Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Hello
I recently bought a flute from a smoker and the mouthpiece end of it pongs due to all the cigarette smoke that's been blown down it.
Any ideas how to get rid of the whiff?
I suppose it'll fade in time, but it stinks at the moment so I'd like to expunge it if poss.
The barrell of the mouthpiece is brass-lined and the rest is rosewood.
Cheerio, Jim
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
I cleaned up some old harmonicas with the stuff you use for sterilizing babies' bottles (Milton) and then painted on some Listerine for good luck - don't know if it would be advisable for a flute though but it made the harmonicas more hygenic. Tip: never leave a harmonica on a pub table or someone'll pick it up and start playing it - I don't think that happens to flutes.
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Richard - sorry but I wouldn't advise the Milton, unless you know what chemicals are in it, as they might be corrosive to the timber. What about repeatedly dousing it in and cleaning off almond oil?
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Soon a flute maker may come along and post the answer, but until then you could try leaving fresh orange skin in the case with the flute. The citris smell may take over from the smoke quicker than just waiting for it to fade.
Of course you will need to make sure you don't let the peel become dried out, thus taking moisture from the flute.
Hopefully someone will give you better advice soon.
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
I recently sent my wooden whistles to Pat O'Riordan for tune up. His first question was did I smoke (I used to), because he had to remove the residue from the inside of both barrels. He didn't say what solvent he used but said it was difficult (but not impossible). If it smells it definitely needs a good scrub. My own suggestion is almond oil with vitamin E added, used with a stiff bristled brush and wiped with clean white cotton cloths until the color remains white. Kinda like cleaning a gun barrel. Good luck.
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Wash it with lukewarm water and dishwashing soap. Let it sit and dry out, then oil it as you normaly would and treat it gently for a couple days. I came back from a smokey pub with my Flute smelling like smoke asked on the C&F board and Terry McGee recommended this process. It may be best to contact the maker before you do anything though.
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
If the rest of the flute's not so bad you could always see if it's possible to have a new mouthpiece fitted, cheaper than a whole flute. Smoking gets banned in English pubs next July. Why don't the irish pubs in England impose a ban now, to be authentically irish ?
Not sure about the dishwashing soap, which is after all detergent. If you do that rinse it absolutely thoroughly before oiling, you don't want a detergent residue in the wood.
You should strip down second-hand diatonics completely and scrape off the crud with something non-abrasive. The crud will be along the top of the reedplates and along the front edges of the covers. Anything plastic or metal can be cleaned with soapy water, soaked in denture cleaner or cleaned with isopropyl alcohol. Wood bodies are tricky. Scrape off crud and clean with alcohol - don't soak in water or use soap. The alcohol will kill the germs you're worried about but will evaporate without swelling the wood. Any harmonica that has valves - check the above link. Harmonica players will never agree about regular cleaning of diatonics, but plastic ones without valves can definitely be washed under a stream of tepid water and shaken out, and they will be nice and clean and sound brighter and be more responsive if you do this frequently. I know a bloke who plays wooden recorders worth hundreds of pounds who punctuates his playing by scoffing bags of pork scratchings.
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Slightly OT: I have to remember to take the fiddle out of the case no matter how late home from the wednesday pub gig, otherwise the stench of old ashtrays under your nose as you play the next day would make you heave!
So long as I remember, the smell's gone by morning.
For real gut-churning nausea let a smoker play your bagpipes! Then again, GHB's are a whole new health risk....
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
The tars in tobacco are insidious in the way they will settle on everything. The pong is a volatile that will dissipate in time, however, some of the other components have a half-life
I use Tea trea oil for these deposits - it's important to get right into the corners, so you'll need something that can get right in to apply it - Tea tree oil is an incredible solvent - anything plastic will get ruined by it. It may also re-activate resins in some woods - so it is important to work quickly and apply some almond oil as soon as the pleasant smell of the tea tree oil has dissipated - this lets the resin settle.
- use a realy good grade tea trea oil - if it smells remotely off or has a "detol" smell it is rubbish and won't work - Thursday-plantation brand is good. It is also one of the most effective germ killers around - kills bacteria instantly, but has little effect on mold.
