Directions and Supplies for Cleaning a Flute

Maintain your flute to keep it in peak playing condition.

For your flute to sound the best that it can, proper maintenance is necessary. This includes cleaning your flute of all interior buildup and the exterior tarnish. Most professional flute players suggest taking your flute to a flute technician once a year for a thorough cleaning and oiling, but with a variety of simple tools, you can keep your flute clean year round.

Things You'll Need

• Micro-fiber polishing cloth.
• Isopropyl alcohol
• Flute flag or comparable product

Instructions

1. Wipe the flute gently with a micro-fiber polishing cloth, which is lint-free and wicks up oil and fingerprints for external cosmetic cleaning only. Avoid letting the cloth swipe the underside of the keys to prevent damaging pad surfaces. The pads are covered with a thin membrane that is easy to accidentally abrade during finger print removal.

2. Wipe the headjoint with isopropyl alcohol if you want to sterilize it. This alcohol, known as rubbing alcohol, is used to disinfect the mouthpiece after frequent usage.

3. Clean the flute's interior with a flute flag, which are wands that are designed specifically to swab the inside of a flute of buildup and saliva. Avoid jamming a cloth inside the instrument because this can damage the keys and pads.

Tips & Warnings

• Take the flute to a professional flute technician if you are unsure of proper cleaning techniques. Attempting to clean the inside of the flute can lead to pad and key damage and generally is discouraged. Only a professional technician can clean the flute, re-oil the keys and precisely fine tune the instrument enough to ensure no damage.

References

• Roger Holman Enterprises: Flute Flag Page
• Flutesite: Care of the Flute
• Jennifer Cluff; Aug 18, 2008: How to Clean a Flute