Bongs can become notably dirty and noxious. This is because the resin that accumulates in the interiors of the bong is a lingering predicament and can be very challenging to clean. Some people have opted to utilize rough chemicals to get rid of the dirt; however, this can only lead to a harmful residue that is lethal once heated.
So what’s the best way of administering the steps on how to clean a bong? Rather than using rough chemicals, utilize unrefined ingredients and a little elbow grease to make the bong clean.
Steps on How to Clean a Bong
Cleaning your bong may appear baffling. Well, at a certain point, it is. You cannot get your hand down there to facilitate the scrubbing of the viscous mess. However, just because you find it, baffling does not mean that you should not do it.
You will have to learn how to clean a bong. To begin with, here are the things that you will need:
- Rubbing alcohol
- Hot water
- Salt
- Q-tips
- Cotton balls
- Tupperware containers or small Ziploc bags
- Pipe cleaners or bottle brush (optional)
Steps:
1. Throw out the stinky bong water
This step is already given. However, even the simplest step can be neglected if you are taking your flight in a blue dream.
2. Disassemble the bong
Isolate the stem and the bowl from the bong. If the stem and bowl come in two pieces, isolate those too. If there are other detachable parts in your bong, you must also disassemble them. You must entirely disassemble your bong.
3. Wash everything using a hot water
Hot water is a perfect way to initiate the process of cleaning. It forces out the surface resin, which has accumulated with recurring use and begins to liquefy the bonds that hold the gunk in position.
Use hot water, preferably a kind of heat that you can endure and consider putting on gloves. The gloves will let you bring the water even hotter, which turbo-loads the method.
If you are thinking about it as you are washing, load from the upper part and unload through the slide opening. This shall reduce the possibilities of the baggy residue getting trapped somewhere else.
4. Place each untightened part in its container
Tupperware containers equipped with lids can make a good option. You need not place the bong in a plastic container as we will clean that on a later procedure.
After you put each piece in its container, drain in ¼ cup of rubbing alcohol together with one tablespoon of salt. For big pieces, use ½ cup of rubbing alcohol together with two tablespoons of salt. The measurements are not significant as long as the two ingredients are present.
5. Shake
After sealing the plastic containers or baggies, shake firmly. This drives the salt and alcohol through all the little curves and cracks and disperses the resin that has accumulated there.
If you think you have done enough shaking, shake more. You may need to shake it for 5 minutes to completely force out the gummy mess.
If you have incorporated enough alcohol to fully wrap every piece, you may drench them for 10 to 15 minutes. Then shake another time. This is particularly beneficial if you have accumulated layers of bong resin from the many years of usage.
Once the little pieces are already cleaned, put them aside but still on their containers and bring your focus to the bong itself.
6. Drain salt in the bong
Put at least 2 tablespoons of salt into the bong. Based on the size of the pipe used, you can put 4 or 5. Bear in mind that salt will liquefy. Hence, put sufficient salt into the bong in such a way that some are not dissolved. This will help improve the roughness of the solution you create.
7. Pour alcohol
Rush ½ cup of alcohol into the bong. Similarly, depending on the pipe’s size, you can add more.
8. Seal the holes
Seal the holes of the bong using hand towels. You can utilize cotton balls if the holes are quite small.
9. Shake
Vigorously shake the bong to make the alcohol and salt move around the surfaces.
10. Rise with hot water
Take off the little pieces from the baggies and remove the salt and alcohol solution from the bong.
How Often Should You Clean the Bong?
The schedule of cleaning your bong would depend on the following aspects:
Occasional Smokers
Occasional smokers must clean the bong after each use. You may find it untenable that heavy smokers are likely to clean their bongs less, yet it all results in the accumulation of bacteria.
Occasional smokers normally take days for their next sesh. If you do not expose the bacteria to heat and smoke every several hours, it gets a lot of time to cultivate and become stronger.
If you are thinking of getting a toke once, twice, or thrice a week, clean the bong after you use it. You can completely prevent the argument of bacteria accumulation and take pleasure on the good aromas and flavors each time.
Heavy Smokers
For those who smoke heavily, it is recommended to clean the bong every after 48 hours. The smoke and the heat from the repetitive use will delay the increase of damaging bacteria; however, only up to a certain point. Sooner or later, there is none that you do short of getting rid of the bacteria from the bong will inhibit it from penetrating the lungs.
Another option is you can simply clean the bong every two days before going to sleep so it will be available for use when you wake up the following morning. With time, it will be a part of your routine, and you will just naturally do it.
Why Is It Important to Clean the Bong?
There are several good reasons why you should clean your bong:
Taste
A major factor that contributes to your marijuana venture is the taste. You may have thought that smoke no taste, but it reality it does. Similar to any other kinds of stuff that you put in the mouth, molecules formed from the decarb weed merge with the taste buds to create entirely different classifications of flavors.
You may not encounter a surge of taste; nonetheless, you will notice that the flavor is present. The thing is, if you do not consider cleaning your bong, the slime, resin, dirty bong water, and every other origin of dirtiness begin to emanate their respective flavor. And needless to mention – that flavor is unpleasant.
If you unintentionally consumed a rotten tomato, it is a similar flavor you can anticipate to encounter if you do not clean the bong. It will give you a strong desire to cleanse your mouth with soap.
The more you delay the schedule of cleaning your bong, the worse things can get.
Bacteria
Bacteria is a primary perpetrator of why you must regularly clean the bong. Within 22 hours, all kinds of bacteria can start propagating within a stinky bong. And as time passes, the manifestation can even get worse.
If you do not find it discouraging, in absolute conditions – extremely dirty bongs can cause necrotizing pneumonia. When we say ‘necrotizing’, it tells that some of the tissues of the lungs die. Hence, you should never risk serious medical issues. Just regularly clean your bong!
Smell
One of the first indications that would tell you that it is about time to clean the bong is the smell. Whether it is the result of the accumulation on the sidings of the bong or the dirty water in the base, it will create an unpleasant odor. And if we described unpleasantly, it is like swamp-water-and ashes.
That is precisely what you are permitting if you refuse to clean your bong. You establish an intensifying swamp of the bad smell that will infiltrate the furniture, the carpet, the walls, and even the clothes. You can inhibit the bad odors by regularly cleaning the bong.
Complication
Another reason why you must regularly clean the bong is that it becomes complicated through time. The more delays you do, the more complicated you will have to scrub. The issue about washing the bong is that you cannot bring your hand deep down there to scrub.
You will not only deal with the baked-on resin, but you also cannot reach it with the traditional tools. That is a method for scrubbing disaster. However, if you wash and clean your bong regularly, it will be more manageable to get rid of the resin, filth, and grime that accumulates in the bong during each use.
Conclusion
Learning how to clean a bong does not have to be an effort, and you do not have to employ special cleaners. With a quick wash with several unrefined ingredients after every usage and you can get your bong crystal clear and gleaming.
By simply following the steps above, you can properly clean your bong, and you are assured of having a great smoke sesh each time.