Pipe cleaning methods! who does, who doesnt.

Yo folks, I was checking out a thread on resin, and it got me thinking... Most people i know clean out there pipes, using various methods (boiling, picking, alcohol and salt, cleaning kits etc.) but i also know a few that never clean their pieces.
So the question is: is there a difference?
I've always thought cleaner pipes were better, better, bigger hits, and maybe a little easier on the lungs (anyone know if thats true?), but are there any upsides to an uncleaned pipe or bong, and if so do they outweigh the downsides?
If ya got a proven answer I'd love to hear it, or even just a personal opinion, this is all just idle speculation, not some kind of stoner philosophy, (but it can be if ya want):thumbsup:

I don't clean my pieces out of laziness. Well once in a while, but it gets clogged again so fast. There's truly no benefit unless you like smoking resin.

Smoking resin is so bad for you though...seriously, it does contain concentrated THC but it also contains concentrated chemicals and bi-products of burnt plant material which should NOT be inhaled...

That is why I clean mine after every use :thumbsup:

I hate smoking through clogged pipes and then you get a buzz from oxygen deprivation.

It is best to clean the pipe after each use. Something I never do but I also don't let them go that long before cleaning. That left over tar (seems to be the theme of the day) doesn't burn away completely but everytime you put a flame to it, some of it burns. The more tar at the bottome of the bowl, the more harmful by products you may inhale.

I have a friend in a medical setting who has access to an autoclave :)
I take my glass over to see him every couple weeks. We have a nice session while my glass gets crystal clean :)

:thumbsup:

i dont know about anyone else, but i would actually rather smoke out of a pre-resined bowl. I dont know what it is about the resin, but i think that the smoke to me personally seems smoother. I believe that the surface area that the resin provides with all its nooks and crannies actually helps to remove more of the tars and resins that make the hits harsh.

Im an alcohol and salt guy myself. I do it for two reasons: first, i want the least amount to tar. second, i like the fresh taste.

my neighbor is one of the laziest people Ive met in my life.... never cleans his stuff. his pipes just taste like dirty ass and get clogged. I wont even touch 'um. From time to time Ill hit his bong...but I go over to the sink and clean it out...fresh water. damn, like 5 mins is tough or something! Furthermore, he once left his hitter at my house and I cleaned it for him thinking I was being nice and helping him out. I think he was pist but didnt really say much! my bad!

i just finished cleaning my first bowl that i ever bought, it took me about 2 days of alcohol and salt, in a plastic bag. Plus pipe cleaners, i liked the way it hit before, but the screens kept getting clogged and i decided that it would be good to do some cleaning, ive never had an issue with it getting clogged from resin blockage other than with a screen.

i have 2 other bowls, and i never really clean my bong, though i did so the other night when i broke open the alcohol container, but it took me a little more than a quart of rubbing alcohol to clean my pipe.

today im hoping to make a pickup so i can smoke out of the nice clean pipe.

I clean my 2 piece glass bong with sea salt and isopropyl alcohol. It cleans really well but some pieces are hard to clean.

i will say that by far the quickest cleaning ive ever done was with 100% acetone and salt. The salt sorta dissolved in the acetone creating a 3 layer substance in my bong when i was done cleaning it. But it had never looked cleaner.

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Originally Posted by SurferBoy37

Yo folks, I was checking out a thread on resin, and it got me thinking... Most people i know clean out there pipes, using various methods (boiling, picking, alcohol and salt, cleaning kits etc.) but i also know a few that never clean their pieces.
So the question is: is there a difference?
I've always thought cleaner pipes were better, better, bigger hits, and maybe a little easier on the lungs (anyone know if thats true?), but are there any upsides to an uncleaned pipe or bong, and if so do they outweigh the downsides?
If ya got a proven answer I'd love to hear it, or even just a personal opinion, this is all just idle speculation, not some kind of stoner philosophy, (but it can be if ya want):thumbsup:

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I use alcohol, paper towels and a long thin brass rod to clean out my waterpipes. I do this about once a month when the inside gets nasty looking. I do it for sanitary reasons if nothing else.

I keep my pieces pretty clean because I don't like the taste of dirty goop, or the idea of whatever lurks in the bong water. In fact, when I think of it, I dump out the bong after use so it sits there dry, and doesn't get nastier. It also goes through the dishwasher often.
I have a little jar of alcohol I soak my slides in between uses so they stay unobstructed and hit better.
IMO, it's a great idea to have good bong hygiene!

