Flute mop on-line seller in US?

[Lambchop]

About 20 years ago, Marcas o'Murchu told me the best way to clean a flute was with rolled up newspaper. I found that quite good if a little messy (the ink always comes off). I switched to using pages from magazines, which I found works quite nicely.
I have used baby oil to oil my flutes for many years now. Its thinner than most other oils and smells better too!

Well, that brings up a fascinating question!

What does Irish baby oil smell like?

American baby oils all have a characteristic scent, but there's no way to describe it. It's just "baby oil." Johnson & Johnson.

[AaronMalcomb]

You're not taking the pish, are you Paul?

[Paul McGlinchey]

You're not taking the pish, are you Paul?

No way! I used both bore oil and almond oil at times up to about 10 years ago. I was then speaking with Deirdre Havlin (flute player with Deanta) and she told me she used baby oil (Johnston & Johnston is fine!) to oil her flute.

Try it and see!

[djm]

But isn't baby oil petroleum based, like commercial bore oils, vasoline, etc.? Isn't it petroleum based oils that people here are freaking about?

djm

[Cathy Wilde]

You're not taking the pish, are you Paul?

No way! I used both bore oil and almond oil at times up to about 10 years ago. I was then speaking with Deirdre Havlin (flute player with Deanta) and she told me she used baby oil (Johnston & Johnston is fine!) to oil her flute.

Try it and see!

So if you don't dry it sufficiently after such an oiling, does the flute start to smell like wet nappie? <kidding>

That's interesting, rolling up pages (preferably ones that hold their ink). Good to know in a pinch, that's for sure!

Lambikins, I'm on the back order list, too. And I'm signed up for two of the little devils ... figure I might as well stock up.

Rama, how do you clear your HJ with the bead/fishing weight/string method (after a pint or two, I always found being in possession of a string and a weight mildly dangerous)? Do you just shake it?

P.S. Now that it's winter (18 dF here last night!) and the woodburning stove/central heating are firing up at dear old Mudhaven Manor, I sometimes *don't* dry the flute completely when I'm at home, but instead just shake it out well and let it air for a bit. I think I remember Hammy saying something about that somewhere ..... does anybody else do that?

[Denny]

P.S. Now that it's winter (18 dF here last night!) and the woodburning stove/central heating are firing up at dear old Mudhaven Manor, I sometimes *don't* dry the flute completely when I'm at home, but instead just shake it out well and let it air for a bit. I think I remember Hammy saying something about that somewhere ..... does anybody else do that?

Yep, even here in the PNW it's hard to keep the relative humidity up with a wood stove goin'

[RudallRose]

the PadSaver is designed to wick away moisture from metal flute pads. Ergo the item is left inside the flute.
They have th cotton variety and a new micro fiber.
the idea is to pass it through the flute several times. It absorbs the biggest puddles and leaves and nice even barely notice coat. Run it an extra time or two and it's perfect dry (which I don't do).

The plastic tips have never fallen off for me, Dana. Sorry yours did! I've had my cotton ones for about 8 years (yes, yucky looking, but work great....and no lint.....you much have gotten a really bad one!).
And I have 3 of the new fiber ones. They're not as quickly absorbent, but work nice.
Tip: buy the Clarinet ones, not the flute, which are too thick for conical bores.

the woodflute ones will be out next year, i'm hoping, after the makers and I converse my thoughts on the protypes I've been using.

and for oiling they are top notch.

dm

[Dana]

the PadSaver is designed to wick away moisture from metal flute pads. Ergo the item is left inside the flute.
dm

Bleah... I'd recommend against leaving anything damp inside a padded flute, unless you like sticky keys/pads.

Dana

[tin tin]

I agree with Dana. I don't believe in leaving anything in the flute. The theory behind pad savers is to swab the (Boehm) flute dry with a stick and cloth, and then insert the dry pad saver to wick any excess moisture from the pads. So, in theory, nothing damp is left in the flute, but I've never seen them work very well.
Using them for oiling/swabbing a wood flute seems like a good idea, however. I might have to give up my oily little T-shirt rags...
By the way, while commercially available wood or plastic cleaning rods are fine, my favorite combo is Terry McGee's idea http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/rod.html and a silk swab. Works beautifully, and dries the stopper face, too.

