Maintenance

In an ideal world you'd bring in your flute for maintenance about once a year, especially if you have keywork. We include one free basic maintenance with every flute, keyed or unkeyed.

If you're in Ireland: we try to be there regularly, usually for some of the bigger festivals. This allows for basic maintenance on the go without having to ship the flute… just contact us if that's something you need!

There are also two essential things you should do yourself to maintain the instrument's functioning and general hygiene and of course to protect it from damage.

Drying the flute
First take the flute apart. To dry the flute, use a normal flute cleaner, preferably a wooden one with a bit of non fluffy flannel or any clean bit of rag. Don't forget to carefully dry your keywork: moisture can collect under the pads as well. Then leave it taken apart until it is completely dried out. It must be taken apart and dried after each use!

Oiling the flute
The main purpose of oiling the flute is to prevent the moisture from entering the wood. Regularly oiling the instrument will also prevent saliva from attacking the wood and this will keep the bore polished. We use sweet almond oil for this.

The idea of oiling is to apply a small amount of oil regularly. When you have a new instrument, during the first two months you should oil it at least once every week, after that at least once a month, but preferably more often. We look into the inside of the instrument. If it looks dry, give it some oil to protect it! If you pay attention to this, you'll be surprised how quickly it starts to look thirsty.

Apply the oil when the instrument is dry, before playing. We oil both the inside and the outside of the flute. If there are keys, it is important to protect the pads (eg by covering them with thin plastic), because the oil would ruin the padding.

The headjoint needs oil as well, especially in and around the embouchure hole. If the headjoint is half lined, it needs oil on the inside as well.

Put a few drops of oil into the bore of the flute and disperse it with a clean rag (a different rag from the one you'll use to dry it with!) until you see a nice even sheen when you look into the flute. Then take this oily rag and wipe it on the outside of the flute, into the finger holes and embouchure hole. Make sure that that you wipe out/ off any excess before you remove the plastic covers of the pads if you're oiling a keyed flute.

How to avoid cracks

When it comes to the environment you keep it in, keep your flute dry, but not too dry. When wood adsorbs moisture, it swells, and when it dries, it shrinks. This well known fact is at the heart of quite some problems.

There are two ways in which cracks generally develop. The first is that the instrument is not taken apart and dried after it has been played. Water can then build up in the cavity in the barrel. The tenon of the flute body will swell, notably on a place where the wood of the barrel is rather thin. A crack will be the result.

Secondly, when a flute is played regularly, but is kept in a very dry room, the outer part of the wood will dry out and will start shrinking. The inner part stays humid because the instrument is played regularly. The wood will have no choice but to develop surface cracks. Drying it will help with not absorbing too much moisture in one place, oiling it will help to prevent moisture from penetrating the wood.

So, in conclusion: try to avoid extreme temperatures, always dry off and oil regularly.