Marijuana Science

When it comes to smoking weed, you have a lot of options. There are countless varieties of marijuana pipes out there. The most common and popular weed pipes are made out of glass, wood, and metal. After using your pipe a couple of times, it can get pretty dirty and clogged up with grime and soot, which makes it difficult and very unpleasant to use. One of the main reasons that hand pipes are so popular because they are effortless to clean, and you can use standard household materials for it.

In this article, we will talk about how to clean a pipe in the most effective ways and discuss different types of hand pipes and their pros and cons.

HOW TO CLEAN A GLASS PIPE

The basic principle behind cleaning a dirty pipe is using a scrubbing agent with a solvent. Regular or Kosher salt or baking soda works really well as a scrubbing agent. You can use rubbing alcohol, acetone, vinegar, or pipe cleaner as a solvent.

Method # 1 – Cleaning Glass Pipes Using Rubbing Alcohol & Salt

ESSENTIALS

For this method you will need the following:

• Dirty Pipe
• Rubbing alcohol /Acetone
• Table Salt
• Electrical tape (Optional)
• Water

Step # 1

Use the electrical tape to seal off the bowl and any other holes except the mouthpiece. If you don’t have electrical tape, then you can use your fingers to block the holes.

Step # 2

Grab the salt and put some inside the pipe through the mouthpiece. Do not fill it all up with the salt.

Step # 3

Now add the rubbing alcohol. If you also use acetone or nail polish remover instead. Make sure that you don’t fill it all up with the solvent. Leave some room inside for the cleaning solution to move around freely.

Step # 4

Seal the mouthpiece off with the electrical tape or block it with your thumb. Now shake the pipe. If you clean your pipe regularly, then 2/3 mins of shaking should do the job, or you might need to shake it for longer.

Step # 5

Remove the tape and rinse it out with tap water.

Method # 2 – Cleaning Glass Pipes Using Pipe Cleaner

ESSENTIALS

For this method you will need:

• 1 Ziploc bag
• 1 Bottle of pipe cleaner
• Dirty pipe

Step # 1

Place your dirty pipe in the Ziploc bag.

Step # 2

Pour the pipe cleaner into the bag. Make sure that you have enough liquid in there so you will be able to submerge your pipe. Now squeeze out the excess air and seal the bag up. You can also use coarse salt and rubbing alcohol instead of the pipe cleaner.

Step # 3

Start shaking the bag. You will start noticing that the pipe cleaner changes color and turning darker.

Step # 4

Take the pipe out of the bag and rinse it with warm water and wipe it down with a paper towel.

Method # 3 – Cleaning Glass Pipes Without Rubbing Alcohol & Pipe Cleaner

ESSENTIALS

If you don’t want to use alcohol or pipe cleaner then this method is perfect for your. For this method, you will need the following items:

• 1 Dirty pipe
• 1 Q-tip
• Water
• 1 Pot to boil water

Step # 1

Place a pot on the stove and boil some water. Make sure you have enough water to cover the pipe.

Step # 2

Submerge the pipe when the water simmer to boil. As the pipe boils, the water will evaporate. Make sure the water doesn’t evaporate entirely, or your pipe will crack. Allow your pipe to soak in the simmering water for 20-30 mins.

Step # 3

Remove the pot from the oven and drain the water. DO NOT put it under cold water, or the pipe will shatter. You can now hold the pipe with a kitchen mitt and use the Q-Tip to clean the chamber and the hole in the center to clean the remaining residue.

HOW TO CLEAN A METAL PIPE

ESSENTIALS

For this method you will need the followings:

• 1 Ziploc bag
• Rubbing alcohol
• 1 Dirty metal pipe
• Some Q-tips

Step # 1

First dissemble your metal pipe.

Step # 2

Place all the parts of your metal pipe in the Ziploc bag.

Step # 3

Pour some rubbing alcohol in to the bag and seal it.

Step # 4

Shake the bag well for 2-5 minutes. Let the parts soak in the alcohol for few hours if possibly then overnight.

Step # 5

Take the parts out of the bag. Use the Q-tips to clean the inside of the cylinders to get rid of the excess residues.

