When I practice my flute a lot I have to swab it out a lot. From time to time my flute will remind me that I need to swab more. Everyone once in a while some water will get into the G# key, and the pad will swell, making it so I can't play any notes below G. It's always distressing when this happens!! The last time this happened I determined to never run out of flute swabs. Thankfully after letting the flute sit overnight usually it is 100% the next day.
Here are some reviews of the flute swabs I own
Beaumont Sweet Magnolia Flute Swab about $10
Hodge Silk Flute Swab - Purple about $10
Valentino Flute Wand - Purple about $40
Jupiter Cotton flute swab about $10
In the picture is also my Sankyo cleaning cloth, and Sankyo cleaning stick.
I used to keep a supply of the Jupiter cloths on hand for students- when I could get a bunch of them for cheap, but haven't seen that deal for a while. It's not my favorite, but it's fine. You have to run it through a few times.
The Valentino wand is probably my least favorite. It does have the advantage of being able to get all the way to the top of the headjoint and in all corners. But it seems to move the water around without soaking up much. I washed the wand as was recommended -to be more absorbent, but it didn't seem to really change much.
The Hodge Silk swab and the Beaumont swabs are my favorite. It's really nice to have one of each because they are both quite different. The silk swab is very light and I don't think it could ever get stuck in the flute. You push it all the way through the body of the flute one time and there is no moisture left. Pushing it through the headjoint and back out though there will still be some moisture inside. When it has been used it is very wet and feels quite wet. But it does dry quickly.
The Beaumont cloth also pushes nicely through the entire flute body, and will leave it very dry. It is thicker than the silk swab. When it comes out, it does not have the wet feel of the silk. It's doesn't feel that wet really, even though it has just absorbed a ton of moisture. Also inserting this into the headjoint and giving it a twist, the headjoint will be dry.
I guess if I could only have one swab, it would be the Beaumont cloth.
These days I alternate between the Hodge and the Beaumont. I recommend swabbing at least every 30 minutes when you are practicing. Don't wait until water starts dripping out of keys!
