I’m sure this has been discussed…but what steps are recommended to keep a whistle clean…and how often? I’ve got Burke and Chieftain whistles…I’ve thought about using rubbing alcohol in them periodically…is there something better (besides Jameson)?
…Uilleann piperes don’t have such issues… 
Perhaps Uilleann pipes don’t fit in the same places. Don’t be dirty with your whistle and you won’t have a dirty whistle.
I wouldn’t be eating and drinking while I was playing (water being the exception). I’m not sure about rubbing alcohol as a cleaner as I’d be worried about it sucking the moisture out of any non-metal parts of a whistle. Others may know better on that point though.
sentimental hygiene…On the whistle?That is a Waren Zevon song…Hmm
www.tuxedomusic.com
Ordinary rubbing alcohol (70% solution) is fine for any metal or plastic whistle I’ve ever come across. A little applied for a few minutes is sufficient - don’t try soaking the thing over night, and do not use the 90% solution that can also be found in many HBA sections - it’s solvent properties are much stronger.
As someone who buys, sells, and trades whistles regularly, I use rubbing alcohol all the time with no ill affects what-so-ever. I would, however, avoid using it on wood. Along with that, as long as you are keeping your wood whistles clean and dry after use, you shouldn’t have any troubles. Bacteria needs moisture like any other living thing. Common sense.
All whistles should be swabbed out after use and allowed to dry, IMO - or as another forum member (I forget who) once said, “Never put a whistle away wet.” This is your best defense against the nasty, creepy, cruddy stuff that can colonize a whistle over time.
The advice about not eating or drinking immediately before or during whistle play is very sound, however impractical it may be for some of you playing in pub sessions. Still, rinsing the whistle with warm, soapy water after play is not impractical - even if remembering to do so is, after so many beers…
Whistles have inherent germ killing qualities. No further measures are necessary.
There’s enough in the world to worry about without worrying about sanitizing whistles.
mmm… not so much.
Actually, it’s fairly ironic that this came up (again) today, because I just received a second-hand Colin Goldie high F whistle in the mail this afternoon that was “well-colonized” and took quite a bit o’ cleaning.
Wish I still had access to an ultrasonic cleaner for things like this.
Had to laugh at myself as I was standing in the kitchen earlier, feeling the impulse to soak it in alcohol overnight…
edit to add: this really is more of a problem with aluminum whistles than any others, IME, although I’ve seen this happen in delrin heads often enough…
I would not know what an ultrasonic cleaner could to to whistles but putting the whistle into warm soap water, just hand soap, this should help getting the layer of whatever dusty-mixture in the windway loose enough to push it through with a plasitc card. That high F must be some years old, I hope you could get it clean again.
I second that when playing do not eat or drink especially sweet, sugary things. The sugar attaches to your breath humidity and keeps adding inside the windway over time and with it any dust specs it collects. Always let the instrument dry well after playing before putting it in any storage bags, boxes, which is “half the rent” already in avoiding germs getting an accomodating surrounding inside it and survive.
Greetings from a sunny Germany
Brigitte
I think keeping whistles clean is very important from a playability point of view as well as for hygiene. For my Goldies I use washing up liquid and warm water poured through the sound hole with as much force as possible and a strip of old credit card cut to the right width. Usually every few weeks seems to be enough. Avoiding food and especially alcohol really isn’t a realistic option for me :0)