Wow, that seems rather a high standard of cleanliness. :) I saw your name in High Times btw.

:):rasta:

Regardless if it's bad for you or not. I clean my bowl out at least once a month, usually the end of the month after smoking out of it constantly. There's nothing I like more than a resin ball bowl to start the month off

I use fresh water every time I use my bong, I never leave it in there. I usually use iso on my smaller stuff. My bong is new so I've yet to have to clean it. Also, I've used paint thinner in the past, which will get your glass suuuper clean, but you gotta make sure you rinse it out with water after, you don't wanna inhale any of that shizz.

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Originally Posted by AnEpicMelody

I use fresh water every time I use my bong, I never leave it in there. I usually use iso on my smaller stuff. My bong is new so I've yet to have to clean it. Also, I've used paint thinner in the past, which will get your glass suuuper clean, but you gotta make sure you rinse it out with water after, you don't wanna inhale any of that shizz.

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Paint thinner is not a good thing to use....it leaves a film behind and is *NOT* water soluable. For a buck or 3 you can get a quart of 80% alcohol at wally-world. that works a lot better, and is water soluable so it will rinse out with water.

i empty out my bongwater after every session, and once a week i throw the slide in some boiling water and scrape it a bit so it doesnt get clogged. personally i live in a dorm room so i clean my stuff to reduce the smell really - and to keep my bong hitting well.

I use to have a never ending resin ball at the bottom of a pipe that would just roll around and gather resin,, I could hit it like a hundred times without it burning out.. Lol. Yes resinated are harsher.

after cleaning my bowl that first time, it all the hits tasted harsh after it was cleaned, so i guess i do realize the bad taste, i think that it was just that i had forgotten what the weed orginally tasted like since it was really my only piece for a while, and when i was first smoking out of it i was just smoking schwag, but now, i know better, and am probably going to clean my pieces tomorrow when i get paid and am able to get some cleaning accessories. I really wish i could put my slider into a bowl and just shake it around with some alcohol and salt and not worry about it breaking, but i know that wont do, what do you guys suggest for cleaning the slider out really well, it is a color changing one, so i have a chamber around the bowl that needs cleaning as well, and really the salt and alcohol only work so well.

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Originally Posted by jimmy8778

after cleaning my bowl that first time, it all the hits tasted harsh after it was cleaned, so i guess i do realize the bad taste, i think that it was just that i had forgotten what the weed orginally tasted like since it was really my only piece for a while, and when i was first smoking out of it i was just smoking schwag, but now, i know better, and am probably going to clean my pieces tomorrow when i get paid and am able to get some cleaning accessories. I really wish i could put my slider into a bowl and just shake it around with some alcohol and salt and not worry about it breaking, but i know that wont do, what do you guys suggest for cleaning the slider out really well, it is a color changing one, so i have a chamber around the bowl that needs cleaning as well, and really the salt and alcohol only work so well.

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real easy.... alcohol, cotton swabs, paper towels, and maybe a toothpick or 2 is all you need. just make sure you rinse it out really well when your finished.

yeah, but i like to get all the nooks and crannies, i figured i would get some acetone for the slider, that seemed to be the best with salt for cleaning, it will probably work really well. I just wish i had a bag i could put acetone in that wouldnt become weakened by it, it damages plastics, so a plastic bag may bust, plus i have the slide bags so they leak a little anyways.

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Originally Posted by jimmy8778

yeah, but i like to get all the nooks and crannies, i figured i would get some acetone for the slider, that seemed to be the best with salt for cleaning, it will probably work really well. I just wish i had a bag i could put acetone in that wouldnt become weakened by it, it damages plastics, so a plastic bag may bust, plus i have the slide bags so they leak a little anyways.

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Pure acetone that is not cut with anything else is very hard to find. ANd acetone is not something to fool with unless you have the proper training to handle hazardous materials, and hazardous waste disposal.
NIOSH Document: Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards: Acetone | CDC/NIOSH
*MOST* acetone products have other stuff in it also....none of it any good for getting into pipes and such.

80% alcohol from Walmart is a lot cheaper, works as well or better, and you can dump it down the drain when your done with it. BTW... with alcohol, you don't have to worry with the plastic bags and such either.