Does it really work for the condensation build-up in the whistle? Can you use any type of soap? btw I am refering to the article on the main Chiff board about moist whistle blues…It is getting cold here and this is becoming a real problem…Thanks
Yes! I’ve used the soapy strip on my O Briain improved, and it works very well. I get about a week of no clogging (give or take, depending on how much I play) before I have to re-apply it. It’s nice, because I frequently play out of doors, and the whistle tends to clog more often in the cool winter air than it does indoors.
Being rather fond of Dr. Bronner’s products (and frequently amused by their labels), I took Dale’s suggestion and used the peppermint liquid soap, but I imagine just about any fairly pure liquid soap product would work as well.
Redwolf
I use a tissue strip folded in three, and a few drops of some Rain’X liquid I find in France in gas stations.
It’s a clear liquid you apply to your car windscreen and buff just as a polish on bodywork.
Here I get slightly OT…
It’s magic : in our less-than-dry Brittany climate, we got all sorts of rains. We should have as many words for rain as Inuits have for snow and ice, or Frenchmen for cheese.
Now, when the car screen is cured (or motorcycle helmet visor, it works ok on polycarbonate too) you just don’t need you windscreen wipers any more over 80-90 kph (~60 mph) : the rain just slides on it in tiny droplets which just don’t stick. Even fog doesn’t mist your screen as much. Visibility is fantastic, with no star-shapes from other cars headlights at night.
You can even get your car washed with these rolle-brushes a few times before the curing wears out.
[/OT]
Tried that with my aluminum, narrow-fippled, whistles and it does work quite well even on cold starts.
Or so I’m willing to believe for lack of a specialized laboratory 
I lack the delicacy of the strip. I did drip peppermint soap down the windway and gave it a good rinse, then let it dry. I also used a gel toothpaste, then rinsed that through.
Probably the best thing I’ve done, though, is warm up the mouthpiece as well as I could before starting to play.
Hey Zu, you are right. Rainex is GREAT stuff. I’ve driven in torrential downpours that forced many to stop completely. I’m going to try it as an anti-condensation agent on my whistle. Good idea.
I use a commercial product called Duponol, available from recorder suppliers. It comes in a little squeeze bottle, so I can dribble a little of it into the windway very easily. I use it mainly because of this convenience-- you can get a little squeeze bottle eg from eyedrops, and fill it with a mix of about 2 drops of Dawn dishwashing soap to an oz of water and get the same results. Warming up the whistle head is also essential, especially one with metal parts.
RainEx is great stuff. I first started using it about eleven or twelve years ago. I discovered it shortly before a trip from LA-NY and it seemed like it rained half the trip. Never used my wipers except for a couple of times when I picked up some oily spray.
It’s wierd stuff. The harder it rains, the clearer your windshield. The faster you go, the clearer your windshield. So, the harder it rains the faster you should drive…
John
[ This Message was edited by: OutOfBreath on 2002-11-26 08:44 ]
Low tech solution: I just take a breath every now and then through the whistle while I’m playing. That’s right, I just suck the condensation right out. Arcane chemical treatments seem like overkill to me, seeing as how there’s nothing in the whistle that wasn’t in my mouth to begin with.
Plain old dish soap, or even hand soap works fine. It might not last as long, but for a gig, any soap is good.
Ummmm, isn’t Rainex poisonous?
It’s OK on cars (but not as good as new wiper blades), but I wouldn’t put anything more toxic than Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Oil Castile Soap on anything going in MY mouth.
Elliot, if you’re concerned about toxins at the minute level of a bare coating dried on a windway, you’re going to need to be VERY discriminating in your whistles. Certain woods (I’m starting to believe more than just a few) have toxins and allergens. PVC itself is so toxic that I know quite a few people who won’t play a whistle made of it. We’ve mentioned the infamous Oak plastic mouthpiece that numbs lips (one shop I know of was so horrified by what happened when they tested one that they sent back the entire shipment and refused to sell any more of them). Soap itself.
I think the Rainex may well fall into the negligible range of dangers.
Yeeesh! Now I feel like an OF Nervous Nellie (two things I SWORE I would never become back in 1967).
At the risk of going a little off-topic, how can PVC be toxic if: 1) they use it for all the sinks etc., and 2) I love my Water Weasel?
I went to the automotive store for Rain-X and they were out, so I got some Rain Slick with silicone. It worked better than the Rain_x I later found at the hardware store along with a few others that are similar. I whittle a thin splint of bamboo and dip it in the bottle and wipe the inside of the windway.
So far I I hhavendt esperrienzed eny illl afvectds yet.
Mack
Brewerpaul:
Not much music comes out of me with “Dawn”.
Perhaps “Joy” will work better.