Hey guys. I got a brand new flute over the Summer, and it has been well treated for so far, but I am worried about the Winter. I live in a pretty cold place, and the only heat I have is a little space heater or a fireplace downstairs. My house inside is around 40F in the Winter with the heater on, and I am worried about my flute. Anyone have any recommendations? Also, should I oil it more or less in the Winter?
Thanks!
Wow! And I whinge about 62 F! Have you considered a nice Delrin flute? Or maybe working on your tinwhistle this winter?
Okay, seriously … in my experience, the hardest thing for flutes in the cold is our warm breath going thru them. The less you can “shock” the wood with a wide temperature differential of warm air inside and cold air outside, the better. Keep the flute up your sleeve for several minutes before starting to play, and whenever you take a break. I think that would be the biggest area of concern.
Humidity is also good. RH of around 60% seems to be ideal for most flutes. I don’t know how you’re going to accomplish this; I guess you could use a humidor or or a box with humidifiers in it, though I hope it never gets below 32F in your house!
I suspect you’ll need to oil it a fair bit, as you’re going to have a lot of condensation action happening. You may want to warm the oil a little before applying, too. Maybe you could put a small bottle of the stuff in your shirt or jeans pocket for a few minutes? As for frequency, I generally plan to oil when my breath condensation’s no longer beading in the bore, or it seems the wood’s starting to absorb a lot of moisture at the tenon-ends.
If you oil regularly and then use a silk cloth to dry your flute after you play, eventually a little oil will build up on the cloth. This will kind of give you a light oiling every time you go to put the flute away. This could be all you need after a while. If you swab lightly and leave a tiny bit of moisture in the bore that might help keep the wood from drying out too much.
Don’t oil the flute after you play when it’s wet, yadayadayada … I imagine the oil will just gum up in the cold anyway.
Good luck!
Hi pipersgrip,
I don’t think cool temperatures are a problem (above freezing that is 
) but humidity levels are crucial during the winter.
Indoor heating tends to reduce humidity levels significantly so you should keep your wooden flute in a humidity controlled climate like a plastic container. You can then keep the humidity level relatively constant. Experts can correct me, but I suggest a 50% +/- humidity level.
hope this helps,
Paul
Agree with the last post about humidity. Keep it at at least 50. When it gets down too low (e.g. 35, the flute is liable to crack). Get a hygrometer so you can measure humidity. One of the best things you can do is get a humidifier for the room where you keep the flute, and humidify that room, which is good for you too. You can get a good but still inexpensive humidifier at places like Walgreens.
I keep my flutes in a cigar humidor, they stay at 60-65% humidity. I think the year round controlled environment helps.
Thanks for the advice all! I guess humidity is the key here for the Winter. Fortunately, I love the occasional cigar, so a humidor will be a nice investment and an excuse to get some cigars 
. I really appreciate the great advice!
Jon
Yes, humidity is extremely important if the flute is living in a dry environment. Here in southern Sweden it kan get very dry during the winter months so I keep my flutes humidified in their boxes with a piece of moist sponge material and place a small digital hydrometer in each box to check the humidity, I keep it between 60 and 72. Don’t get mold as the boxes are not airtight. I seldom oil, blackwood doesn’t seem to need it. Not sure about cocus wood so I oil maybe once a year if I remember. Keep your flute humidified by playing it and keeping it in a humidified box/case, warm the headjoint if lined, next to your body before playing if the flute is cold.
I have one of these in my case, and it works a charm:
http://www.humistat.com/Humistat_Model-1.htm
Humidity in the case stays at 50-60%, while ambient humidity is usually 20-40%.
Casey Burns started an informative thread on this topic a while back:
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/wintertime-indoor-humidity-alert/79547/1
Very nice info by Casey!
And I am definitely going to purchase one of those humistats, thanks for the link.
Tell me, what I am doing wrong: I put a humistat with just one hole open in a transparent plastic box, approximately the size of a flute case together with two hygrometers. After two days I get a reading of around 80% humidity and after a week 90%. Now I feel a bit reluctant to put it in my flute case together with the flute.
Any suggestions?
Best, Moritz
I use these in a cigar humidor http://www.cigarsinternational.com/humidification/38271/humi-care-crystal-gel-humidification/#p-19706
They work really well. I keep all my pipe reeds inside as well. The crystals keep the RH very stable.
Hi Brotherwind,
Your hygrometer may be giving you a false reading. I keep about 3 different types in my mandolin case I modified for my flutes and they all give different readings. Right now I am getting 45, 55, and 60 percent. So I kind of average them. But relying on one is a bit of a hit and miss. So you might want to double-check with another hygrometer.
Another thing to consider is warming the flute up. In the words of Peter Noy, “Never blow into a cold flute.” In the winter (My flute room is probably 55 F), I usually put the head under my arm for a few minutes.
I put two hygrometers in the box. Both give about the same reading.
Tintin,thanks for the info on the Humistat. They are just what I need and have looked for awhile now for something like that for my flutes.
Yes, the relative humidity.
When Terry does a test on scientific principles, you can count on it. Once, he shocked the wood with a great temperature differential (freezer to hot breath), but the flute did not crack.
My Dad used to have a problem with low humidity: the heating system was shared with a large wooden dancehall, where the moisture dissipated practically to nil when the furnace was on, during the winter. Later, he began storing the flutes above the humidifier. Problem solved ! Even when the lumber is force-dried, months of storage a dry room will make the wood shrink and crack afterward. Note that Relative Humidity is the significant factor: If you have a dry house, then the relative humidity will be higher in a cold room (that’s good) and lower in a warm room (that’s bad), generally speaking. A hygrometer will help.
Walt Sweet
[THREAD REVIVAL - MOD]
I’m a brand new flute player. I’m very confused by the recommendations in this thread. I found this thread by searching the term “Moisture build-up”, as my Native American-style flute tends to be plagued by it after just a couple minutes of playing.
It seems I can’t get my flute dry enough. I can’t imagine this type of flute should be kept in humid conditions. So, what types of wood flutes should be? I also play a quena. Perhaps that one should be kept in a humidor?