Hard to clean pipe.

[Brothah]

I small pipe. No longer than the width of my fist. The carb, bowl, and mouth piece are all very tiny holes. It's really hard to use any utensil to clean it out. One because the resin won't fit out the hole, and two because of the angles I'd have to work around to get under the bowl, etc.

I'm looking for some solution to cleaning. Is there any products that I can leave it in for an extended period and get most all of it?


I've heard of people using rubbing alcohol, and tried it myself. Eh, it does an okay job but there's still a lot of gunk.

Thanks.

 

[Hightide805]

how long do you leave in the rubbing alcohol? leave in for a few days and it works just fine. or shake with salt and rubbing alchohol too.

 

[Brothah]

Oh, definitely nowhere near that long. Maybe 20 minutes. Apparently I'm just impatient. I'll give that a try, but I'm not sure I can go a few days without my only piece!!

Thanks.

 

[Hightide805]

haha for sure.... get 2 pieces (or more, hah)

 

[Happy Kitty]

One of my glass pipes has an ashcatcher that makes it very hard to clean. I use alcohol to clean mine. Depending on how dirty your pipe is determines how long you need to leave the alcohol. I leave mine an hour or so then shake it up.

I also use chenille stems to clean the hard to get places. You can by pipe cleaners, but I go to the craft store. They have varied sizes and stiffness. Buy the green ones or the silver tinsel. They are much cheaper than buying pipe cleaners. I prefer to use the silver tinsel stems. They are stiffer and easier to keep bent when you are trying to get those difficult places. And don't worry about the fact that it is tinsel. It's not sharp and actually very soft. I have never scratched a pipe using it.

Peace

 

[Brothah]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll give that shot.=)

 

[Big dog]

Give your pipe a bath in a solution of rubbing alcohol and salt. Leave your pipe in that solution over night. Let the solution do it's work while you sleep. Rinse with hot tap water in the AM, and you'll be ready to wake and bake!

 

[McBudz]

yeah bud. let sit in alcohol over night you'll be good.

 

[Weedpipe]

Acetone Free Fingernail Polish Remover ... melts away the tar with ease and wipes messy hands clean ... but a word of warning ... this is a paint remover and WILL remove the paint from any pipe

got a 1 hitter that looked like a cigarette, now it looks like a shiny silver tube

but it makes glass look brand new ...

 

[skitzle]

i use ISO and salt, works like a charm.

 

[rc51sport]

i just use a straightened out bobby pin to clean my small pipe (about as long as the width of my fist) works good and u can save your resin too, takes a long time to work it all out of the small holes tho, as u do it more u get a system going, leaving just the right amount of resin on the end of the pin using it to ball up more. gets all around the inside part of the bowl and all around, i can even reach in thru the carb that way

 

[FloCash]

Like several people have already suggested, isopropyl alcohol and salt works pretty well and is cheap. Get the highest alcohol percentage you can find.

Grunge Off works really well and you just soak your piece in it and it's reusable. $21.95 plus shipping for two bottles off of their site which is a lot more then some iso and salt would cost, but it's worth it especially since you don't risk slipping and dropping a piece considering you don't have to shake it like iso and salt.

I would also recommend cleaning your pieces frequently haha, not only is it easier to clean, it's a lot healthier for you too

 

[bergdawg]

you can also boil it.

 

[merickson]

There is no need to scrape.

Clean the bowl with a cloth. Don't put too much effort into it. Just get the first few layers.
Run some hot water through the pipe.
Soak it in rubbing alchohol 20 min or overnite, to your prefernece.
Pour out the guck, rinse the pipe out.
Fill the pipe with hot water.

Cover the holes with your fingers and (over a sink to catch the leakage) shake the pipe vigoruously. The small pieces of resin/ick will be suspended in the water and provide an abrasive that scrubs the inside of the pipe down to glass.
Flush the pipe with more hot water and repeat the "cover holes..." step until clean.

 

[Angus McSpuds]

appropriately for this forum, there is a product called 420. it is great for those small pipes that can fit in a zip-lock bag. i use it on metal, glass, and plastic. i get it at a "head shop".

yes, fingernail polish remover will work, too.

i also find that windex is good for resin fingers, NO water, just spray, rub, and use paper towel.

 

[Brothah]

I didn't expect anywhere near this amount of replies.

This is a very active forum.

Thanks a ton. =)