Cannabis enthusiasts and budtenders enjoy the use of glassware. Some of the most popularly used tools for relishing cannabis are bowls and glass pipes, and they are two of the dirtiest too. In actuality, a lot simply does not know the ways on how to clean a glass pipe, while others do not simply care.
For people who do, you will observe a great distinction in the flavor of the herbs. To be specific, consider it like your silverware – you will continue accumulating food into a dirty plate.
Learning How to Clean a Glass Pipe
Leaning the steps on how to clean a glass pipe can consume some time based on how contaminated the pipe is and the complexity of the operation. Overall, you will need to secure the following materials when cleaning a glass pipe:
- Coarse salt
- Hot water
- A tool to be used when cleaning the interior of the pipe
- Either cleaning products or rubbing alcohol made for glassware
Steps:
Fortunately, with just a bit of patience coupled with some common household items, it is easier to clean the pipe so it can look fresh as new. These steps can be used to clean the glass pipe:
1. Wash off and brush with hot water
The same with the plates you use for your food, the use of hot water to clean the dirty glass is a lot easier. As an output, it can help break up the plant matter and resin. While the piece heats up, you will notice it more manageable to brush the resin away from the pipe. Soak the pipe in the boiling water for 30 minutes. While the water is boiling, the evaporation of water takes place. Hence, it is important that you monitor it to make sure that the pipe is not left alone on a hot pan that can cause it to crack.
Take off the pot from the heat and strain the water out, and check the pipe to inspect for any leftover. Expect the pipe to be very hot, so make sure to get an oven mitt and always make sure to be careful when checking it. Do not drown the hot glass in cold water as it may trigger it to break into small pieces.
You may have to perform the process again with a new pot of clean water until you notice the pipe to be completely cleaned.
Commonly, a regular bath of hot water can be enough for constant cleanings. Eventually, you will like to learn how to remove the dirt of the pipe with the other components.
2. Brush with cotton swabs and pipe cleaners
Most of the time, you cannot reach the tiniest corner of the pipe by simply using your hand or finger. This is where you will find useful to use cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. Can you still recall the crooked pipe cleaners? They can also be employed to cleanse the actual pipes. Do not risk the possibility of shattering the pipe to reach the tough areas.
However, just be cautious if there is a metal in them to prevent scraping of the interior of the piece. Another way is the cotton swabs. Cotton swabs act effectively for cleansing the mouthpieces, displacing the burnt fragments, and penetrating the complicated spots within the pipe.
3. Apply acetone or isopropyl alcohol
Solvents such as ethanol, alcohol, and acetone are utilized to draw out the compounds of cannabis oil from plants and remove the leftovers afterward. Acetone can be bought in any hardware store, and isopropyl is obtainable at many grocers.
If you are utilizing alcohol, the greater the content of alcohol is, the better. Moreover, if you are utilizing acetone, be cautious not to engage in excessive skin contact for a long period, and wash any spills immediately as possible.
4. Mix isopropyl alcohol and bath salts and shake them well
Epson salts are the perfect salts to use. These salts are the ones used by people to soak their feet. Then, you can obtain them in many pharmacies, commonly termed as Coarse Salt or Foot Salt. You can use them with alcohol to stir and brush the internal part of the pipe.
For best outputs, seal the holes of the pipe by using a paper or tape. Pack it with one-portion solvent, one-portion salt, and one-portion of hollow space. Shake it thoroughly in a Ziploc bag for several minutes. It drenches the glassware into the solution for at least one hour before you shake it.
After shaking it, brush down the pipe again with the pipe cleaner you secured to get off the last residue and offer it a final wash with water.
5. Use alternative methods such as other friendly-cleaning items
There are lots of available products that can be used to clean a glass pipe. Overall, these items are quite more costly than DIY correspondents. However, they carry out the task, and they quickly execute it. These commonly come in little size offerings and a bigger value bottle.
You may consider denture cleaning tablets. Place the pipe at the bottom of the Tupperware container and load it with sufficient hot water to coat the top. Drop 2 to 3 denture tablets and allow it to settle and drench for 30 minutes. The bubbling will get rid of plenty of resin, and the description is formulated to get rid of the residue and stains. Other alternative home cleaning items are salt and vinegar, sand and water, and vinegar, and baking soda.
You can buy special solutions for cleaning. Specifically marketed to smokers, items such as Formula 420 and Simple Green are designed to wash the resins present in glass pipes. However, they are a little more extravagant than the common DIY solutions, and a lot of people do not see them any more efficient. Being able to say that, they get rid of the requirement of shaking as they commonly get rid of the resin by means of simple drenching.
Also, you can freeze the pipe to eliminate the solid accumulations. Freezing creates the resin to become solid and dry up, which makes it more manageable to dislodge. Get the pipe frozen for 30 minutes to1 hour, then immediately get a needle or a similar tool to dispatch the resin. It only takes some time to warm up the resin and become sticky again. Hence, you must execute quickly.
An additional tip when cleaning a glass pipe is to use distilled or purified water. Performing a final wash down with this water will guarantee that you go away from water spots, slag from tap water, and cleanse any residue of solvents or cleaner that can inflict harm. An easy wash, jolting, and repeat is all it needs to complete the task.
What is the Best Way of Cleaning a Glass Pipe?
Just because you learned that a particular method is efficient in cleaning a glass pipe, does not necessarily imply that it is smart to use or safe. It is suggested not to utilize products that you find yourself not comfortable to inhale. For instance, you may feel a bit distressed by inhaling solutions such as acetone.
The use of boiling water does not even make us desire to light the pipe back after it was jolted in a Ziploc bag through that.
Although you are always advised to make sure to thoroughly clean the pipe with hot water, or more preferably, boiling water after using these products to clean, you can never be certain.
It is suggested the use of baking soda and vinegar. This procedure utilizes 100 percent harmless products which many people already have in the comfort of their home. Vinegar is an unrefined odor-buffer, implying you are also acting to get rid of the stinks from your already cleaned pipe.
If you are interested in employing a particular product but cannot find the answer to your question, then it is suggested that you avoid it. There are plenty of cleaning products that can facilitate the cleaning of your glass pipes in an unrefined approach.
Conclusion
Instead of waiting for several months to clean your piece, it will be a lot simpler if you make it as your habit to perform a fast cleaning once every week. It will not take more than 5 minutes, but it should be enough to maintain the great condition of your piece – appearing good and let you avoid the probability of laborious cleanings.
The more frequent you schedule the cleaning of the pipe, the less tedious it can be when it comes to cleaning. And now that you learn how to clean a glass pipe, you have one less cover for smoking from a dirty one. You just have to do an immediate rinse and drench the pipe in a little amount of alcohol or warm water solution, and you can make sure that your beloved piece remains in perfect condition.
