Pipe/Bong Cleaning

This is a job I hate, would rather clean the bathroom. Is there a means to do this other than with rubbing alcohol?. Normally I'll soak pipes, but I still have take the nasty shit apart and finish with rags/Q-Tips. Wish they made these to self-clean, like an oven.

Does grunge-off work better than alcohol?. I know it does for glass, but has anyone tried it on metal?.

Peace all, hope everyone has a good holiday.

Sunbiz1 said:

This is a job I hate, would rather clean the bathroom. Is there a means to do this other than with rubbing alcohol?. Normally I'll soak pipes, but I still have take the nasty shit apart and finish with rags/Q-Tips. Wish they made these to self-clean, like an oven.

Does grunge-off work better than alcohol?. I know it does for glass, but has anyone tried it on metal?.

Peace all, hope everyone has a good holiday.

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I use Kosher salt and iso alcohol, this works as good as 420 cleaner, bling, etc. I have worked for two smoke shops and in all honesty save your money and get Kosher salt/alcohol. Not sea salt, not iodized table salt, Kosher. It has the coarsest/largest grains and this has always worked for me.

Edit: Not sure about how this works with metal, have always used glass mostly. Sorry I skimmed through the post quickly lol.

Yup, rock salt or rice with 91 or 99% iso. Works better than 420 cleaner imo.

If you are lazy and your pipe is super dirty you can plug it up, fill it with salt/iso, and then stick an air tube into the iso and let it bubble all night long. By the morning you really just need to rinse it out.

I agree that larger the salt the better but that has nothing to do with kosher, iodized, from the sea... You can have iodized rock salt and kosher popcorn salt (super finely ground) - being blessed/having iodine added really has no bearing on grain size. Same applies to sea salt - how finely is it ground because it could be a 20lb brick or it could be a super fine powder.

Kosher salt brands vary in grain size considerably... Kosher is not a brand.

Gastanker said:

Yup, rock salt or rice with 91 or 99% iso. Works better than 420 cleaner imo.

If you are lazy and your pipe is super dirty you can plug it up, fill it with salt/iso, and then stick an air tube into the iso and let it bubble all night long. By the morning you really just need to rinse it out.

I agree that larger the salt the better but that has nothing to do with kosher, iodized, from the sea... You can have iodized rock salt and kosher popcorn salt (super finely ground) - being blessed/having iodine added really has no bearing on grain size. Same applies to sea salt - how finely is it ground because it could be a 20lb brick or it could be a super fine powder.

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True but in your general Walmart, Kosher is prob going to be easiest to find rather than searching for coarse sea salt or other varieties and even then coarse sea salt grain isn't as big in my experience. I didn't want to get into technicalities with it, just give the OP the easiest route to know what to get. Also certain rock salts to my understanding have additional chemicals added, hence suggesting Kosher.

Thanks all, I have kosher salt here as well. One pipe is so caked with hardened resin I'm going to have to soak it overnight anyways...stuff is so solid a knife won't even touch it.

Sunbiz1 said:

Thanks all, I have kosher salt here as well. One pipe is so caked with hardened resin I'm going to have to soak it overnight anyways...stuff is so solid a knife won't even touch it.

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No problem Sun, just get a zippie bag and throw some of both in there and shake shake shake, shake shake shake, shake your pipey!!

Good luck sounds like some serious cleaning lol.

So long as no aluminum or zinc is involved ... aerosol oven cleaner works a treat. Use it outdoors! cn

Doobieus said:

No problem Sun, just get a zippie bag and throw some of both in there and shake shake shake, shake shake shake, shake your pipey!!

Good luck sounds like some serious cleaning lol.

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I'd rather shake dry ice mixed with bud in a bubble bag. That one pipe is so bad I tossed it and bought a new one at the local head shop. It was a cheapie to begin with. I have a glass bong and pipe for in-home use, those I'm cleaning now. Then I'll just keep buying the cheap metal ones for travel etc.

Or just go back to smoking joints and reeking up the house...lol.

cannabineer said:

So long as no aluminum or zinc is involved ... aerosol oven cleaner works a treat. Use it outdoors! cn

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For glass?

Sunbiz1 said:

For glass?

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Glass, stainless, brass ...many plastics ... anything that can withstand alkali. I used strong alkali in alcohol as a laboratory glass cleaner. Wicked powerful. cn

Get some oxyclean from the laundry detergent section of the store. put your piece in a disposable container, dump about 2 scoops of oxyclean on it, and cover it with boiling water. Let sit until it stops bubbling and rinse in hot water. You may have to do it twice, but I swear its the easiest, cheapest way I've found. Its been my method for years. No scrubbing, scrapping or any of that bullshit. Try it, you won't be disappointed.

