Glass pipes are a popular option for smoking marijuana since they don’t get easily stained and won’t affect the taste. They come in various shapes and sizes, from simple tubes with a bowl on the end to elaborate water pipes like bongs.
Unlike wooden pipes, glass ones won’t absorb any of the oil from your weed, which makes them easier to clean, at least in theory. Due to their shape, glass pipes often have lots of areas that are difficult to reach when cleaning.
The most common area is the stem that is too narrow to fit your hand in and is where most of the residue will accumulate. If you don’t clean your pipe regularly, then the build-up of tar may start to negatively impact your smoking experience.
Although it is tricky, there are a few methods you can use to effectively clean your glass pipe from any debris or gunk that may have accumulated. This guide is intended to show you how to do this without causing unnecessary damage to your pipe.
Why Is It Important To Clean Your Glass Pipe?
Before we get into methods for cleaning your pipe, let’s go into more depth on why it is essential to do so. Every time you smoke with a pipe, a small amount of burnt matter and tar will be left behind.
Over time, this can build up to form a layer of residue at the base of the pipe and down the stem. This residue will still combust slightly when you smoke, which means you will be inhaling a lot more tar and particulates than you usually would with a clean pipe.
As well as being even worse for your health, smoking a dirty pipe will also negatively affect the flavor of your smoking material. Furthermore, it will reduce the amount of drag from your pipe, which means you will get less smoke and therefore less of an effect overall.
As such, if you enjoy the flavor of your weed, having a clean pipe is vital to getting the best experience from it.
How To Clean Your Glass Pipe?
Now that we have covered why you should clean your pipe, let’s go into some methods for doing so. Each of these methods will work well for getting any gunk out of your pipe without damaging or scratching it in the process.
Isopropyl Alcohol & Salt
Our first method is an old classic and highly effective at that. To do it you will need isopropyl alcohol, or rubbing alcohol as it is more commonly known. Aim to get a solution with a concentration of at least 91% for the best results.
Isopropyl alcohol is very good at dissolving cannabis oil and will work wonders to remove any gunk or tar from your glass pipe. That’s said, it won’t work alone, and it helps to also add coarse sea salt for scrubbing and loosening any debris off the walls of your pipe.
Use a cotton bud or toothpick to dislodge any debris before you add any alcohol or salt. Be careful of using anything too sharp as this may scratch the glass on your pipe.
After this, you can place the pipe in a ziplock bag filled with enough isopropyl alcohol and salt solution to submerge it. Gently shake the whole bag, making sure not to hit it against anything.
If any areas are proving particularly stubborn, you can continue using the cotton bud to rub the salt against the spots of gunk. Make sure to stick the cotton bud down the stem as well to get any tar that may have accumulated there as well.
Once you are done, rinse the pipe with warm water to remove any cleaning solution left inside. When done properly, this method will leave your pipe spotless and ready for use after the alcohol has evaporated.
Pipe Cleaning Solutions
Now that cannabis is legal in some states, you can buy specially made solutions for cleaning glass pipes.
These solutions can end up costing a lot more than DIY methods, and because you need to submerge the pipe in them, they won’t be suitable for anyone working on a budget.
That said, store-bought pipe cleaning solutions are often very strong and effective at their job, and as such is very convenient if you can buy them.
Homemade Cleaning Solutions
If you don’t have isopropyl alcohol, and can’t buy a store-bought pipe cleaning solution, then you can try to make your own at home. Here are a few mixtures that will work to remove gunk from the inside of your pipe.
- Salt and vinegar
- Baking soda and vinegar
- Sand and water.
Remember when trying any of these DIY methods that you may need to leave the pipe to sit for longer to remove all the gunk. It also helps to have a toothpick or cotton bud nearby for removing any stubborn spots.
Of the solutions mentioned above, baking soda and vinegar is one of the most effective, this is because the two will cause a neutralization reaction that should work to loosen any tar off the walls of your pipe.
After this, you only have to rinse it with hot water for all of the gunk to come pouring out.
When trying the sand and water method, remember that you will need to have a cotton bud ready. This method is unlikely to have much effect by itself, so you will need to put in some elbow grease to scrub the residue off your pipe rather than just letting it dissolve.
Freezing Or Boiling Water
Finally, if you don’t have any of the above materials, you can boil your pipe in water for up to 30 minutes. Doing this will loosen the resin off the side, so it can be wiped away with a cotton bud.
However, this method is very risky, since your pipe may crack if all of the water evaporates. You can also shatter your pipe if you cool it too quickly after removing it from the water, so make sure it gets the chance to cool gradually.
Another method is freezing your pipe until the resin becomes hard and brittle. You can then pick the frozen tar away from the walls with a toothpick, although you are likely to find this process extremely fiddly.
Both of these methods should be used only as a last resort, as they risk damaging your pipe and often need to be repeated several times to get the best effect.
Conclusion
Cleaning a glass pipe may seem difficult at first, but it is very simple provided you have the right solution for dissolving the resin off the walls. A cotton bud will be your most useful tool for this task, as it allows you to scrub the inside of your pipe without scratching it.
Next time you find your pipe isn’t performing very well, try cleaning it with one of the methods we have shown above and see how much doing so will improve your smoking experience.
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