You asked*, we did the research.**
*I opened my flute case after ten+ years of storage away from my then-middle school spit.
**I paid the price as I was a full-time worker, part-time student with zero job or life prospects. These depression spells go hand in hand with impulsive spending and must be combatted with distractions. The answer?
Over $200
is how much it costs to remove mold from a Jupiter nickel with silver finish student flute.
Please thoroughly clean, oil, and dry (as applicable) your instruments before long term storage.
Mold is no joke.
Is using a metal rod or plastic stick better for cleaning the inside of a flute?
- Will using a metal stick for cleaning nick my flute?
Two years later, the same music store answered my question about avoiding damage to the interior of my flute. A wooden stick for swabbing through the flute (with a cloth) was the standard when I was a student flautist. When I visited the shop looking for a new cleaning stick, I was met with two options on the shelf: a metal cleaning stick or a plastic version. What happened to the wooden sticks? I see them being sold online still, so was this a deliberate action against microbes or perhaps a stock (un)request?
Regardless of the answer, the advice I received from the music shop clerk was that the industry is shifting towards plastic sticks for cleaning flutes. When I asked about the possibility, the clerk agreed there was a higher chance of accidentally scratching the interior of the flute when cleaning with a metal rod.
Whatever your cleaning routine, be sure to take care of your instrument!