I use just enough alcohol to make the salt "swishable", use normal iodized (unless the wife messed up and got non iodized for the food, then i just steal that). Swish it around and i can get almost every piece i own cleaned in just 1 run of this. No after cleaning other than a very thorough rinsing in water. Sparkles everytime.
My ash catcher is the only thing that doesn't come out spotless, but it gets dirty first hit anyways, so i don't care that much.

iso alcohol and salt

get used to the smell like all other stoners have


clean clean clean

clean in a well ventilated area

Sunbiz1 said:

I'd rather shake dry ice mixed with bud in a bubble bag. That one pipe is so bad I tossed it and bought a new one at the local head shop. It was a cheapie to begin with. I have a glass bong and pipe for in-home use, those I'm cleaning now. Then I'll just keep buying the cheap metal ones for travel etc.

Or just go back to smoking joints and reeking up the house...lol.

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Magic flight for travel or a cheap 10 dollar glass pipe or chillum even, those are my faves for travel. Lol I think all of us would rather make hash than clean our glass.

You should piss directly into your bong for best results. It's works great and tastes delicious later.

Doobieus said:

I use Kosher salt and iso alcohol, this works as good as 420 cleaner, bling, etc. I have worked for two smoke shops and in all honesty save your money and get Kosher salt/alcohol. Not sea salt, not iodized table salt, Kosher. It has the coarsest/largest grains and this has always worked for me.

Edit: Not sure about how this works with metal, have always used glass mostly. Sorry I skimmed through the post quickly lol.

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this. however i use epsom salt, which is not only in large chunks, but jagged junks, and also doesn't break down in iso. i have a zip bag that i use to shake clean smaller peices that's had the same epsom salt in it for 3 months. i just keep adding more alcohol when it evaporates. don't forget about things like old toothbrushes, cotton swabs, toothpicks, etc to get in crevices, but the salt and iso is a hardcore combo.

grobofotwanky said:

Get some oxyclean from the laundry detergent section of the store. put your piece in a disposable container, dump about 2 scoops of oxyclean on it, and cover it with boiling water. Let sit until it stops bubbling and rinse in hot water. You may have to do it twice, but I swear its the easiest, cheapest way I've found. Its been my method for years. No scrubbing, scrapping or any of that bullshit. Try it, you won't be disappointed.

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I use to boil mine in just plain tap water, until I read that boiling the glass can weken it. Not sure if there's any truth to it though. I just use alcohol/rock salt now.

KidneyStoner420 said:

I use to boil mine in just plain tap water, until I read that boiling the glass can weken it. Not sure if there's any truth to it though. I just use alcohol/rock salt now.

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i used to boil mine but i would freak out the whole time because the peice clanks around a little bit and i kept thinking it was going to explode. plus it's a good way to ruin a pan. it's effective, though, just no more effective than iso and salt. not worth the bullshit to me.

Sunbiz1 said:

Thanks all, I have kosher salt here as well. One pipe is so caked with hardened resin I'm going to have to soak it overnight anyways...stuff is so solid a knife won't even touch it.

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I know everyone's gunna give me the, "Oh man you disgust me!" thing, but I never throw away resin from great buds. The salt will - of course - prevent any kind of re-use of the resin. I know, also, that noone WANTS to smoke black, grungy resin, but even of you have pounds of A-Grade, I'd still recommend getting a LITTLE dirty, evap'ing-off the alchohol, and saving the resin. If you smoke pure green also: THe resin *won't* be anywhere near as bad as if you spin it out with tobacco etc,,.

Imagine, if you just left the wash-off alc/solvent in some kinda bin, and forgot about it, how much resin you would accumulate for a time when you DIDN'T have any fresh buds.

And, Since there's no pesky plant material in the resin (not in the evaped-liquid anyway), you'd be shoked just how potent the shit is.

two months ago I alchohol soaked a little bullet-pipe I have, simply cos I'd run out of buds, thinking it'd be pretty shite, but there'll have to be SOME THC stuck in there. Anyhoo, after one pipe of this shit, I was couch-locked for 2 hours or so. It was even cleaner than the original buds, and since I didn't mix any of a full ounce with tobacco, it was ALL bud resin. Seriously: There will come a time you will run out, and by then (Specially if you smoke a lot), you could have a months worth of resin accumulated.

If you mix tobacco with your buds, I wouldn't be so inclined to recommend saving the resin: But pure canna leftovers are actually pretty nice. NO Chlorophyl/Chloroform, no plant material at all.

Tell me I'm disgusting all you like: I think it's a waste to throw potent THC (in any form) in the bin, OR down the drain, simply cos it doesn't taste like F1-primo cup-winning buds

boiling water works great... but to ensure the glass will tolerate it well the glass has to be warm/hot already...

if you pour boiling water on cold glass it may crack it due to severe temp changes...

this can be avoided by boiling with glass piece in stovepot while heating up water