I used to use soap to to keep my whistle from clogging, but with my new Shaw that hasn’t been working very well. What other anti-clogging substances have any of you used? Also, what do you usuall apply it with? I had used a heavy strip of paper, but I’m thinking about stealing one of my wife’s fingernail polish brushes 
. I don’t think the paper applied the soap evenly. Thanks for any tips.
Ecover washing up liquid. A fairly strong solution.
Just dip the whistle end into the solution and shake out the excess. Do this a few times to make sure it’s well coated.
Here’s a similar thread, with many ideas:
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=36673
Duponol seems to be a handy product.
Anyone ever tried products such those available to keep car windshield clear of rain (Rain Dance and such)?
What’s the take on the use of these subtances (including Duponol) toxicity?
I have good results with duponol. The directions say to tape the end and pour it in then let it sit. Remove the tape and let it dry. That was a nuisance method. Now I just apply it with a strip of thin cardboard, and let it dry.
I hold the whistle vertically with my finger over the mouthpiece. I use the dropper of the Duponol bottle to dribble some of the liquid into the window end of the windway, hold it there for a couple of seconds, then remove my finger. Done.
Is this OK to do to wood fipple whistles?
I can’t say with certainty that it’s fine for ALL wooden fipple blocks, because some makers treat their blocks with various substances, but it should be fine on most instruments, as recorder makers have offered the stuff for use on their instruments for years.
Loren
I don’t know about wooden fipples, but with my MellowDog, I take the fipple off and apply some Dawn diswashing detergent with a wet QTip - a small drop on the QTip does the trick. Applying it only to the fipple blade seems to prevent clogging.
Yup, dish detergent is just about as good, perhaps as good. No need to buy the duponol really. I’d dilute the dish soap a bit though, rather than using it straight - you’ll get essentially the same effect, with less foaming at the mouth 
Loren
Whoops, almost forgot, I’d apply it to the entire windway as well, using a bit of business card soaked in the dish detergent solution, as has been mentioned before. Also touch the bevel, if there is one, at the end of the windway, just where the air exits into the window, as this is were the moisture goes, and then needs to roll off.
Loren
Duponol is also known as “sodium lauryl sulfate” and is a common ingredient in toothpaste, where it is known to cause canker sores. The materials data sheet on it is fairly alarming:
http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/s3670.htm
but given its use in toothpaste one presumes that someone in the FDA thinks it is fairly safe.
If you suffer from canker sores (not cold sores from herpes) as I do, I would stay away from this stuff.
Personally, I use “Jet-Dry” to help with clogging problems.
– Scott
Hmm, I haven’t seen the MDS on Jet-Dry components. In all seriousness, would you happen to have a copy of any Scott? I’m always interested in anything along these lines, since it affects my work as an instrument maker/restorer.
Best,
Loren
Sodium lauryl sulfate is a surfactant used widely in soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and whatnot. I don’t know of any actual evidence that it is harmful when used that way, beyond the sting from getting shampoo in your eyes. I’d be interested to see the research relating SLS to canker sores. MSDS sheets are geared towards people who work with large amounts of substances in raw form - I wouldn’t want to breath 100% SLS powder, no. Dish soap and Jet Dry are just other surfactants, which I would be willing to bet is why they also work for people.
Anyway, now I will try some dish soap on my clogging whistles, since dish soap is the one of these items I have closest to hand.
I use duponoly primarily because it has no odor or taste. With commercial detergents, I can usually taste them or smell them (or in the case of Jet Dry, it makes my tongue numb).
Duponol’s pretty cheap..for $2.00, I got a bottle that has lasted me over a year.
Okay on a cheap Clarke, but I wouldn’t use it on an expensive wood whistle. The block in most top-end whistle is like those found in a recorder. Its made of a softer wood than the rest of the whistle and is left untreated so it can absord moisture and reduce the chance of clogging. If you treat it with something you could interfere with its ability to absorb moisture.
What about Bee’s Wax? Would probably work but subject to buildup over time, but then if one application does it for a long time this may not be an issue.
Beeswax is great on the outside of whistles, but on the inside it would be very difficult to control build up and distribute it evenly. On the block/ in the windway its a definite no no, it would just cause moisture to wick into droplets that would clogg really easily. The best answer to clogging in a wood whistle or a whistle with a wood block in the fipple is, sadly, just to warm it up first. You cant warm them up with your breath though, the mositure would start clogging the whistle before you blow a note, warm it with your hands or in your pocket, under your arm etc.
Has anyone tried plain old glycerol?
Jet-Dry isn’t intended for consumption, so they don’t have to list their ingredients and don’t.
Like Wanderer, it tends to make my tongue numb, so there’s probably something bad in there! Luckily numbing my tongue and lips improves my playing 
You can find info on the canker sore / SLS connection all over the web, e.g.,
http://www.therabreath.com/art_cankersores.asp
– Scott