Glass pipes are among the most beautiful crafts humans ever created. But these magnificent devices tend to get rather dirty and clogged with grime, resin, and soot, especially after you have been using your glass pipe for a while without cleaning.
Dirty and clogged glass pipe will make your smoking experience less enjoyable, difficult and quite unpleasant, which is, we’re sure, completely the opposite of what you are trying to achieve by using your glass pipe, right?
However, if you learn how to clean glass pipes like a pro, especially using your everyday household materials and props, with only a smidge of patience and a little bit of skill, you can have your old glass pipe look and feel as it was purchased yesterday.
Here we have Smokey News approved ways to do this, along with numerous useful tips on how to clean glass pipes the proper way.
Cleaning Pipes Using Isopropyl Alcohol
STEP 1: Remove the loose dirt from your glass pipe. To do this, turn the pipe upside down and tap on its backside so any loose gunk falls off. Do it gently so as not to break the pipe.
STEP 2: Take your pipe cleaner (you can also use a cotton swab and wire) and remove those large pieces of dirt that are easily dislodged.
STEP 3: Take a re-sealable plastic bag and fill it with isopropyl alcohol (also known as rubbing alcohol). Put your glass pipe inside so it is fully submerged in alcohol.
STEP 4: Add 1 tbsp of salt to the mix. Salt will act as the abrasive sponge that is able to remove the resin in your pipe that you could never be able to using only a regular brush.
STEP 5: Shake the re-sealable plastic bag with your glass pipe in it so the salt and the liquid reach all corners of your pipe. Do this for at least two full minutes.
STEP 6: Let the pipe soak for several hours in fresh isopropyl.
STEP 7: Use hot water to rinse your glass pipe and use cotton swabs or a pipe cleaner to remove any remaining spots.
NOTE: If need be, repeat the whole process several times.
Alternative Solutions On How To Clean Glass Pipes
Denture Cleaning Tablets
To clean your pipe using denture cleaning tablets take a Tupperware container, fill it up with hot water (enough to cover the whole pipe) and put your glass pipe in the container. Drop up to 3 denture tablets (depending on how big and how dirty your pipe is) and wait for about half an hour. The fizzing power of denture cleaning tablets should remove almost all resin, stains and residue.
Some of the alternatives to denture tablets include:
- salt and vinegar
- baking soda and vinegar
- sand and water
Freezing The Pipe
You can also try freezing the pipe as it can help you remove the resin quite successfully. Namely, freezing temperatures harden and dry up the resin, which makes it much easier to clean and dislodge. To do this, put your pipe in the freezer for 30 minutes (or up to 1 hour), then once you take your glass pipe out, use a sharp object like a needle to break and knock the dirt off.
Purchase Specialty Cleaning Solutions
You can also opt for professional pipe cleaning products.
BONUS TIP: Clean Your Pipe Regularly
In order to avoid extremely dirty pipes that are near impossible to clean, makes sure you clean your device on a regular basis. Quickly rinsing and soaking it in some isopropyl once a week for only 5 minutes will do the trick.
Do you have any suggestions of yours on how to clean glass pipes? Feel free to mention them in the comments section below. Also, should you need any kind of professional products from the world of smoking, vaping, hookahs, and pipes, don’t miss out on cool Smokey News offers!