Maybe it’s just me…but isn’t there the whole issue of saliva when you buy used whistles? Or do people sanitize the fipples before they trade them? Just curious 
But that’s the yummiest part… 
Or do people sanitize the fipples before they trade them? Just curious >
Well, you can always do that after you get one. I use antibacterial dish soap for anti-condensation purposes, so I haven’t been too worried about it. I have four pre-owned whistles, and I haven’t caught anything so far.
On the other hand, at the West Coast C&F gathering last June, there was a tremendous amount of handing whistles around. I do think that I saw some folks applying alcohol, but that might not have been for sanitization. 
Just add water.
Makes its own sauce.
Seems to be a matter of personal choice. Stores and vendors almost always use some type of alcohol wipe. I’ve never heard of anyone catching anything but I’m sure its possiible with immediate transfer.
I have noticed that when whistlers gather, they seem to freely swap and share instruments. Personally when swapping whistle around, I keep hoping I catch a little talent.
Eeeeeeeew! Yuck!!!
I also run a soapy solution through my mouthpiece when I am done playing for the same reason Darwin does. I think you could quite safely (metal whistle only) dip the whole whistle in and out of soapy water a few times, then rinse and dry the outside. I don’t think I would assume that the seller had sanitized the fipple.
Uhmm, the buyer can always sanitize the whistle however she sees fit.
Germs are really not an issue – one of the most effective ways to kill a germ is to dry it out, which would certainly happen in the cargo hold of a plane if it didn’t happen already.
I’ve bought a couple dozen used whistles, and no complaints. Also, any handmade whistle will have been played by the maker.
Now we know why Amar only buys his used whistles from pretty girls…
A clean whistle is a happy whistle.
It is a courtesy for the seller to clean it before sending, and a good practice for the receiver to clean and inspect it. I use bleach.
Plastics and metal clean easily, but be careful with wood! A little MILD soapy water would be OK, but dry it right afterwards. Get the soapy water only on the actual mouth parts, not the whole whistle.
Thanks for the replies.
I like Duffy’s attitude with sharing whistles…hoping to catch some talent I feel that way about guitars 
So in terms of cleaning your fipple, dipping it in soapy solution seems to work?
I keep all mine fippleside down in a crock of Jameson’s.
Switching frequently, I find that my playing gets better and better.
miffle
Of course, lots of shops will let people try their whistles too, which can give rise to the same santitising situation. I spent the best part of an hour trying some a couple of weeks ago - the owner said that it was nice to hear them being played (tho whether she still felt that after I’d finished I dunno)
Mind you, there’s at least one shop in Swansea where they try to give a prospective buyer a weird bellows-type device which makes peculiar asthmatic little wheezes and isn’t very controllable on the second ocatave. Or the first…
I just left the whistle
Mars Music here did the same thing with the bellows thing. Even the guy working the woodwinds counter couldn’t get it to get a good sound out of an instrument. I ended up buying nothing as well.
last christmas I was in Naples, where I found an “Irish pub”: the staff were Italian, and the music heavy rock, so, bein gth eonly customer at the time, I suggested they play some Irish music - what I got was the Tannahill Weavers, a fine Scottish band…
then I noticed the bar was decorated with, as well as the usual collection of clapped-out fiddles and broken accordions, a pint pot contianing half a dozen Waltons - so I asked to try one and the manager fished one out, stuck it under the espresso machine and blasted steam through it. it played like a dream.
other than that, I’ve never seen sterilised whistles before. I’ve always used alcohol as a cleanser, myself.
happy dribbling
brian
The Conn firm of instrument makers markets a liquid for sterilising brass instruments—very useful for brass bands that share instruments. I used it but I’m not sure what is in it. Probably alcohol amongst other things. I don’t know what you’d use on an all wooden mouthpiece like a Grinter other than oil.
Every now an then I get one back for repair, you should see the state some of them are like when take them apart 
Best to use one of these 
http://www.jewelrysupply.com/noframes/cleaners.htm
Not cheap but if you see what comes out you would feel a whole lot better about parting with yer hard earnd
Probably about anything you do to plastic/metal whistles–short of boiling water–will work out okay.
As far as wooden whistles go, maybe it’s not really a serious problem. Check out this study of wooden cutting boards vs. plastic ones: http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infxtra/infcuttingboard.shtm
Here’s a bit of it:
"Our research was first intended to develop means of disinfecting wooden cutting surfaces at home, so that they would be almost as safe as plastics. Our safety concern was that bacteria such as Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, which might contaminate a work surface when raw meat was being prepared, ought not remain on the surface to contaminate other foods that might be eaten without further cooking. We soon found that disease bacteria such as these were not recoverable from wooden surfaces in a short time after they were applied, unless very large numbers were used. New plastic surfaces allowed the bacteria to persist, but were easily cleaned and disinfected. However, wooden boards that had been used and had many knife cuts acted almost the same as new wood, whereas plastic surfaces that were knife-scarred were impossible to clean and disinfect manually, especially when food residues such as chicken fat were present. Scanning electron micrographs revealed highly significant damage to plastic surfaces from knife cuts. "
Still, the kind of gunk buildup that Stacey seems to be referring to could present a problem in wooden whistles. Maybe what’s needed is antibiotic bore oil. 
Oh, yuck! I hadn’t thought about that as an occupational hazard for whistlemakers. Nobody should ever have to deal with someone else’s skanky fipples.
Geez! Better check on whether the previous owner ate raw chicken—salmonella can be serious.