HOW TO CLEAN A WOODEN PIPE

ESSENTIALS

To clean a wooden pipe you will need the following tools:

• Q-Tips
• Paper towels
• Rubbing alcohol
• Pipe Cleaners & Scrapers
• Pipe Tool
• Olive oil or cooking oil

Step # 1

Take the stem off. Dip a pipe cleaner in the rubbing alcohol and run it through the shank into the bowl. It should pick up all the gunk.

Step # 2

Get another pipe cleaner. Dip it in the rubbing alcohol and this time run it through the stem.

Step # 4

Use the pipe tool or a pipe knife to clean the inside of the bowl. If the inside of your pipe bowl developed a heavy buildup of resins, then you will need to scrape them off with the pipe knife. Once you have finished scraping, wipe the inside with a Q-tip or pipe cleaner soaked in alcohol.

Step # 5

Lastly, put a little bit of olive oil or cooking oil on your paper towel and rub it on the outside of the bowl of your wooden pipe. It will give the pipe a nice shine.

KNOW YOUR PIPES

Materials

The most common material types for hand pipes are glass, wood, and metal, but the glass and the metal pipes are the most popular among the cannabis users. The pros of any pipes are that they are easy to clean, with no added taste, very easy to carry, and use.

Glass Pipes

Glass pipes are probably the most popular for smoking weed and provide better (smoother) smoke than wooden or metal pipes. They come in a variety of designs and vibrant colors. Fragile compare to the metal or wooden pipes, but the cleaning process is fairly simple.

Glass is non-porous, which means it holds all the smoke inside the pipe and provides a pure and clean flavor. Glass also reduces resin build-up, so you don’t have to worry about bacteria.

Wooden Pipes

Most people use wooden pipes to smoke tobacco, but they can be used for marijuana as well. Wooden pipes have a bigger bowl compare to glass pipes. The wooden pipes give you a natural and rich smoking experience by adding its signature to the flavor of your cannabis strain. Because of the complicated designs of wooden pipes, it can be time-consuming and hard to clean them.

Metal Pipes

Metal pipes are very similar to glass pipes. They are made from different types of materials such as nickel, brass, plated steel, or anodized aluminum. The bowls of metal pipes are usually screwed on to the stem. The chambers are well designed, so the smoke comes out very smooth. Metal pipes are durable and easy to clean.

Components

The common parts of every hand pipes are:

• Bowl – The bowl is where you pack the cannabis.
• Shank – The shank is a piece of the pipe that connects the stem and the bowl.
• Stem – Stem connects the mouthpiece to the shank.
• Mouthpiece – The mouthpiece is the part where you suck the smoke out of the pipe.

Types of Hand Pipes

Spoon

The spoon is probably the most basic hand pipe out there. You can usually find them at a gas station other than the smoke shops. It has a spoon-like shape. It also has a deep bowl and a carb on the side. The short stem of this pipe makes it very easy to smoke, but you also get dry and harsh smoke because there is not a lot of filtration. The hole in the center is very tiny and clogged up with resin very easily.

It is an excellent pipe for the beginners, that takes smoking down to its basics.

Gandalf

Gandalfs are very long ornate hand pipes named after everyone’s favorite fantasy character Gandalf, the wizard from the movie Lord of the rings. You get a smoother smoking experience because of its long stem, which kind of filters the smoke as it goes from the bowl into your mouth.

Sherlock

This pipe was named after the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. One of the best things about a Sherlock is that it makes you feel like a detective solving a murder or a very thoughtful professor. The pipe looks precisely like the pipe of Sherlock Holmes with the curved design of an old school wooden tobacco pipe.

Chillum

Chillum is a straight conical glass pipe traditionally made of clay used in India in the eighteenth century. These pipes are short and tiny and only hold a small amount of weed for one or two hits.

Bubbler

Bubblers combine water pipe with a regular glass pipe. It uses water and a percolation system to filter smoke to ensure soft, smooth hits that you would expect from a bong. Fill the chamber with water, and the rest functions as a regular hand pipe.