Spoke too soon … don’t think this has been used in many years. When the moisture gathered .. gunk started coming out of the airway .. built up gunk .. yuck.
What is the best way to clean this .. I am for soaking it in soapy water .. it is nickel plated with open holes .. all metal. Any reason this won’t work?
By the way .. don’t suck in on an instrument that hasn’t been played in awhile .. still spitting .. out stuff.
Guess I will learn some day 
Jim
Hi, Jim.
I’ve cleaned up a couple of antique metal whistles successfully.
Assuming the instrument is all metal, with no plastic, wood, paint, etc., it works to clean it with dishwashing soap and water, boil it in water, and clean it with acetone. Using soap, water, heat (but not hotter than boiling water) and acetone helps to get all the different kinds of buildup out. One of the reasons I used boiling water was because there was mildew inside that I wanted to make sure I killed. The acetone took out the tobacco odor, among other things. None of this had any effect on the patina, which remains perfectly intact antique.
Best wishes,
Jerry
Thanks for the reply will give it a try.
Jim
Love to see this fluteolet… can you post a picture?
Paul