How to Clean a Pipe: A Marijuana Smoker Guide

Pipes may look old-fashioned when compared to bongs and whole flower vaporizers. Pipes are a popular choice because of their affordability, ease-of-use, simplicity, and variety of styles. No smoker’s collection is complete without a pipe. You can buy your favorite flowers from a cannabis dispensary and smoke them in a pipe.

Pipes can be used in both old and new schools, and are essential for any smoker’s arsenal.

Cleaning your pipe is an essential and often annoying part of pipe ownership. Pipes that are not cleaned regularly can build up and cause clogging, which in turn affects the smoke flavor. It is important to clean your pipes regularly in order to enjoy the best possible smoking experience.

This article will show you how to clean ceramic or glass pipes for improved performance, smoke purity and longer life expectancy.

What you will need

Gather the following materials before you start cleaning your pipe.

• A plastic bag that seals.
• Paper clip
• 99% Isopropyl alcohol
• Table salt (sodium chloride) or epsom salt (magnesium sulfate)
• Dish soap

Step-by-step instructions on how to clean a pipe

Once you know what you need to properly clean a pipe, you can follow these steps and you will soon see that practice is better than theory.

Step 1: Place your pipe in a plastic bag containing alcohol.

Take out any flower remnants from the bowl of your pipe. Place the pipe in a plastic bag. Fill it with rubbing alcohol to submerge the entire pipe. You can also use small containers to seal the pipe if you don’t have a baggie. You will need to allow the cleaner to soak in the container for longer than you can with a bag.

Step 2: Add one teaspoon salt

One teaspoon of coarse salt is enough. Salt will be used to scrub or sponge resin from areas that a brush or sponge can’t reach. To ensure that the salt does its job properly, work it into the pipe as often as you can.

Step 3: Let it soak

Allow the pipe to soak for 12 hours in the bag/container. This will allow the alcohol to disperse most of the resin.

Step 4: Shake the bag

After the pipe has had time to soak, shake the bag vigorously in order to release any remaining resin. To avoid breaking the pipe, you can skip this step if your container is rigid.

Step 5: Take the pipe out of the bag and wash it

After shaking the pipe with water, take it out of the bag and wash it in hot water with dish soap. You can remove any remaining resin from your pipe with a pipe cleaner or paperclip, but make sure to not scratch it. To be more careful, you can also use a cotton swab. You can rinse the pipe with hot or warm water after you have finished washing it.

Step 6: Allow the pipe to dry

Allow your pipe to dry completely before you use it again. You can repeat the process if your pipe isn’t as clean or as dry as you would like. The salt that was used in the first cleaning round will have been mostly dissolved by the rubbing alcohol.

The best thing that you can do for your pipe is to clean it often. Cleaning your pipe more often will make it easier and last a lifetime.

Questions frequently asked

How can you clean a glass pipe with no alcohol?

You can boil your pipe in water if you don’t have any or prefer not to use rubbing alcohol. The pipe should be completely submerged in water. Water temperature variations can cause glass to crack or break. Let the pipe cool for 30 minutes before handling it.

What’s the fastest way to clean glass pipes?

Pipes that are clean will be easier to clean. Although an alcohol and salt solution is the best and most widely available, the speed at which your pipe is shaken and scraped may differ.

How to clean a glass pipe using vinegar?

Combine one part vinegar with one part water in a container large enough to submerge your glass pipe. Allow it to sit for 12 hours, then scrape off any resin.

Can you smoke from a dirty pipe?

Because of the resin buildup, smoking a dirty pipe can cause a bad experience. It adds a charred taste to the smoke that you inhale. Dirty pipes can have harmful health effects, as they can contain toxic substances in their bong water. While dirty bong water can trap some of the same toxic chemicals as pipes, they are not able to grow microorganisms due to lack of water.

However, a Scientific Reports paper from 2020 that described all known toxic substances found in cannabis smoke has shown there are at most 110 known toxins that could settle on the interior of the pipe. Although we don’t know what happens to these substances when they are heated, regular cleaning can help remove them from the pipe. To prevent spreading harmful bacteria and illnesses, it’s important to keep your pipe clean.

So, what are you waiting for? Visit your nearest cannabis dispensary today and buy your favorite marijuana strains to smoke them in your pipe. No matter what what strains you smoke and how long you use your pipe, don’t forget to clean it properly every use.

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