What’s your favorite strain?
Lemon Haze? Mango Kush? What about Agent Orange?
Cannabis strains with explosive flavors and smells can take your smoking experience to an entirely new level. And it’s all thanks to the chemistry of terpenes.
The only problem is that taking a hit out of a resin-caked bong steals away the aromatic magic—no matter how delicious your bud is. To help you solve this problem, we’ve created a short article all about cleaning a bong the right way. What’s the best way to get your water pipe looking new?
Read on to learn the best tips and tricks for cleaning all types of bongs.
Prepare Your Cleaning Station
One of the easiest times to break your bong is during the cleaning process. To avoid a mishap, stage an area of your kitchen with all the supplies you’ll need. Here’s a shortlist of the items you need to gather:
- Isopropyl alcohol
- Himalayan salt
- Sandwich size Ziploc bag
- Q-tips and cotton balls
- Pipe cleaners or straw brushes
- A large towel and hand towel
- Timer
Carefully pour the isopropyl alcohol down the main stem of the bong. If you have a large piece, we suggest using the entire bottle of isopropyl alcohol.
If you have a smaller bubbler, half a bottle will work just fine. You can also click for more examples of the types of bongs isopropyl alcohol and salts work on.
If you have multiple bongs, you could make a day of getting them all squeaky clean. Just stock up on enough isopropyl alcohol and salt, and set aside enough time for the soaking process.
After adding in the isopropyl alcohol, it’s time to put in the salt. Adding a generous amount of salt, more is always better—the coarser the salt, the better, too.
Why Himalayan Sea Salt?
For cleaning a bong, look for brands that have large chunks of sea salt and grinders that won’t make it too fine. Why?
Coarse salt will do a good job of scraping the resin off of the bong. While the salt is rough, it’s not so rough that it’s going to damage the glass.
Working together, the salt and isopropyl alcohol will create a glass cleaning solution. Allow the solution to sit for 10 to 15 minutes as it loosens up the resin. You’ll be amazed at how much gunk will begin to lift off of the glass.
Start Shaking
The solution alone isn’t going to be enough to get your bong squeaky clean though. You’ll also need to shake things up.
Carefully standing over the towel, place your hand over the opening where the bowl would go. Place your other hand over the top of the bong stem piece. Firmly hold the bong as you shake it back and forth.
Continue shaking for 3 to 5 minutes; take breaks as needed. When you are shaking, be as vigorous as possible without losing your grip on the bong.
Grab Your Pipe Cleaner
Now take a pipe cleaner or a bottle brush and gently push away at any resin that’s holding on. Don’t be aggressive when using pipe cleaners or bottle brushes.
Gently push the resin, and if it falls off, great. If the resin doesn’t fall off, it needs to soak in the solution again.
Rinse Your Bong
Now you can pour out the solution into the sink. Use warm water to rinse out your bong for 1-2 minutes. Then take your bong and place it back on the towel.
Does it look like that isopropyl alcohol and salt solution got up all of the resin? Great! Then you’re ready to move on to the next step.
What if my doesn’t look clean?
If your bong still looks grimy, then you need to repeat the process. Create a new isopropyl alcohol salt solution, and this time let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes.
For especially dirty bongs, you could wind up repeating the process 2 to 3 times. If after 2 to 3 times you’re still not getting the results you need, it’s time to move on to a professional cannabis industry-grade cleaner.
Cleaning The Bowl
Whether you have the best ceramic bong or the best acrylic bong, cleaning your bowl is going to be the easiest part. Take a Ziploc bag and fill it halfway up with isopropyl alcohol. Add in a generous amount of Himalayan sea salt, and place your bowl in the bag.
Zip up the bag, and let the bowl sit for 5 to 10 minutes. After letting the solution work its magic and loosen up the resin, you’ll need to shake the bag.
Shake the bowl in the bag for about 3 to 5 minutes. Now you can pour out the solution, rinse off the bowl, and see how clean it is.
Cotton Ball Time
It’s likely that you’re going to need the help of the cotton balls or Q-tips to clean the inside of the bowls stem. After the first shaking session, make another solution of isopropyl alcohol and salt in the ziplock bag.
Let the bowl sit again for 5 to 10 minutes. This time instead of shaking, use one of your tools (cotton ball or Q-tip) to gently push away at the resin. Whatever pieces of resin won’t come loose, let them stay.
Now begin the shaking process again, and rinse the bowl off after 3 to 5 minutes. After a few times of repeating this process, you’ll be able to get your bowl looking like new.
Cleaning a Bong the Right Way
Now you know the best tips for cleaning a bong the right way. Since you don’t want to break your precious water pipe, you should never rush the cleaning process.
Take your time preparing your cleaning area and double-check that you have all of your supplies with you. Remember, more is better when adding in the Himalayan salt.
We’re sure you’ll love the results, and your next hit will taste so much better. For more tips, see what the rest of our blog has to say.