How to Clean Your Bong or Glass Pipe

Regularly maintaining your glass pipe, water pipe, bubbler, dab rig, or other glass piece is the key to a more pleasurable smoking experience. Cleaning your pipe is one of the most essential forms of maintenance. There are cleaning solutions available specifically for bubblers, water pipes, oil rigs, and glass pipes, which provide all of the necessary ingredients in one bottle. If using one of these bong cleaner products, simply follow the directions on the bottle. For those of you who don’t wish to purchase one of these cleaning solutions, there is an alternative method using household products that works just as well.

YOU WILL NEED

• Rubbing Alcohol
• Table Salt
• Paper Towels
• Q-Tips Pipe Cleaner
  – Table Salt
  – Paper Towels
  * Q-Tips, Pipe Cleaner or Wire Hanger

1. Remove the bowl and downstem from your water pipe.

2. Pour salt directly into the pipe. (Between ½ and 1 inch worth of salt will be suitable. Measurements do not have to be precise, you can always add more later.)

3. Pour approximately 1-2 inches of rubbing alcohol into pipe directly onto salt.

4. Take paper towels and plug all openings (the mouthpiece and downstem inlet) so your mixture does not leak out.

5. Shake your pipe so the salt and alcohol are reaching all of the interior spots of the pipe. Continue shaking until all the resin and residue are removed. The alcohol weakens the residue left inside your pipe, while the salt acts as an abrasive by rubbing against and removing all unwanted materials.

6. Pour out alcohol and salt mixture, while using water to wash out any alcohol and salt left behind.

7. Take your downstem and bowl which were removed earlier and place them into a sealable plastic bag. If your glass is extremely dirty, you should soak the downstem and bowl in alcohol for a few hours beforehand to soften up the residue.

8. Pour enough salt and alcohol into the bag to cover all glass pieces.

9. Shake the bag lightly to move the salt through the downstem and bowl. Be careful not to crack the glass!

10. After shaking and removing most of the residue, take a q-tip, pipe cleaner, or wire hanger and scrape out the remaining dirt.

11. After bong cleaning, wash out your downstem and bowl with water to remove any remaining salt and alcohol.

12. Put your pipe back together, and enjoy a fresh smoking experience!

While intricate glass accessories are always great, they can be very fragile. They can also create small openings that accumulate dirt, and become hard to clean. Always take the time to carefully clean your pipe in order to ensure a safe cleaning experience.