After a game today, I was sitting in my car waiting for my sister-in-law to show up so we could have lunch together. I remembered that my whistle sounded a little funny, so I deicded to "fix" it if possible. There was a chip out of the "mouth-piece" so I got my nail file and tried to fish the chip out of the body of the whistle. What I got instead of a milligram of plastic was about an ounce of --- well, really gross and disgusting. I've done dissecting in hs and college, I've changed a LOT of diapers, and cleaned up after a lot of kids flu and colds, and I thought I was pretty well inured, but this really turned my stomach.
So now, I will quit calling all you guys that soak your whistles "anal" and ask your advice. Remind me how to get them clean. I'm ready to try it your way.

Thanks for sharing.

I like to soak them in some form of mouthwash - disinfects and gives them a nice minty taste (or whatever flavor of mouthwash you use). I usually soak for a while, then use a toothpick when I'm rinsing them off to get the 'gunk' out.

I'm sure there are better ways of getting to the inside of the whistle, but I haven't figured them out yet.

Just put 'em through the dishwasher, Juulie. So after digging all that stuff out of the whistle, how was lunch? :)

leave it in mouthwash overnight, and all the crap inside will come out of the whistle

I expose mine to plutonium. Not only does it get them "clean as a whistle" (hence the expression), but it leaves an nice warm afterglow.

For a simple $100.00 monthly fee, plus $5.95 S&H, I'll gladly provide you with the necessary materials to ensure you are using only the freshest whistle guaranteed to be free of fungus, bacteria, and all other whistle infecting lifeforms.

Of course you would have to get used to a brand new whistle once a week, but at least it would be clean.

My secret is actually a combination of a couple of things. I will use the mouthwash soak when I want a quick fix (i.e. on the way to a game. I actually have a small bottle that I use for this purpose), but for the "good treatment" as I call it, I soak it in a diluted bleach bath (2 parts water per 1 part bleach), and then run it through the dishwasher. Try to do this one overnight with a run through the dishwasher in the morning. Nice and fresh and bacteria free by game time.

http://www.displaycostume.com/products/103236.jpg

Doooooooes...yoooooooooooour
Whistle lose it's flavor in your gym bag over night...

(sorry)

Doooooooes...yoooooooooooour
Whistle lose it's flavor in your gym bag over night...

[/B][/QUOTE]Credit goes to "Does your chewing gum lose it's flavor on the bedpost overnight".

Which was a hit song, folks.

Really.

Actually, I'm worried that it's GAINING flavor!

I suppose that I should be offended (see Chuck's thread ROFLMAO) by Julie original post, but our sons thought it was great because as 11 and 14 yr old boys they thought is was gross and disgusting. And I am not offended. The thread has been informative and humorous.

MTD, Sr.

I said I wouldn't call you-all anal, but this does seem a little extreme.


Actually it's not bacteria I'm worried about. Any bacteria in there are from me, and they're geared to function best in a warm, sheltered environment (my mouth), so they're not likely to reproduce inside the whistle. I just want to keep the gunk down so the whistle will sound better.

Well, as long as we're getting gross and disgusting... :)

I keep my whistles in a plastic bowl with an air-tight lid (think Tupperware). It's a convenient way to keep them together and easy to find in my bag. Only problem is, a few months after I started keeping them in the bowl I open it one day and it REEKS! Obviously the cummulative effects of a lot of use and a closed environment. All of this just happened to coincide with a discussion about cleaning your whistle. So...I soak them overnight in peroxide and then again in Listerine (not that I'm worried about catching some exotic disease, but they really did smell bad). And I notice some gunk had come loose and I decided to blow them out to remove any lurking goobers. Man! Did gunk ever fly everywhere! It was amazing. Took a little while to clean it all up too. :D

Actually I am somewhat of a bacteria/germ freek. I have a bad habit of leaving my whistle in my car, and while for basketball its not a problem as its too cold for bacteria and the like to massivly reproduce, during football season its something I worry about due to the hot Oklahoma weather. That's what I keep the mouthwash bottle for.Plus the minty taste is quite refreshing.

As for calling me anal, you wouldn't be the first and I won't take offense if you or anyone does. And just to ease any worries that I'm "all-anal", I'm only like this with bacteria/germs. I work in health care to make a living. The importance of avioding all these is always being stressed. If you saw my bedroom, you would think twice about calling me anal.

And finally, concerning the "gunk", that's what the run through the dishwasher is for. Get's any bleach residue and "gunk" out. Also part of my anal issue, is I refuse to eat before I use me whistle without brushing my teeth. I guess it goes back to the dentist thing.

This surprises me, but I bow to your superior knowledge.

Okay, okay, I won't stick you with my mother's worst possible insult, "belt-roller"

So you don't snack in the car on the way to a game?