What's the Best Way to Clean a Pipe?
- Thread starter Whiskeyguy81
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It depends on what everything is made of—if you have an acrylic stem, you may wish to avoid alcohol, which can create small cracks in the plastic. But, generally speaking, I use high proof Everclear.
How "unclean" is it? Paper towel and warm water do for 99% of my needs since I do it after every smoke (unless I get distracted then it's before that particular pipe gets used again). Just "normal" sized cleaners so far as I know, whatever the usual BJLong or White Elephant tapers are for length (maybe they are considered "long"?).
If your pipe is clean to start 1 or 2 cleaners in the airways, then doubled up to “scrub” the chamber will suffice.
If the pipe gurgled I’d dismantle it (when cool) and clean out the mortise.
Long cleaners are not necessary unless you have a churchwarden
If the chamber is dirty, a damp paper kitchen towel, scrunched up and twisted around will clean it up pretty good
Some members are devotees of water flushing.
I tried it on a few occasions, but don’t really find it necessary most of the time.
I use alcohol (always a high proof clear fruit brandy) ONLY if I have to deep clean. I don’t use “coloured” spirits
I only deep clean if the chamber is badly caked, or has an unpleasant ghost.
Or if it is a pipe I have just received.
Ghosting is rarely a reason for cleaning a pipe as I have a large rotation, and educate pipes for various genres.
I start out by reaming out the chamber
Then a couple of cotton balls stuffed into the chamber and filled with said alcohol. Leave for a day. Repeat until the cotton balls come out clean.
I pay particular attention to the shank and mortise As there is where most of the funk reside.
Vulcanite stems are cleaned with alcohol. Acrylic stems are cleaned with water and liquid soap.
Hope this helps
Just don't let them get like this ;-) I'm not even sure how they got their tobacco into this one with that level of cake build up - trim that cake!
Savinelli make a small bottle of a Chartreuse green coloured pipe-cleaning fluid — I haven’t a notion what the chemical makeup is and probably shouldn’t understand it if I were told, but I find that it keeps the bore of a pipe and stem inoffensively clean. Scrape out any ash with pipe tool, gently rub chamber with doubly folded soft pipe-cleaner. I tend to be too zealous a cleaner, the opposite to the photo above.
Commercial pipe cleaners or "sweeteners" are pretty close to snake oil. It's just alcohol with God knows what else- perfume??
Unless your pipe is foul, or it's the first cleaning since purchasing an estate, there's no need to use alcohol at all.
A hot tap water flush and a pipe cleaner or two is all you need for 80-95% of cleanings. The remainder require taking the stem out and thoroughly cleaning the mortise.
Haven't mentioned reaming, which to me is a separate and seldom step. How often depends on what, and how, you smoke.
Unless your pipe is foul, or it's the first cleaning since purchasing an estate, there's no need to use alcohol at all.
A hot tap water flush and a pipe cleaner or two is all you need for 80-95% of cleanings. The remainder require taking the stem out and thoroughly cleaning the mortise.
Haven't mentioned reaming, which to me is a separate and seldom step. How often depends on what, and how, you smoke.
eBay pipes get "Sanitize"
PM trades get "Friends and Family"
Some of you will recall I put three pipes through my dishwasher on purpose, ---All for science!
They came out clean on the surface, unharmed. It was just to allay fears in some that water should be kept away from pipes. I've also dunked by accident two pipes in a swimming pool, with no harm except the water put the pipe out and ruined the tobacco.
Others have related similar mishaps, or experiments to see how sturdy briar is....Very.
They came out clean on the surface, unharmed. It was just to allay fears in some that water should be kept away from pipes. I've also dunked by accident two pipes in a swimming pool, with no harm except the water put the pipe out and ruined the tobacco.
Others have related similar mishaps, or experiments to see how sturdy briar is....Very.
