I’ve been playing whistle for quite awhile, but I’m new to playing wooden ones (I suddenly acquired several in the fall). They all play great, but they have a tendency to get clogged with condensation at a certain point. I can blow it out and they’re back to playing great, and they don’t generally clog up again, unless I stop playing for awhile.
I’m wondering if there are strategies for either preventing this or making it more predictable so it doesn’t happen right in the middle of a tune.
I know that, for wooden recorders, they require a playing-in period. I think you can apply the same technique for wooden whistles (I don’t own one, so I can’t tell you from experience). Check out the link below for some playing-in directions.
http://www.lazarsearlymusic.com/Recorder-Care/Playing_in_your_new_recorder.htm
So, every time there is a long hiatus between playing my recorders, I basically have to start the process all over again. I didn’t get much of a chance to play during the holidays, so I’m going to be doing this for my whole set of recorders again. Having several, though, gives me a bit more practice time in general.
brewerpaul suggests a liquid product used to prevent condensation in medical tubing. I forget the brand name, but perhaps he will chime in. A few drops in the windway.
Mollenhauer makes a product called Anticondens. It works pretty good, and a little $6.00 bottle has lasted me years. Probably last me my entire life.
Interestingly, on their website it states it is “A combination of organic washing up liquid and water”. So basically it’s the common washing up liquid solution that I use on my Chieftain A whistle.
http://www.mollenhauer.com/en/accessories/accessories/6138
So, what does washing up liquid do for the wooden block etc? Obviously this is just a couple of drops of a solution down the windway rather than my method that involves washing the whistle as well (aluminium if that needs stating!).
I’ve got that Mollenhauer one, also another called Duponol (I don’t remember the brand offhand). I only use a few drops at a time, over several recorders, and I haven’t used these all up, so a bottle will last a long while if you only have one instrument to treat.
Here’s the care info about the clogging from the same site I listed earlier; also has info about making a cheap version of the anti-cloggin liquid:
http://lazarsearlymusic.com/Recorder-Care/recorder_care.htm
I don’t think you can just buy that stuff and being a medical substance would probably grossly overpriced anyway. It’s not for tubing. For anyone interested, it’s used to keep condensation off the lenses of the scopes used for laparoscopic surgery eg appendectomy, gall bladder removal etc. A cold (room temperature) scope inserted into a 98 degree humid abdomen gets a lot of condensation, and the surgeon can’t see. There are also warmers made which are used to warm the tip of the instrument prior to the surgery. Tiny bottles of the liquid come in the preparation packs of linen and gauze used for these procedures. On any cases where they were not used or touched in any way, I’d have my surgical tech save them for me.
Tom-- I know those whistles well. The same applies to them as it does to surgical scopes. Use an anti condensation liquid. You don’t need to do it every time, only when clogging gets to be a problem. Duponol is sodium lauryl sulphate ( I just looked that up, never knew it before). This is the active ingredient in most soap solutions. A drop of Dawn or similar dish washing in a couple of ounces of water is plenty. You can put it in a little dropper bottle (like the ones that eye drops come in) and apply it that way. Woodwind dealers that sell recorders often carry a commercially bottled pre diluted version, but you can make your own for practically nothing.
The other thing to do is, just like the surgical scopes, warm up that metal head ferrule before you play. Don’t blow through it to warm it–this just adds moisture. Simply hold it in your hand until the metal no longer feels cold. I often put the head of my whistle in my pocket (no keys or coins!) for a while before I play. Re-warm if you don’t play the whistle for a while.
I think the problem with whistle headjoints is that the block and windway are not generally made entirely of wood even if the barrel of the whistle is. The nice thing about wood is that it retains a very slight surface film of moisture which conveys any further condensation out of the windway, so after you’ve been playing ten minutes or so blockages no longer occur. Plastic and metal, on the other hand, cause the moisture to bead and clog the windway.
I’ve found that a drop of washing up liquid down the windway (on whistles) will solve the problem - leave it for a few minutes then rinse it out with warm water and suck any excess moisture out.
All the above is just my experience, so take it with a pinch of salt.
That reminds me of something else I recommend. If your whistle clogs in mid tune suck the moisture out and continue playing. You can usually find a spot in any tune where you can do this without missing a beat.
I play the wooden whistles more than the other materials and I’m a wet blower to begin with, however, I find that if I keep playing for awhile the wetness clears up. I don’t really have major clogging issues on the wood whistles. When clogging occurs I can usually blow it out or suck it out as has been mentioned.