Edit: Just to clarify (in light of David's justified indignance below), I'm not disagreeing with David's use of pad savers as swabs. I'm objecting to what I see as a flawed principle of their design (for Boehm flutes, and I wouldn't like to see them used according to design on wooden flutes).

[DCrom]

Dunno if it's the best - or even a good method, but I've been using strips of paper facial tissue (Kleenex) and a wooden cleaning rod.

Tear a tissue in half, fold it over several times to fit into the slot of my cleaning rod, then use it to gently mop the bore and (carefully!) the head up to the cork. Shake out the worst, one pass through the head, a pass through the barrel, and I'm done.

More or less the same for oiling, except that go even slower and do my best to check that the oil has been evenly distributed.

Should I be doing more, or doing it differently?

[tin tin]

I'd go for something more substantial than tissue. I'd buy or make a swab made of cotton or silk. I like silk best: it dries faster and fits through narrow spaces more easily than cotton. I don't like to leave any visible moisture in the flute.

[rama]

Rama, how do you clear your HJ with the bead/fishing weight/string method (after a pint or two, I always found being in possession of a string and a weight mildly dangerous)? Do you just shake it?

i don't use the fishing line thingy on the hj. what is nice about it though is you can drag a long piece of clothe thru the bore, as long a piece as you want.
i mop out the hj with a clothe attached to a piece of metal wire which i got from a metal coathanger, folded over the end of the wire to form a slit, slide the clothe thru it, and wrapped the clothe around a few times to form a little ball at the end of the wire. custom made so the overall length fits the length of my hj's and the diameter of the ball of clothe fits the internal diameter pretty snug too. there's even a little handle at the end that you hold, so it can be turned round and round. maybe i should set up shop and market these on ebay. they would go well with all those yukistani flutes.

P.S. Now that it's winter (18 dF here last night!) and the woodburning stove/central heating are firing up at dear old Mudhaven Manor, I sometimes *don't* dry the flute completely when I'm at home, but instead just shake it out well and let it air for a bit. I think I remember Hammy saying something about that somewhere ..... does anybody else do that?

yeah, the indoor humidity is dropping where i live too. i will tend to shake the flute, let it drip out, disassemble it, put it in tupperware while it still has that 'glow'.

[lixnaw]

My issue with Pad Savers is this - they release little fuzzys after a while. Also, the little plastic cap at the end can come off, revealing sharp metal underneath. I'll use then for oiling, but nothing else. Wood or plastic flute cleaning rods are inexpensive and readily available, and the silk cloths really absorb well. If you want to put out some money, the flute flags are a wonderful invention, and allow you to swap/mop without taking the flute apart. They're at http://home.nethere.net/roger45/fluteflaga.htm .

Dana

i'm mad about these swabs, i already bought 4, and i've only one flute ,
there's never any risk for scratching the bore with these, and they're very quick and handy!

the "Short Fixed 14" Length Version" are best value for money at 20$,
but they don't fit in the foot joint of my Copley, i use a a conical swab there.

[Doc Jones]

Actually where I live it's quite common for the same people to have both musical instruments and guns.

A frightening combination, to be sure.

That does it. I'm gettin' a flute rack for my pickup truck!

Doc

[RudallRose]

uh, excuse me....

who said anything about LEAVING the swab in the flute??
it's designed for that on metal flutes....
but I said use it as a SWAB on the wood flutes.
I'm hardly a rookie at this.

Can any of you imagine that I would mistreat any of my flutes, even the slightest, to elicit the kind of disagreement you make here, such as leaving a damp swab inside a wooden flute?
C'mon folks. Read carefully and use common sense.
I've got WAAAAY too much money invested in these things to treat them with the disrespect you seem to suggest I have.....or with the dopey ignorance.

Sheesh.

You know what....
go ahead and keep using newspapers and cheap hankies and any other pieces of crap you've been using......
and continue to ask everyone else, "what do I do?"