub the finish off if it is chipped or pealing (I had this happen once).
Someone else may have other suggestions on the matter, but I would be reluctant to use anything on the flute itself. ESPECIALLY with the keys on. You can ruin the pads very easily, which makes for a costly repad.
Someone else may have other suggestions on the matter, but I would be reluctant to use anything on the flute itself. ESPECIALLY with the keys on. You can ruin the pads very easily, which makes for a costly repad.
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flutegirl49
- Posts: 39
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2004 11:53 pm
Wowfluttiegurl wrote:That is a tough one. In order to COMPLETELY clean and disinfect a flute, it must be taken apart, which REQUIRES a trained tech, and could get into a great deal of money. However, you can clean the headjoint with soap and water. First, make sure that you allow the water to run out of the end of the headjoint as you run it under water. There is a cork on one end. If that cork gets wet, it could cause problems later on. I don't suggest removing the cork as it may cause problems as well. You can use an alcohol wipe to clean the lip plate. That would more than likely do the trick. Generally, flutes are pretty safe since we do not actually put our mouth on them, but cleaning the lip pate is a good idea. Just be very careful as you can actually rub the finish off if it is chipped or pealing (I had this happen once).
Someone else may have other suggestions on the matter, but I would be reluctant to use anything on the flute itself. ESPECIALLY with the keys on. You can ruin the pads very easily, which makes for a costly repad.
As crazy as it seems.. i DID run my flute headjoint under water before a concert one time.. to clean it out... but I did not remove the cork or anything. (what i supposed to?..i hope not!)... I think I've done this twice.. washed my headjoints including its parts under water.. I can't remember exactly how I did it.. but I think i soaked it in a sink full of water...what kind of problems does this cause?
might this be the reason for my flute's inconsistent tone? (as mentioned in my topic) -
fluttiegurl
- Posts: 882
- Joined: Fri Dec 10, 2004 11:05 pm
I have heard some players suggest that you clean your headjoint on a regular basis, though I have never done this and in over 25 years, have not contracted any strange diseases, nor have I re-infected myslef from a previous illness. The truth of the matter is, germs don't work that way.
If you are speaking of only cleaning the headjoint, the main problem would be swelling then shrinking of the cork. Worst case, the cork would mold
due to not drying completely. Another problem would be the cork shrinking to simply not fit any longer then falling out. I would not suggest getting the cork wet at all. Soaking the entire head is not a good idea. I also would not suggest removing the cork. If done incorrectly, it can damage your headjoint.
The best way to clean the headjoint out is to consistantly use a dry, soft cloth EVERY time you play. Put it through the hole on the end of your tuning rod and swab the headjoint (as well as the rest of the flute) until the moisture is gone. This is a very simple process that should only take a few minutes, but can help keep your flute clean and sanitary as well as prolong the life of your pads.
If you have actually placed any other part of your flute in water, you could have any number of issues including mis-shaped pads, rusted springs, rust in general, molded pads (gross), etc., etc., etc. NEVER, NEVR, NEVER get your flute wet. If it happens to be in the rain (marching band), be sure to protect the pads as best as you can and dry it off and out ASAP.
As for this being the cause of your tone problems, more than likely it is not (unless, like I said, you put the other parts of the flute in water). It could just cause an unsanitary mess in the end.
If you are speaking of only cleaning the headjoint, the main problem would be swelling then shrinking of the cork. Worst case, the cork would mold
due to not drying completely. Another problem would be the cork shrinking to simply not fit any longer then falling out. I would not suggest getting the cork wet at all. Soaking the entire head is not a good idea. I also would not suggest removing the cork. If done incorrectly, it can damage your headjoint.The best way to clean the headjoint out is to consistantly use a dry, soft cloth EVERY time you play. Put it through the hole on the end of your tuning rod and swab the headjoint (as well as the rest of the flute) until the moisture is gone. This is a very simple process that should only take a few minutes, but can help keep your flute clean and sanitary as well as prolong the life of your pads.
If you have actually placed any other part of your flute in water, you could have any number of issues including mis-shaped pads, rusted springs, rust in general, molded pads (gross), etc., etc., etc. NEVER, NEVR, NEVER get your flute wet. If it happens to be in the rain (marching band), be sure to protect the pads as best as you can and dry it off and out ASAP.
As for this being the cause of your tone problems, more than likely it is not (unless, like I said, you put the other parts of the flute in water). It could just cause an unsanitary mess in the end.
Re: How do you disinfect a used flute?
Use a cloth dampened with 70% rubbing alcohol (from the drug store). Then wipe that dry. Any harmful viruses or bacteria will be taken care of that way. If it is grundgy then use a cleaning cloth. The alcohol should not damage the silver plate. It would seem to be that washing the flute might risk wetting the pads and seems like overkill. Most likely nothing serious is lurking on the flute so cleaning the lip plate is probably most important, and it should be safe enough since it should only contact the outer lip area.texmurphy wrote:Hi, Thanks to everyone that responded to my previous posts. I bought a used flute off ebay (2SP Gemeinhardt). My daughter's band director looked it over and says its in good shape.
I won't let my daughter play it, til we have properly cleaned and disinfected it. Well, we know how to clean a flute but how do you disinfect it?
Disinfected Flute
Well, I wiped the entire exterior (lip plate, keys, etc.) of the flute down with a cloth dampened with 70% rubbing alcohol. Then I swabbed the inside of the flute with a cloth dampened with 70% rubbing alcohol, using the cleaning rod. I was careful when wiping down not to get anything on the pads or corks. After that, we polished with a cloth that came with our flute cleaning kit to remove some small tarnished spots. Wiped clean with another cloth. I feel comfortable with it now. Dampened being the key word here & consideration of how fast alcohol dries & evaporates, the flute was never "wet". Thanks for all your tips and suggestions !
Re: Disinfected Flute
One thing you might notice, I forgot to mention, is that rubbing alcohol is denatured (to prevent consumption) by placing a small amount of methanol in it-- this may leave a slight taste (bitter) if not wiped up. More than likely you wiped it all off by the sounds of yout thorough cleaning, but if there is a slight "flavor" remaining you might use a dampend (water) cloth to go over the lip plate- it will easily come off. Good luck and happy fluting.texmurphy wrote: I feel comfortable with it now. Dampened being the key word here & consideration of how fast alcohol dries & evaporates, the flute was never "wet". Thanks for all your tips and suggestions !