What should I do about mold on my wooden flute? I don’t want it in my lungs. It is that bad.
It would seem wise to kill off the mould you have, as well as working out how to stop more mould forming. I imagine some isopropyl alcohol would make the mould uncomfortable, but some of our biologists might have a better suggestion. Isopropanol swabs are available cheaply at pharmacists for swabbing injection sites. Probably good to re-oil afterwards.
Hmmm, consider the possibility that the oil you are using is promoting or at least sustaining the mould.
Are you remembering to mop out after playing? Is the local environment unusually moist (and mould grows on everything)? Could it be that you need to mop out then let the flute air a while before putting it away in its case or bag? Do you need two mops, one to deal with most of the condensation, then a follow-up mop to remove the rest? Then an airing?
Terry
Having cultivated mushrooms commercialy I have several suggestions. As Terry Said, Isopropyl alcohol will “make the mold uncomfortable”, actually it will kill it if it is 70 per cent or higher. We used anhydrous, or 100 per cent isopropyl as a general sterilant in the lab.
However, I would like to know what type of wood, since the alcohol may be a bit harsh to the wood. An excellent alternative, and perhaps less injurious to the wood would be to take common medicinal hydrogen peroxide ( I believe the drugstore strength is about 5 per cent) and dilute this down with distilled water about twenty to one and spongeing it down. . .this shouldn’t ‘bleach’ the wood but will not only kill live mycelia but any residual spores, and prevent further germination.
Good Luck,
Bob
P.S. I really am curious just what type of wood this is.
Hi Diane,
Recorder players have it worse than us flute players in this regard. There is some advice on recorder maker Philippe Bolton’s web page:
http://www.flute-a-bec.com/entretcanalgb.html
He recommends using “undecylinic acid (which can sometimes by found in pharmacies under the name of Mycodecyl 10%)”
Cheers, Dan
Out of curiosity, describe the mold that you see.
Playing a flute with mold made me deathly ill a few years ago. It triggered an asthmatic response so severe that I had to go to emergency services. Its nothing to play through. Don’t play the flute until you have eliminated the mold. And be aware that the mold can live on in your flute case and reinfect the flute itself. So treat the flute case as well, even if you have to replace a cloth lining.
If you’re one who uses a plastic box with a dampened sponge to hold your flutes, fully decontaminate it first. Then switch from sponges to dampened paper napkins/towels. They can be disposed of every few days, whereas a reused sponge will start to grow mold very quickly. Good luck!
A moist cloth or other moist object in the flutes closed container intended to keep the flute humidified is also the perfect breeding ground for mold.
Hi…
The best way to clean mold naturally is with tea tree oil. It is a safe solution compared to chemical cleaners, and not a bad oil for the wood either. - Tod
Oh good timing. After my Sunday gig I noticed some black flecks in the head piece of my boxwood Noy. The flecks were mostly just opposite the embouchure hole. Here’s what I did. After removing the cork I swabbed it with 91% isopropyl alcohol and let it dry. The black flecks were still very apparent - but dead? Don’t how to tell. The wood had a rough appearance compared to where the cork was so I put some very fine steel wool on a stick and rubbed till things were smooth (not shiny smooth but smooth to the touch) and the black flecks mostly gone. I then swabbed again with the alcohol and let it dry (including the cork). Finally I oiled it with Bore Doctor oil (product from http://www.doctorsprod.com). Hope I didn’t do any harm. One question I have is whether is any kind of finish on the inside of boxwood flutes? I know the outside of these are usually lightly coated by something more sturdy than wax and/or oil, but the inside? I’ll email Mr. Noy.
Terry’s comments are spot on to prevention. I live in Hawaii so there is perfect flute humidity all the time. That means there is perfect mold conditions all the time too. Still this is recent and I’ve had this flute for years (for you old timers, it’s Jessie’s Noy that I got from the fellow she sold it to during her house fund instrument purge). I’ve been favoring this flute more and more for gigs and while I always swab, it goes right into the case and stays there for several days. My guess is that there is residual moisture that I need to get at with a second dry cloth at the end of gigs and perhaps open the case when I get home and let things breathe a bit.
Clark
I have used lavender oil to kill mold in some of my antique flutes, I apply the concetrated solution, and swab the bore with that. UV light will also kill it, i.e. sunlight.
i’d recommend hydrogen peroxide or uv light
http://askalexia.com/2008/06/21/uv-c-light-wand-best-used-for-killing-germs-on-bed-sheet-sofa/
Thank you. The mold is green and fuzzy.
I went on vacation for several months. I kept my flute in a plastic box with a damp sponge.
I kept both my flutes in the box. The one I play most had furry mold on it, but not much, and not on the head joint, so I just brushed it off. The other one didn’t look moldy. I did not open the box again for another couple of months. Now it’s the other one that’s a problem.
I will try the alcohol and then oil it good. Then not keep it in a box.
Thank goodness others responded with good ideas. I would have done something involving a fish tank, Paraformaldehyde, and an alcohol lamp to fumigate it.
Flamethrower? 
Isn’t this the method that McChudd prefers for conditioning and mold-proofing the bores of his flutes?