How Often Do You Clean Your Pipes?
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I see a lot of people suggesting that they clean with alcohol. I have a few questions:
1) What type of alcohol?
2) Do you do this instead of Pipe Sweetener and or addition
1) What type of alcohol?
2) Do you do this instead of Pipe Sweetener and or addition
I clean a pipe after every smoke, when the pipe is cool. I run a pipe cleaner through tipped with Everclear and then run the dry end through. If you keep your pipes clean, 1 pipe cleaner will usually do the trick. I usually leave the inside of the bowl alone (calabash/meerschaum pipes are the exception) unless it is time to ream some cake. I wipe the outside of the pipe with a slightly moistened cloth and wipe the stem with a sanitary wipe. A clean pipe smokes best! :
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It took me about 4 months to get around to cleaning all the pipes, I take them apart use a brush on the shank and a bristle cleaner and sweetener on the stem. I smoke with a cleaner at hand but I only us it to remove a bit of tobacco if a clog happens, after the smoke when the bowl is empty I give a blow into the stem to get rid of any bits then rack the pipe.
I've been running a couple of pipe cleaners through after each smoke. When breaking in a new pipe (briar), how vigorously should I be cleaning the bowl after a smoke.? I don't want to interfere with the caking process.
Now keep in mind I smoke cobs almost exclusively, I love the flavor. I run a pipe cleaner we through mine every time I use it until the cleaners come out white. I do a thorough cleaning about every 5-10 bowls, or if I know it's going to be a long time before I smoke that pipe again. I have to say sometimes I clean my pipes just because I love the taste that the alcohol leaves in a blend, especially if I'm going to smoke a weak flavored blend like an Aro.
I use 5-6 pipe cleaners after every smoke. Maybe 2-3 times a year I do a "deep" clean with rum, bristle brushes, stem polish and olive oil on the briar.
Great thread. I just started puffin of a pipe almost full time. I maybe have about 3 - 5 bowls a day. I have one Missouri Meerschaum Cob Pipe, and A Brigham Algonquin #263. I run a dry pipe cleaner every second smoke, and a light ream at the end of the day. My Very first pipe was a Medico. I cant remember the model. I made tons of mistakes with that pipe. but that's a different story.
A pipe cleaner through the stem and again with the clean end after each bowl. I also fold it in half and swab the inside of the bowl. I do a deeper clean on a biweekly or monthly basis.
From a couple of years ago. Pretty much what I do, except at times, especially after a salt and Everclear soaking, I rinse the bowl and stem with hot water, then paper towel the chamber, pipe cleaner for the stem.
I run pipe cleaners through the stem when the pipe is cool, after dumping the loosened ash from the bowl. Then use a folded cleaner to finish clearing the bowl. Dump again. Then lightly blow through the stem, covering the bowl with my palm, to raise the dust. Dump again. Sometimes, I clean the bowl inside further with a paper towel, but rarely. Every week or so, I run an alcohol soaked pipe cleaner through the stem. I've been using Bourbon or Scotch, but may get a dedicated bottle of Bacardi 151 for this. To get Everclear, I'd need to drive to Wisconsin, which is near enough, but Bacardi 151 is probably as good, and is more potent than what I've been using. I don't usually pull the stem and clean the exposed areas. Maybe once a week I do that.
I need to get some Obsidian Oil with my next tobacco order and pay more attention to the outside of the stems. Now I just rub off the grime when I see or feel it. I don't do anything to the outside of the briar except to clean the rim of the bowl. I rub it with my thumb, and, if needed, a bit of saliva. If there's some scorching and it hasn't come off, then I lightly rub a bit of cold coffee on it and this does the trick. I just now dipped the lip of a pipe in some cold coffee sitting here in my cup, and that cleaned the haze and grime really well, so I'll do that unless someone warns of a bad effect of coffee on Vulcanite, as I've read here of alcohol being bad.
I need to get some Obsidian Oil with my next tobacco order and pay more attention to the outside of the stems. Now I just rub off the grime when I see or feel it. I don't do anything to the outside of the briar except to clean the rim of the bowl. I rub it with my thumb, and, if needed, a bit of saliva. If there's some scorching and it hasn't come off, then I lightly rub a bit of cold coffee on it and this does the trick. I just now dipped the lip of a pipe in some cold coffee sitting here in my cup, and that cleaned the haze and grime really well, so I'll do that unless someone warns of a bad effect of coffee on Vulcanite, as I've read here of alcohol being bad.
