Flute Care tips
To keep a new
flute in perfect condition, please take note of the following care tips:
Flute
Care tips
If you suspect that the flute is not
working properly, even in the smallest way, immediately locate a
reputable flute technician (ask the top teachers
and flute professionals in your area whom THEY trust with THEIR flutes
for repair.). Many new flute owners assume that
the flute is in perfect working order when they buy it. Over time they
also may assume that playing problems they're experiencing (notes that
sound fuzzy, buzzing noises coming from the mechanical parts, difficulty
playing quickly etc.) are their own fault, not the flute's. Flutes are
like swiss watches, with many tiny moving parts, and very delicate
mechanisms. They are not as forgiving as other woodwinds. Often
difficulties arise gradually, and the true problem is mechanical or
caused by leaking pads (made from organic materials very much affected
by moisture and uneven finger pressure.) It is VERY normal to take a
flute to be inspected and oiled every six to twelve months. If you play
the flute two hours or more a day, every six months is normal. Repairs
done regularly, and the regular care by a flute repair professional make
playing the flute well MUCH easier. Do not assume you can fix it
yourself, and do not assume that you are the problem. Often it is very
inexpensive to make frequent short visits to the repair shop, rather
than wait until there are multiple and more severe problems with the
flute.
Read more on this topic in an article called "Is
it the flute or is it me?"
so you can learn more about testing your flute prior to a repair visit.
To prevent unecessary repairs in a brand new
flute, read on:
1. Always swab the flute out to dry
after playing. This protects the pads from wear, and
allows them to last up to 10 years between re-paddings.
2. Always handle the flute only by the smooth sections and
never grip the moving parts.
Twist the flute together, or take apart holding the smooth sections
where your hand pressure will *not* bend the mechanism and keys.
3. Polish skin oils off with a micro-fiber cloth.
(sold in music shops, can be laundered/ironed. Wicks up oils.)
Note: excessive polishing can wear off gold and silver plating over
several years, so polish gently. Avoid the use of special flute
polishing cloths (polish dust impregnated) more than once or twice a
year. Remove all residue with clean cloth so it cannot travel to pad
surfaces.
4. Do not use household silver polish as it will
gradually destroy pad surfaces and the mechanism inside the rods
and levers.
The flute can be re-polished and dipped remove tarnish every 1-2
years when you send it to an expert technician for a "Clean, Oil
and Adjust". Keys and mechanism must be removed to clean tubing.
5. Always put the flute in its case when not
practicing or playing. Laying the flute on a soft surface such as
a bed or couch, where it can get sat on, or leaving it on a chair or in
an area where others may knock it down accidentally can lead costly
repairs.
6. Avoid scratching or denting the embouchure area
especially!
Other areas can be un-dented or buffed, but not the embouchure area.
7. Avoid leaving the flute in a hot or cold car.
Both heat and cold can affect the mechanics and pads, and cause
mechanical playing problems.
8. Avoid polishing the flute roughly and
accidently buffing and abrading the pad surfaces beneathe the keys. Pad
skins are very fragile. To read more about how to prevent pad problems
see below under "sticky pads".
9. Avoid trying to clean between the keys where springs
and corks can become unhooked or caught during zealous cleanings.
Use blown air to remove dust or fibers from under rods and between keys
or a soft string, or tiny paint brush.
10. Avoid animal hair where you place your flutecase or
flute. A professional flute company that cleans and oils hundreds of
flutes a year (Cincinnati Fluteworks) published a care sheet once that
claimed that 90% of what they find binding the moving parts of the
flute's rods was "pet hair".
The fineness of the hair is what allows it to wrap around the inside of
the rods so well as the keys go up and down
If you *do* get pet hair inside your flute case, vacuum it out and then
blow air to clean between the keys of your flute.
11. You can put pieces of anti-tarnish strip in a flute
case, replacing them every 3-6 months for maximum silver
whiteness. The black paper strips are called: 3M Anti-tarnish strips and
should be available
hardware stores; sold for household silverware protection. They absorb
the sulpher that turns silver black.
If you can't find them, order from www.fluteworld.com
A 10 year supply is about $5 Cdn.
12. Always place the flute with key work uppermost. The
weight of the flute's body CAN warp the rods overtime and the moisture
from the tube CAN drip onto the pads causing them make sticky noises,
and to eventually harden unevenly, causing pad leaks, finger clenching
and fuzzy tone.
13. Keep your touch light: Finger all notes lightly and
the pads will not become compressed, and will seal well and evenly
for years.
14. A readjustment of the flute's pads(new pads are
noted fortheir delicate ability to seal without additional finger
pressure) is a normal procedure after the first 3-8 months of
playing a new flute. The flute will have 'settled' and need
minor final adjustments. This should be covered in any warranty, and
costs about $40 to $80.
