Cleaning duck calls

[Elkstuffer]

Now that the season is over, what is the best method you waterfowl veterans use to clean your duck calls? mainly the acrylic and plastic ones. My son is pretty hard on them 

Thanks for any help

[papisjeep]

great question ..............mine are all full of chew

[h2ofowlr]

I will pull the insert and rinse it with water.  Then run dental floss under the reed. The reason you do this and not pull up on the reed is that you will make it go out of tune.  Depending on your level of experience you may or may not want to disassemble the cork and reed as you will have to tune it afterwards.  Most calls are sold tuned and after disassembly don't always sound good.  Fine tuning is required.  As mentioned to avoid this use dental floss or a crisp dollar bill and rinse.  Your trying to remove the build up under the reed. 

[jgoetz]

If you don't feel comfortable disassembling your call/ retuning it I have found great success with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol or facial astringent.  Just be careful not to mash the reeds around too bad.  Works pretty well to clean the swamp nasty out of calls. 

[ICEMAN]

If you don't feel comfortable disassembling your call/ retuning it I have found great success with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol or facial astringent.  Just be careful not to mash the reeds around too bad.  Works pretty well to clean the swamp nasty out of calls. 

"Swamp nasty!?"  I was wondering what that stuff was! Thanks!

[92xj]

Keep blowing it all year, can't learn and sound better next year without practice all year.

[bowtechian]

Break em all the way down gentle warm water & mild soap & also helps in learning to tune your own calls! You can usually see wear marks on the call to put it back close to where it was before 

[Badhabit]

Take a photo of the reed and wedge position before you take it apart. If its a dkuble reed mark the inside of that reed the itger reed should have a dimple. I wouldn't use any chemicals onthe reeds as they will delaminate looks like a white blister in the reed.

[constructeur]

The reason you do this and not pull up on the reed is that you will make it go out of tune. 

Buy a Lares, a one handed baboon could 'tune' one of those 

[Badhabit]

Not always true Constructeur, what happens if they put the reed in backwards, you know the natural bend going the wrong direction? They all sound like a kazoo when that happens.

[xdog]

Now that the season is over, what is the best method you waterfowl veterans use to clean your duck calls? mainly the acrylic and plastic ones. My son is pretty hard on them 

Thanks for any help

If you are not comfortable disassembling your call I would try to fix that problem first as a form of function and survival, you should be able to breakdown your call and clean and or repair it.  That said denture cleaner is inexpensive and works very nicely at cleaning a assembled call and it leaves it nice and minty fresh.  I use denture cleaner on occasion to clean dog training whistles which are essentially one piece with hard to access areas.
 
For a disassembled call I just simply use a dry paper towel, it can be twisted into a narrow point and drug through the barrel and wedge, mop off the tone board and reed(s).  I try to like to clean my calls in this manner after every hunt and most hunts require a cleaning part way through.  I also find it helps reduce necessary cleaning if I hang and break open my calls after every hunt that way they dry out, otherwise you have moisture and likely bacteria inside of it for days that's attracting and collecting dust, dander and making grime.    Once or twice a year I go after my calls with a toothbrush and toothpaste rinse heavily and dry and finish again with a paper towel. 

 

[ICEMAN]

Great write up xdog. I am not doing this at all and need to. When I have calls glue shut, I have been throwing them in the 'Old call bucket" in the man cave and buying new. Shame on me.