Cleaning & Maintenance for the Narwhals
The Narwhals are a low-maintenance, easy to clean palm cooling device. After use, empty the water from the Narwhals, dry the container, and refreeze the Cool-not-Cold packs. If desired, you can clean the handles with an isopropyl alcohol wipe or any other non abrasive cleaner. For complete setup instructions, read this post.
The copper heat pipes will naturally develop a patina over time which does not affect performance. Certain factors may increase the speed at which the copper will patina including: humidity levels, individual pH of sweat, higher sweat rates, and use of chalk. Typically, the heat pipes will darken in color over time and ultimately reach a “steady state”.
Unless the patina becomes very thick and noticeably textured (which is uncommon), you do not need to polish the surface of the heat pipes. For those who like to keep the Narwhals bright and shiny, you can clean the pipes with scotch brite (i.e. the green rougher part of a kitchen sponge) and apply a nano ceramic cleaner such as this one.
Below are examples of well-worn Narwhals that have developed a patina over time.