15. Do not leave the flute unattended in public places.
Take a photo for insurance purposes, if you like, and write
down the flute's serial number (found on the strapping nearest
the trill keys or on the barrel)
16. Always value the flute at replacement cost with insurance
companies.
Get a valuation receipt from your repair person every year when you take
the flute to be oiled.
17. Second hand flutes need to be fully
cleaned, repaired and oiled before being played. If you don't
know there are leaking keys, you will press harder and harder over time,
and possibly develop hand and arm pain after long bouts of practicing.
18. New flutes need to go to the repair
shop for a "Clean-Oil-Adjust" every six to twelve months. Over
the longterm a well-serviced flute will cost less to keep in good
repair.
Dealing
with tarnish
To have tarnish professionally removed is a
normal procedure.
You take the flute in, the flute technician removes all the moving
parts, and then dips the flute's body into a cleaning solution, and then
cleans, oils, and puts back everything in perfect working order.
It's not that expensive if there are no repairs to be done on the flute.
Go to the top-repair-person you can find, and it will cost about:
$40-$80 U.S., I imagine.
It's good to get it oiled at the same time, to avoid wear and tear on
the interior moving parts.
Once your flute is perfectly spotless, you go to the local hardware
store or Home Depot-type-store and ask for carbon-paper strips (called
"3M strips" in some places) that people use to put in their
silver-ware drawers to keep their silver from tarnishing.
These look like 1x5 strips of carbon-blotting-paper.
Lay one of these in your flute case (or cut it into smaller pieces to
make it fit in the case.) and put your flute down right on top of it.
These are also sold under ACCESSORIES at www.fluteworld.com
Apart from that, you CAN buy a special cloth impregnated with silver
polishing chemicals that is sold in the retail stores that deal with
flutes. However these should be used very sparingly. Maybe twice a year,
and all trace of silver-polishing chemicals must be buffed off
with a clean cloth.
The problem with trying to clean the flute only by the use of a
silver-polishing cloth is that you can't get between the keys and under
the rods, and so these areas will naturally stay dark, anyway.
Avoid poking about in this area in case you accidently catch on some of
the springs and sharp pins.
To keep finger marks to a minimum, on a daily basis, you can use a
micro-fiber polishing cloth also sold by flute dealers. (these can be
laundered and ironed and are very smooth.)
General tips:
Avoid any other household silver-cleaning products as they can
destroy the flute's pads.
Also: to remove dust and fibers from under rods and moving parts, just
blow air at them sharply.
Avoid pet hair in the flute case.
Avoid over-zealous cleaning. (some tarnish is fine and is normal on
professional flutes.)
Cheers! :>)
Jen Cluff
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Preventing
& Treating Sticky Pads
You can prevent sticky pads by:
- having flute regularly maintained so any pad
surface wear-and-tear is dealt with (sticky noises on a single pad can
indicate a tear or abrasion on the pad skin)
- brushing teeth/rinsing mouth before playing
- drying flute out after playing
- avoiding any kind of chemicals on flute
(especially 'treated cloths', silver polish of any kind, or use of
powder treated pad papers, all of which CAUSE sticky noises from pads.)
A small amount of noise from pads is normal on
certain flutes during humid times of year, or if playing in a cold room
(air-conditioned etc.)
Most pad noises go away themselves if they are
barely audible and simply the result of moisture.
To blot up moisture that's causing loud pad
noises, blot with a gum-less cigarette paper, or hairdresser's
curl-end-papers from beauty-supply company.
To remove dirt and sticky substances (sugar
from the mouth) from a sticky pad, blot with a cigarette or end paper
doused in Isopropyl Alcohol (from drugstore.)
Use the paper as a blotter,only, and NEVER drag
the paper out from under a closed key.
There are all kinds of myths around sticky
pads, as a google hunt will still show---but the expert repair
technicians assure me that all the above suggestions are correct.
Never use pencil rubbings.
Never use talcum.
Never use any product that will ADD dirt and contaminants to the pad
surfaces.
If you haven't taken your flute for a
"clean oil adjust" in the past year, it may be time to do so.
The technician will replace any pads that are wearing or waterlogged,
and re-seat them to prevent leaks.
But be SURE that the noises are not caused by
silver polish use. I had a student once that had to get ALL her pads
replaced because of silver polish travelling to the pad surfaces,
inadvertently; and I had another student once who polished his flute
with a cloth so much that he abraded all the edges of his pads without
knowing how delicate and easily abraded the pad skins can be.
Get expert advice from your repair person.
Best,
Jen Cluff
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