I cant really imagine it actually turning brown, you can wiggle the elbow shaped glass piece off and see if you can scrape the element, but i wouldn't go too crazy with that. Just make sure to always hold your thumb over the hole when your not hitting and tell people your using it with to do the same. I cant tell you how frustrating it is when you/someone else blows into the thing and ruins the herb.

As far as the whip not staying in, it was always more of a hassle getting the whip in and out of the wand. I guess try using the other end if you haven't already, or go and buy a different size piece of tubing.:hippy: