Bong Maintenance

[panopticist]

I recently dug out my bong...



I'm more of a bowl/blunt guy, but I got a killer deal on this beast.
It's 17" tall with thick-ass glass walls; a no-namer but hits like a heavyweight.

The only issue is, I can't seem to find a decent way to clean it out. On my bowls I usually mix up some iso alcohol (90%), salt, and hot water and shake 'em for a few minutes. A quick rinse later they're super sparkly.

Filling up my bong with iso alcohol seems inefficient and difficult, seeing how I have no stopper to block up the hole at the bottom. Do you guys have any bong maintenance tips?

 

[drunkenstoner]

well my bongs are similar style to yours and i just put some ISO ( dont need much... maybe an inch off the bottom ) coarse salt or popcorn kernels or something to agitate it , put your thumb over the stem to keep it all inside and tip it upside down and side to side shake the shit outta it , then rinse with hot water, i dont see why that is inefficient or how it wouldnt work

 

[bongasaurus]

well my bongs are similar style to yours and i just put some ISO ( dont need much... maybe an inch off the bottom ) coarse salt or popcorn kernels or something to agitate it , put your thumb over the stem to keep it all inside and tip it upside down and side to side shake the shit outta it , then rinse with hot water, i dont see why that is inefficient or how it wouldnt work

couldnt have said it better!

edit - except maybe cover the mouthpiece with your other hand or somethin. heh heh.

nice bong by the way

 

[minds_I]

Hello all,

I have had good luck with iso and rice.

I also have a flexible bottle cleaner that works great.

Run it through the dishwasher once and its odor free...least mine is.

minds_I


Good luck

 

[GeorgeSmiley]

I went to my local hardware store Truevalue, Ace, et al, and bought some rubber "corks" or stoppers.

They come in many sizes so I measured my tubes and bought the appropriate ones.

Rubber examples
http://www.rubbermill.com/stoppers0.html

Red Silicone exactly like the ones they sell at EDIT
http://www.stockcap.com/store/Product/SkuInfo.aspx?id=813

1.969/1.625 for the top mouthpiece for mine and I think .812/.625 for the downstem hole.

Edit: I'm a clean freak so I wash my tube every other day. I use 90% IPA and Mortons salt and once in a while a bath in Oxyclean for water deposits from cleaning etc. After any cleaner I clean again with IPA. It sparkles.

 

[Kaos!]

Take off the grommet before You use Isopropyl, it'll cause it to dry/crack faster.

Kaos!

 

[C6H6]

aceton is a great organic solvent and evaporate at room temp leaving no residue behind. its like isopropanol but much more aggressive, on a moleculare level

 

[GeorgeSmiley]

Edit: I see you edited you question to include my answer as I was posting.


I was told that if you evap acetone it leaves a white residue. Any truth to that?

 

[C6H6]

not if you get a pure enough solution.
but i know what you getting at so lemme explaine. no matter what solvent you use you will not get a 100 percent pure substance, there is allways trace amounts of chemical that can't be removed from the product and that is what you will see, easy fix just wash a couple times with hot water to make sure those impurities are removed

 

[gr0wb0i]

I have a bubbler that proves hard to clean. I use ISO 90%, stick in microwave for 30-60 seconds then poor into peice w/ rice grains. Let sit for 4 minutes. When ISO cools cover all holes and shakes the shit out of it.

Pipe cleaners handle the rest

 

[dbuzz]

if its been sitting idle with alot of resin for awhile, pour a whole bottle of cheap iso from the dollar store and let it sit over night. then use your salt, iso, and warm water in the bath tub.

 

[panopticist]

I use ISO 90%, stick in microwave for 30-60 seconds then poor into peice w/ rice grains.

Just a note to anyone trying this method...

Heating alcohol creates combustible vapors that could potentially ignite in high enough concentrations. I don't recommend heating the alcohol in a microwave for very long, if at all.

 

[zomg1]

my main bong (totally simple 6inch stem with bulb) is so easy to clean.. i like a little bit of res as the bottom, feels to wierd when im smoking out of a crystal clear bong... however i do clean out my bowls often (with purple magic bong cleaner) and i always keep the stem of my bong sparking by getting at it with a toothbrush.

 

[globel]

dont put iso in microwave. OMG..... specialy not high grade iso.... BOOOM!!!!!!! its cleaning a bong its not like making hash we dont need the added danger of putting iso in the microwave.... heat the bong with hot ass water from the sink then pore the iso in.. WOW MICRoWAVE alcohol u r cRaZy

 

[Out]

I went to my local hardware store Truevalue, Ace, et al, and bought some rubber "corks" or stoppers.

I'm a clean freak so I wash my tube every other day. I use 90% IPA and Mortons salt and once in a while a bath in Oxyclean for water deposits from cleaning etc. After any cleaner I clean again with IPA. It sparkles.

i am a clean glass freak myself and I support this method.

I have a bong that is very similar to yours, and I use the above mentioned method.

I use a solution of coarse salt and 90% rubbing alchol. I put a cork in the stem and a piece of plastic wrap with a rubber band at the top to keep the liquid inside. I then shake the shit out of it for 5 mins, draining and refilling twice. I finish it off with mixture super-hot water and dish cleaner, Takes about 10-15 minutes total and is well worth the clean glass

 

[Echoes]

My method. Clean bongs = happy bongs! Clean often.

My method. Clean bongs = happy bongs! Clean often.

This method cleans my bong very well (looks pretty much brand new, I'd say 99.5%.) My gear (for reference): 2ft Lux w/ three-arm tree percolator chamber w/ splash guard.

I use the cap that comes on the alcohol bottle as a stopper. Wrap a double or quadrupled layer of aluminum foil over the stem, then fit the top over that. Sort of like a seal + stopper. This isn't as good as a stopper piece but it works and should last through the entire cleaning process with very minimal leaking. I usually clean my bong over the bath tub instead of the sink.

Get some Kosher Salt (coarse and larger than regular salt, like $1.50 a box) and pour it in the mouthpiece so it gets into any chambers or whatever compartments. Don't fill it up all the way, leave some room for it to move around when you shake it. Pour in your 91% rubbing alcohol and let it sit for a minute or two. Swish the salt around and add alcohol as you see fit. Shake it pretty well (avoid dropping the bong) until mixed and until you see the inside walls start to clear up. Let it sit about 20 minutes or so and then shake vigorously again. Repeat. I also like to run hot water over the bong compartment/section for about 10 minutes just to heat up the glass some and hopefully the salt/alcohol mixture. Continue to shake (try holding the bong horizontally as well as vertically.) When you're satisfied, drain. Rinse liberally with cool water (I usually rinse it completely at least 5 times.) Works great for me. I stick my diffuser and bowl piece into a ziplock or tupperware type container with some salt + alcohol and swish it around very gently. Let it sit and then rinse properly. Keeps the piece looking sparkling clean. I usually clean it maybe twice a week or after a very heavy/long smoking session (usually when friends come over and stay the night or something.) You can also substitute 91% rubbing alcohol with Everclear.

Tip: Don't leave water in your bong very extended periods of time. If you aren't using it, dump out the water and rinse it. It makes the cleaning more effective and it doesn't have to sit nearly as long. Don't leave it in the light either if it's wet inside as this creates some sort of algae or nasty green shit. I don't know what it is but it's very dirty.