I'll typically smoke a bowl once or twice and then it goes onto a rack. After each bowl I run the cleaners through it and swab the bowl. Once the rack is filled (16 pipes, lazy Susan type rack) I will clean them with denatured alcohol by running bristle cleaners through it until they come out nearly white. Since I rarely remove my stems (unless its a military mount) I will give them a heavy cleaning with a shank brush once or twice a year.
I smoke no more than 2 bowls daily in any of my pipes. Before one cools, I remove the stem and run a pipecleaner through it. Then I double-over the end of a pipecleaner and swab out the shank (doubling over may not be necessary for you, my pipecleaners are thin). The stem has to go back on immediately while the shank is cooling, and while some advise to wait for it to cool first, I clean hot because it's probably more effective that way. Last, I fold up the remaining clean part of that pipecleaner and dust out the inside of the bowl with it. Once in awhile I'll apply Devil's Springs alchohol for good measure, since I'd just as soon do it often rather than have a sour bowl to deal with.
I think that too much is made of cleaning pipes. It's effete and unmanly. There is nothing more beautiful in the known universe than the scent of long unwashed hairy armpits, except for long uncleaned pipes.
When I'm forced to clean a pipe because there's no room left in the chamber and the airway is completely clogged, I use the following foolproof method:
First, gather up all of the pipes that one must reluctantly clean and hang them on a clothesline or nail them to a fence. Get out the garden hose with the sprayer set to stun. If your house is equipped with a water pressure regulator leading in from the main, this is a good reason to take a sledgehammer to it.
Blast the pipes good for about 15 - 20 minutes. Think of it as miniature strip mining.
Dump the pipes in the washer and set the temperature to hot and the cycle to heavy duty. Use a good lye based soap and add a half cup of sulfuric acid to the soap.
To speed up the drying process, dump the pipes in the dryer and set the temperature at hot. Dry for about 40 minutes. While your pipes are tumbling around in the dryer, get out your acetylene torch and make sure that you're ready to go once the dryer cycle is complete.
Line up the pipes on a concrete deck. DO NOT PLACE THEM ON YOUR PORCH OR YOUR LIVING ROOM"S HARDWOOD FLOOR!!
Ignite the acetylene torch and play the flame over the pipes to remove any excess moisture or stubborn deposits. Sometimes the finish may darken a little after the first ten minutes of this step, but I think that it makes the pipes look better. YMMV.
It's a simple sane method to keeping your pipes clean (if you really must, but you're probably the kind of pansy that has matching socks and no toe fungus...). Done once every three to four years, it guarantees you three to four years of carefree enjoyment of your pipes.
There's an alternative method detailed below, but I think you will be found highly suspect if you follow any part of it...
Sometimes I run a pipe cleaner through the airway between smokes, depending on the nature of the blend that I'm smoking. Some are gunky, others aren't. I'll clean my pipe after a day's use. I want the excess moisture removed from the airway.
The chamber gets wiped down with bristle pipe cleaners that I've doubled over, and sometimes a bunched paper towel. The shank gets scrubbed out with bristle pipe cleaners until they're clean or near clean. How many depends on the gunkiness of the blend. The mortise gets cleaned out with folded bristles and fluffies. So much evil lurks in stinky mortises. The stem gets alcohol on the inside and spit on the outside. If the stem is going dull, I may occasionally give it a polish with some Simichrome. Other times I'll renew the shine with a coating of Halcyon or Paragon wax. That helps retard oxidation. Spit and a towel takes care of the rim. I never remove the stem while the pipe is still warm.
Then the pipe goes away for a minimum of a week before being used again.
When I'm forced to clean a pipe because there's no room left in the chamber and the airway is completely clogged, I use the following foolproof method:
First, gather up all of the pipes that one must reluctantly clean and hang them on a clothesline or nail them to a fence. Get out the garden hose with the sprayer set to stun. If your house is equipped with a water pressure regulator leading in from the main, this is a good reason to take a sledgehammer to it.
Blast the pipes good for about 15 - 20 minutes. Think of it as miniature strip mining.
Dump the pipes in the washer and set the temperature to hot and the cycle to heavy duty. Use a good lye based soap and add a half cup of sulfuric acid to the soap.
To speed up the drying process, dump the pipes in the dryer and set the temperature at hot. Dry for about 40 minutes. While your pipes are tumbling around in the dryer, get out your acetylene torch and make sure that you're ready to go once the dryer cycle is complete.
Line up the pipes on a concrete deck. DO NOT PLACE THEM ON YOUR PORCH OR YOUR LIVING ROOM"S HARDWOOD FLOOR!!
