Tin Whistle Maintenance - Cleaning, Care, and Feeding

"How do I clean/polish/take care of my tin whistle?" I get this question more than anything and it always surprises me because there's not a lot to it - at least not if you ask me. Here I break down the (very) few things that I do to maintain my whistles, plus a couple of tips if you really do want to keep them shiny.
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Whistles are made by Gary Humphrey: web.blomand.net/~ghumphrey/
Flutes made by Terry McGee (www.mcgee-flutes.com/) and Windward (www.windwardflutes.com/)
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[@fatheroblivion45]

A good tip to clean any gunk out of the mouthpiece is to cut a thin strip of stiff paper / cardboard to size and run it through the mouthpiece. I've found the cardboard flap on Rizla packets cut to size is ideal. Just don't be heavy-handed and don't use thick card to avoid damage to the blade.

[@LarryShone]

I like the look of my brass feadóg after a few years playing. I never clean the body. The worn look adds character.

[@FiddlingwithmyWhistle]

Congrats on the 8K Subscribers another great video... :)

[@whistletutor]

Cheers, didn't notice it rolled over 8k!

[@FiddlingwithmyWhistle]

​@@whistletutor I know, we should not be obsessed with the counter, but I love it when they go up :) Like you I did not start our channel expecting millions of views. But it is rather nice when it happens. It's like 8000 people have said 'Thank You' for your efforts. And I am just one of them. Merry Christmas

[@kevinryall9774]

Great tips for a whistle... how about a flute? :) Particularly ....the moisture buildup in the cork? Does a cork need to be replaced? Does it deteriorate due to moisture decay? Thanks in advance for any words of help. ;)

[@BudKwaark]

thx a lot for the tips, I agree, keep it simple :)

[@timreed44]

Thanks for the tip about the glue! I would have never thought about the hot water trick. Also, what about cleaning silver whistles? I just got a beautiful one from Gary. Any tips for those? Thanks!

[@whistletutor]

Well there's all sorts of silver polishes but there again I'd steer clear of anything too abrasive. A wipe down and occasional run through with some hot water should be about all you need I'd imagine.

[@marciacunningham5877]

I use a clean gun cleaning kit for all sizes of flutes and whistles. Michael

[@ShaneMcFerran_]

Thank you!!!! 🎵

[@shanemcferran345]

Why

[@dean84921]

Can't believe it never occurred to me to just strip the glue off! Here I was just carrying four whistles to my sessions all tuned ~20 cents apart. I'm proud of my patina, personally. My regular whistle has my fingerprints worn into it. Besides, seeing shiny whistles at sessions makes me nervous

[@FiddlingwithmyWhistle]

I have a few whistles that are not in tune... but I do like their tune, so I have just left them glued

[@zebanon5]

Yeah, I really liked the patina on mine, but I lost it. Could only fine a nickel one in the brand I like (Dixon), and I'm bummed it won't patina the same.

[@kirklagory5230]

I'm sure condensation can be a problem, but plain old spit seems to be the more problematic issue that can really mess me up, and requires an immediate response. Sucking in does work with less impact on the progression of the tune.

[@bcsnapier]

Who cares about the outside? However, a simple way to clean the inside is to leave the whistles in an ultrasound cleaner for a few minutes. These are very cheap at eBay. Use warm water with a few drops of dishwashing soap. Leave them to dry by themselves. The remaining soap residue in the windway helps to prevent clogging.

[@whistletutor]

Never would have thought of that - good tip!

[@jamesmcdonough7414]

For a tunable wooden whistle (Milligan) with brass fittings, should I put anything on the brass so they don't get damaged when taking apart/putting together?

[@TheMagicRonin]

Thank you for the video and teaching. I have a question: how is it greased?, how much grease is used?, how often should grease be applied to the joints of the tin whistle? Gracias por el video y la enseñanza. Tengo una pregunta: ¿cómo se engrasa?, ¿que cantidad de grasa se usa?, ¿cada cuánto tiempo se debe aplicar grasa las juntas de los tin whistle?

[@whistletutor]

I don't use grease on the joints of my whistles, they just seem to fit pretty well - that said, you can use a bit of cork grease if it helps, but I wouldn't use much

[@Mulberry2000]

I find that the longer i play the harder it becomes, the air does not get through even though i am blowing the same. It is like the whistle gets clogged and i have to shake it every time i play. I have a Clark original whistle.

[@jikkepk8018]

This is pretty much what I do to keep my whistles playing well. The only thing I'll add is that you can also shake the moisture out of the mouthpiece by shaking it downwards once. You do need more space to do this, so maybe not ideal for in the middle of a session :)

[@chrismills2012]

as for your friend being told by the pipe maker that he didn’t want the Uilleann pipe chanter looking as nice ever again, I completely disagree. what was it made of? was it wood or plastic? if the pipes were plastic, I would agree completely, however, if it was a wooden chanter, I would want to keep it both looking and feeling as nice as it was new, and keep it in the best condition possible. I play mine a lot, and have kept it as good as new. You can play it a lot without getting it all scuzzy and scratched. if it was made of Resin or lignum, I would be really protective of it. however, I wouldn’t be so bothered about the bag or bellows as long as they were air-tight. As for a tin whissle, I wouldn’t be worried.

[@harryjohnson5118]

Good morning. I play a Jerry Freeman tweaked mellow dog high D. What is the best way to clean the inside of the "barrel"? Does it even need to be cleaned? I've tried using a wooden dowel with soft gauze wrapped around it but obviously when I pulled the dowel out the gauze stayed in the barrel. I was able to gently push it out. My first whistle was the Clarke Sweet Tone and over time it just corroded at the mouthpiece and fell apart

[@2000konnie]

Side question. Are there videos of accompanying singers (as opposed to playing melodies)? The reason I ask is that I am a fan of Tommy Makem's whistle playing - reference KZbin video of a live performance in 1964 of Tell Me Ma. If not, that's fine. Just wondering. Thanks for the great advice, tips etc. -

[@whistletutor]

Ooo, good idea - I've been kicking around a way to do this, I'll have to see what I can come up with.

