I have been having a severe problem with one of my whistles…all of a sudden, the whistle becomes clogged minutes after I start playing it. I have cleaned it, swabbed out my fipple, but it still becomes clogged. Did my mouth suddenly develop a “more spit” playing habit??? What happened???
Thanks in advance,
Nancy
Which whistle?
–James
My Hoover brass soprano D
You probably ought to treat it with Jet-dri or some sort of soap solution. Also, if you’re not pre-warming it, that helps.
Well, if you were going to say Susato, I was going to sympathize…sometimes for no reason I salivate like crazy when playing the Susato, other times I don’t.
On just about every other whistle, I’m a pretty dry player.
I sympathize anyway; it’s natural when you put something in your mouth (or in this case between your lips) that you salivate. Sometimes playing whistle triggers this.
The other thing that could be causing your clogging is warm breath going over cold metal whistle.
Try warming your whistle (fipple in particular) in your armpit for a few minutes before playing. May work wonders.
–James
Nancy,
As with most metal whistles, they are prone to collecting moisture as we play. I’ve noticed this about equally with both brass and aluminum. I have also noticed that some whistles seem to collect more spit over time - and can only guess this comes from small bits of gunk that collect in the windway as we play. Even the condensation from our breath can leave build-up given enough time and some folks are gong to be more prone to this at a faster rate than others.
My first suggestion would be to rinse and swab out the windway with warm soapy water. Then there are two quick fixes that should afford you some extra time before you start to see clogs again:
Cut a small bit of dryer sheet (Snuggle, Bounce, etc.) just a touch narrower than the windway and about 4 inches long. Feed it through and run it back and forth to rub it against the floor, walls and ceiling of the windway.
Dish soap. Commonly a strip of buisness card is soaked in dish soap and also run through the windway, thereby coating it’s inner surfaces. Allow to dry before playing.
The porpouse of these treatments is to act as “surficants” or as substances that allow moisture to flow rather than to bead up and clog the whistle during play. Neither one is permanent, nor should either one harm your whistle in any way. One thing to note is that the soap trick can sometimes cause the whistle to taste like soap if you’re not careful.
Hope this is somewhat helpful.
Bri~
Thank you very much everyone…I guess Spit Happens…
I will try those ideas…and yes, it seems like my whistle gets clogged up really fast in the beginning of my playing --cold fipples…
Thanks for the quick replies!!
Nancy
Yep, that’s why some wind players move around the stage so much - reduces the puddles…
Trisha
I think it’s mostly condensation, not spit, so it’s really distilled water–quite pure.
It’s a real problem in my house, because we’d rather be cold than dry out the air even further by running the heater, so my whistles are always relatively icy. (Or, as icy as it gets, considering that the outdoor temperature is seldom below 50 here.)
One solution I’ve come up with for the soprano Ds is tying a loop of ribbon to one of those belt pouches they sell at the Whistle Shop, and hanging it at my left side, like a shoulder holster, under my jacket or sweater. That works if I stick with just one whistle for the day.
I’ve had the thought that an electric current could be run through the Clarke original–and perhaps the incoming Village Smithy–to bring it up to body heat. Unfortunately, this won’t work with brass, aluminum, plastic, and wood. For those, I’ve thought that a slip-on warming coil might work. Anyone looking for a whistle-related product to sell on the Web? I’d be happy to be a beta tester.
James is a great guy and all, but he sometimes leaves the most important parts out of his advice :roll: , so let me add: DO NOT DO THIS IMMEDIATELY AFTER EXERCISING!!! 
Best,
Little John
Gotta watch those cold fipples. Can be quite distractiing to whistle playing.
Swabbing the Fipple. What a great name for a jig or reel. Somebody write one now.
Too early in my whistlin’ journey to be writing reels, but harkening back to the days of yore and my mis-spent youth…
With apologies to George Thorogood…
Swabbed out my fipple, (duh-nana-na-nah…)
Won’t take it no more, (duh-nana-na-nah…)
'Cos you know that spittle, (duh-nana-na-nah…)
Is bad for the bore, (duh-nana-na-nah…)
B-b-b-b-bad, (duh-nana-na-nah…)
B-b-b-b-bad, (duh-nana-na-nah…)
B-b-b-b-bad, (duh-nana-na-nah…)
Bad for the bore. (duh-nana-na-nah…)
&c 
Have you tried eating persimmons just befor playing? Alum?
(please do not take this suggestion seriously)