This is a last-ditch approach - if ethyl alcahol or plain old dishwashing detergent are not up to the task - remember with detergent, get the thing thoroughly dried out as quickly as possible - then oil, if there's any moisture left before you oil, then you're effectively sealing-in a problem.
Mind you, I have seen some appalling things done to fine wooden instruments that make the tobacco problem pale - guiness or tap water might close cracks, but they also invite some interesting pathogens. Each to their own, i supose - depending on your imune system
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Well friends, I have enjoyed reading your replies very much so thanks to all who have posted. So far I have been shoving bits of white cotton rag up and down the barrell like there's no tomorrow and the pong seems to be shifting slowly.
I think I'll ramp up the cleaning effort with a bit of almond oil as this is the most widely recommended stuff I've heard about so far.
I reckon leaving the case open will help the air circulate around it and I'll see how it goes with the almond oil.
Cheerio
P.S. There's a hint of aftershave mixed in with the smoke too, but I'm not sure if that makes it better or worse ;-]
"You don't understand what I'm up against. This is a force more powerful than anything you can imagine. Even Superman would be helpless against this kind of stench."
Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Hello
I recently bought a flute from a smoker and the mouthpiece end of it pongs due to all the cigarette smoke that's been blown down it.
Any ideas how to get rid of the whiff?
I suppose it'll fade in time, but it stinks at the moment so I'd like to expunge it if poss.
The barrell of the mouthpiece is brass-lined and the rest is rosewood.
Cheerio, Jim
# Posted on December 3rd 2006 by j1mmy
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
I cleaned up some old harmonicas with the stuff you use for sterilizing babies' bottles (Milton) and then painted on some Listerine for good luck - don't know if it would be advisable for a flute though but it made the harmonicas more hygenic. Tip: never leave a harmonica on a pub table or someone'll pick it up and start playing it - I don't think that happens to flutes.
# Posted on December 3rd 2006 by RichardB
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Richard - sorry but I wouldn't advise the Milton, unless you know what chemicals are in it, as they might be corrosive to the timber. What about repeatedly dousing it in and cleaning off almond oil?
# Posted on December 3rd 2006 by Rudall the time
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Soon a flute maker may come along and post the answer, but until then you could try leaving fresh orange skin in the case with the flute. The citris smell may take over from the smoke quicker than just waiting for it to fade.
Of course you will need to make sure you don't let the peel become dried out, thus taking moisture from the flute.
Hopefully someone will give you better advice soon.
# Posted on December 3rd 2006 by proinsiasrua
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Ewwww - I'm glad I play the harp!
# Posted on December 3rd 2006 by Mark Harmer
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
yeah ... buy a new one!
# Posted on December 3rd 2006 by Jon_bailey
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Anybody ever tried the age old tried and true cure of good old cure of putting a box of baking soda in the flute case.Works great in the fridge!!!
# Posted on December 3rd 2006 by Musicofireland
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
I recently sent my wooden whistles to Pat O'Riordan for tune up. His first question was did I smoke (I used to), because he had to remove the residue from the inside of both barrels. He didn't say what solvent he used but said it was difficult (but not impossible). If it smells it definitely needs a good scrub. My own suggestion is almond oil with vitamin E added, used with a stiff bristled brush and wiped with clean white cotton cloths until the color remains white. Kinda like cleaning a gun barrel. Good luck.
# Posted on December 3rd 2006 by wvwhistler
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
oops! Excuse the grammar slip up there.
# Posted on December 3rd 2006 by Musicofireland
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Musicofireland, I thought you could still at least smoke in the street over there, I didn't think you had to do it in the fridge.
# Posted on December 3rd 2006 by nicholas
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Take up smoking yourself, then you won't be able to smell much of anything!
/Kidding
# Posted on December 3rd 2006 by Splendid Isolation
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Wash it with lukewarm water and dishwashing soap. Let it sit and dry out, then oil it as you normaly would and treat it gently for a couple days. I came back from a smokey pub with my Flute smelling like smoke asked on the C&F board and Terry McGee recommended this process. It may be best to contact the maker before you do anything though.