[@Awkwardtunity]

I have a chieftain v5 untunable low d. It’s one piece, metal. Can I run water through that? I feel like there’s some gunk stuck in the mouth piece and a little farther in. I want to figure out how to get that stuff out of there but I’m afraid to use a tiny brush or anything in case I might scrape something that I shouldn’t be touching.

[@kalmoth]

does the blowing tip for the mouthpiece work for a classic clarke whistle that doesnt have a mouthpiece?

[@benjamin5938]

Hello ! Thank you for you videos !!! I just get my first tin whistle (sweetone😉). I would like to know what is the one you play with in this video (0:35), because I really like how it sounds, can you tell me the reference please ? Thanks !

[@whistletutor]

Sure, that's Gary Humphrey: web.blomand.net/~ghumphrey/

[@ConnorLowWhistle]

hi any idea how you clean the rust inside a low whistle ? i can see blue oxidisation on the inside of my Howard Low C

[@KateRVN]

Great vid thanks! How do I clean a trad whistle with a wooden fipple?? I’m in the UK so I don’t have goo gun. What could I use please as an alternative?

[@whistletutor]

Hmm, that's a good question as I don't play wooden fipple whistles - I'd imagine a bit of water would do the job but I could also imagine that water seeping into the wood. I'm not really sure about that one!

[@floriangrace4281]

In my opinion it could be used a dry cloth only. Any water or water based products could damage the wood fibers with time. I know that for wooden pipes it's recommended to apply oily substances (such as bore oil) from time to time (once or twice a year) so that the wood becomes protected and to slow down the aging on the wood due to temperature and humidity changes I suppose it would be something similar to the fipple. Try going after the type of its wood. Each one might require specific cares and oil types

[@soslothful]

May I offer a non sponsored plug which seems apropos? I have purchased whistle cases for these two makers on Esty: Ojoyous and Divisonstreetcrafts. Ojoyous cases are fabric in a huge selection of patterns. She offers single, double and a roll bag for five. She has also made me a custom case of three. Division Street offers crocheted single whistle cases. Both are top quality.

[@davidmassey-brown2783]

I used to manage the repair department of a music store, and I’ve cleaned a lot of instruments. Goo Gone is great stuff. But be aware that it is petroleum-based. I would never use it on anything going into my mouth. If you’re going to use it, I’d do an “after clean” with Dawn dish soap to get all the petroleum residue off. Additionally, if your mouthpiece joint is a bit tight, you can use just a dab of Lava soap (with pumice) to “sand down” the brass juuust a tiny bit, then a very small bit of Vaseline to lubricate the joint. It will move easier, but not enough to make it slip by itself. A minuscule amount of both products goes a very long way - we don’t want to joint loose, just smoother to move.

[@waynestephens2228]

How much air pressure is used?

[@SomeScruffian]

Me, whos been feeding my sweetone mushy peas: _ahhhh I see_

[@mitchc.2660]

I bought a whistle second hand. Any advice on cleaning the mouthpiece entirely?

[@whistletutor]

Just some hot water and mild dishsoap should do the job. A small pipecleaner can help but be careful not to ding the fipple (the blade in the middle of the mouthpiece) as that can screw up the tone.

[@notschmebulock5447]

I’m very new to playing tin whistles, and my tin whistle when I cover all the holes it makes a weird sound. Please help!

[@whistletutor]

Well if you're sure you're covering the holes correctly then it's probably an issue with the mouthpiece/fipple. Sometimes mass produced whistles are shipped out with little burrs on them and that can really jack up the tone and stability. It's also possible that the mouthpice is just dirty/clogged and running some warm-hot water and a small bit of dishsoap can make a difference.

[@notschmebulock5447]

whistletutor Thanks, I ran it under some hot water with dawn and it sounded like new.

[@katelijnhovestad8382]

the finger holes on my waltons d whistle start oxidizing every once in a while, is there anything i can do to prevent that?

[@whistletutor]

Yep play it even more, then you won't notice ;) haha depending on the metal of the whistle you can use various metal polishers but I've never been a big fan of that chemical smell that they have

[@silbadora]

Accidentally discovered that antibacterial (eg for Covid) &/or baby/toilet wipes (!) really shine up your whistle's surface. However, agree that original patina is really preferable...

[@des8616]

Ketchup works GREAT on brass and copper! No abrasive. And it's cheap.

[@johnmcgahern3946]

Kinda turns one off ketchup don't it?🤔

[@msk-qp6fn]

As a person who plays the clarinet, it physically pains me when I cannot run a piece of cloth through my whistle because SALIVA AND WOOD/METAL AINT GOOD, but at the same time I am terrified of obstructing the whistle's original form (when it's the untunable type).

[@1015SaturdayNight]

I love that this instrument is meant for partying. You sure can't lay a C concert flute on a bar top and spill a beer on it and expect to just wipe it off and keep playing lol

[@AdeebaZamaan]

They don't happen to make screens for whistles, do they?

[@whistletutor]

Not that I've ever seen - that's why you always see whistle players blowing out their whistles, much to the dismay of the players around them :)

[@AdeebaZamaan]

@@whistletutor You do realize that's sort of a joke. People who can drink don't need a screen!

[@FilthySoapCore]

I tried blowing in and I will never do that again

[@foofy14]

You sound like Brian Griffin from Family Guy

[@StephenMooreOfficial]

You have to feed your whistles? No wonder they've been acting strange. What do they eat? 🥴