Ignite the acetylene torch and play the flame over the pipes to remove any excess moisture or stubborn deposits. Sometimes the finish may darken a little after the first ten minutes of this step, but I think that it makes the pipes look better. YMMV.
It's a simple sane method to keeping your pipes clean (if you really must, but you're probably the kind of pansy that has matching socks and no toe fungus...). Done once every three to four years, it guarantees you three to four years of carefree enjoyment of your pipes.
There's an alternative method detailed below, but I think you will be found highly suspect if you follow any part of it...
Sometimes I run a pipe cleaner through the airway between smokes, depending on the nature of the blend that I'm smoking. Some are gunky, others aren't. I'll clean my pipe after a day's use. I want the excess moisture removed from the airway.
The chamber gets wiped down with bristle pipe cleaners that I've doubled over, and sometimes a bunched paper towel. The shank gets scrubbed out with bristle pipe cleaners until they're clean or near clean. How many depends on the gunkiness of the blend. The mortise gets cleaned out with folded bristles and fluffies. So much evil lurks in stinky mortises. The stem gets alcohol on the inside and spit on the outside. If the stem is going dull, I may occasionally give it a polish with some Simichrome. Other times I'll renew the shine with a coating of Halcyon or Paragon wax. That helps retard oxidation. Spit and a towel takes care of the rim. I never remove the stem while the pipe is still warm.
Then the pipe goes away for a minimum of a week before being used again.
After every smoke I will run a pipe cleaner through the stem and shank and also brush out the bowl with same pipe cleaner folded in half, just to get rid of any ash or small bits of tobacco. When I feel it's needed I will clean the entire pipe with a regular pipe cleaner and bristled pipe cleaner dipped in Jim Beam...Really keeps them fresh and tasting clean...Works well for me.
I at the least run a pipe cleaner through it after each smoke. I will generall clean it with alcohol and a qtip once every day or two depending on how much I've been using that particular pipe.
I used to be more willing to clean my pipes deeply with bristle pipe cleaners and alcohol; about once a year. Since I resumed smoking over 2.5 years ago, I've avoided the task. One of my benchmarks for cleaning is that cleaner emerge with bits of tars on them, but if they are only customarily being cleaned with fluffies, and if the goo on them indicates only normally soil, I don't even think of cleaning them.
When I cleaned I typically used between 10-20 bristle cleaners, swabbing with both ends dipped in alcohol.
I've even read that some feel that removing the goo is bad for taste. But I never noticed this after I did cleanings in the past.
I may clean but then again probably won't unless my pipes taste sour.
When I cleaned I typically used between 10-20 bristle cleaners, swabbing with both ends dipped in alcohol.
I've even read that some feel that removing the goo is bad for taste. But I never noticed this after I did cleanings in the past.
I may clean but then again probably won't unless my pipes taste sour.
Sable, I honestly don't know whether to do the first half of your dissertation or the second half. Obviously the first half has a wonderful char on the next pipeful...
So it's been about a year since I posted to this thread and two years since I've begun smoking pipe. I"ve done a little research, and have even contacted pipe makers. My routine is:
I have one pipe cleaner and a small piece of paper towel at my ashtray that I use when I"m done smoking. I run the cleaner through the stem (including the medico filter if the pipe is filtered.) I then take the paper towel, wad it up and twist it into the bowl. I picked up this tip from one of the guys on this forum. I then set the pipe in the rack. I do this after each smoke.
On the first Sunday of the month, I break down my 9 pipes, throw out the filters, and clean out the bowls and stems with rubbing alcohol. Make sure to get the bottles stating 90% alcohol. I run a bristle pipe cleaner through the stem and shank, and paper towels in the bowl. Both the pipe clean and the towel are wet with the alcohol. I then take a dry standard pipe cleaner and dry towel to remove the moisture of the cleaner and let then sit for a day before smoking them.
I have one pipe cleaner and a small piece of paper towel at my ashtray that I use when I"m done smoking. I run the cleaner through the stem (including the medico filter if the pipe is filtered.) I then take the paper towel, wad it up and twist it into the bowl. I picked up this tip from one of the guys on this forum. I then set the pipe in the rack. I do this after each smoke.
On the first Sunday of the month, I break down my 9 pipes, throw out the filters, and clean out the bowls and stems with rubbing alcohol. Make sure to get the bottles stating 90% alcohol. I run a bristle pipe cleaner through the stem and shank, and paper towels in the bowl. Both the pipe clean and the towel are wet with the alcohol. I then take a dry standard pipe cleaner and dry towel to remove the moisture of the cleaner and let then sit for a day before smoking them.
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