# Posted on December 3rd 2006 by Why Bother?
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
If the rest of the flute's not so bad you could always see if it's possible to have a new mouthpiece fitted, cheaper than a whole flute. Smoking gets banned in English pubs next July. Why don't the irish pubs in England impose a ban now, to be authentically irish ?
Not sure about the dishwashing soap, which is after all detergent. If you do that rinse it absolutely thoroughly before oiling, you don't want a detergent residue in the wood.
# Posted on December 4th 2006 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Find the previous owner and slap him for doing that to an instrument.
# Posted on December 4th 2006 by kwsmith
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
For harmonica cleaning you can't do better than to read this: http://www.angelfire.com/music/HarpOn (scroll down the contents to "Cleaning.").
You should strip down second-hand diatonics completely and scrape off the crud with something non-abrasive. The crud will be along the top of the reedplates and along the front edges of the covers. Anything plastic or metal can be cleaned with soapy water, soaked in denture cleaner or cleaned with isopropyl alcohol. Wood bodies are tricky. Scrape off crud and clean with alcohol - don't soak in water or use soap. The alcohol will kill the germs you're worried about but will evaporate without swelling the wood. Any harmonica that has valves - check the above link. Harmonica players will never agree about regular cleaning of diatonics, but plastic ones without valves can definitely be washed under a stream of tepid water and shaken out, and they will be nice and clean and sound brighter and be more responsive if you do this frequently. I know a bloke who plays wooden recorders worth hundreds of pounds who punctuates his playing by scoffing bags of pork scratchings.
# Posted on December 4th 2006 by Steve Shaw
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Slightly OT: I have to remember to take the fiddle out of the case no matter how late home from the wednesday pub gig, otherwise the stench of old ashtrays under your nose as you play the next day would make you heave!
So long as I remember, the smell's gone by morning.
For real gut-churning nausea let a smoker play your bagpipes! Then again, GHB's are a whole new health risk....
# Posted on December 4th 2006 by Jay-eye
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
The tars in tobacco are insidious in the way they will settle on everything. The pong is a volatile that will dissipate in time, however, some of the other components have a half-life
I use Tea trea oil for these deposits - it's important to get right into the corners, so you'll need something that can get right in to apply it - Tea tree oil is an incredible solvent - anything plastic will get ruined by it. It may also re-activate resins in some woods - so it is important to work quickly and apply some almond oil as soon as the pleasant smell of the tea tree oil has dissipated - this lets the resin settle.
- use a realy good grade tea trea oil - if it smells remotely off or has a "detol" smell it is rubbish and won't work - Thursday-plantation brand is good. It is also one of the most effective germ killers around - kills bacteria instantly, but has little effect on mold.
This is a last-ditch approach - if ethyl alcahol or plain old dishwashing detergent are not up to the task - remember with detergent, get the thing thoroughly dried out as quickly as possible - then oil, if there's any moisture left before you oil, then you're effectively sealing-in a problem.
Mind you, I have seen some appalling things done to fine wooden instruments that make the tobacco problem pale - guiness or tap water might close cracks, but they also invite some interesting pathogens. Each to their own, i supose - depending on your imune system
# Posted on December 5th 2006 by Mozle
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
Well friends, I have enjoyed reading your replies very much so thanks to all who have posted. So far I have been shoving bits of white cotton rag up and down the barrell like there's no tomorrow and the pong seems to be shifting slowly.
I think I'll ramp up the cleaning effort with a bit of almond oil as this is the most widely recommended stuff I've heard about so far.
I reckon leaving the case open will help the air circulate around it and I'll see how it goes with the almond oil.
Cheerio
P.S. There's a hint of aftershave mixed in with the smoke too, but I'm not sure if that makes it better or worse ;-]
# Posted on December 5th 2006 by j1mmy
Re: Stinky flute smells of cigarette smoke - any tips?
You may have to part with that stinky thing. Look for guidance from Seinfeld in the smelly car episode : http://www.answers.com/topic/the-smelly-car
"You don't understand what I'm up against. This is a force more powerful than anything you can imagine. Even Superman would be helpless against this kind of stench."
# Posted on December 6th 2006 by bsideindy