I've been poking around, both on here and elsewhere, looking for information about cleaning...mainly the BIG clean, not just after smoking cleaning...just wanting to make sure that I am not doing the wrong thing and hurting my pipes in the long run.
My main question concerns the Salt and Alcohol method (also charcoal, or cotton balls)...now is this mainly done for recovering and cleaning estate or used pipes? Or for cleaning pipes that have not had regular maintenance done? Or is this a usual cleaning practice of people?
Let me tell you how I do things...after smoking a pipe, I let it cool down, usually, at some point covering the bowl and shaking the ash around to coat the inside. When it's fully cool, I knock out the ash and whatever's left, using a tool as necessary. Then I removed the stem from the pipe (but only if there is no resistance so I don't mess up the tenon or the stem, I am careful to make sure everything is cool). I never seem to be able to get a pipe cleaner to run all the way from mouth hole into the bowl, which is why I just gave up and do the "removing stem" method every time.
Then I run a pipe cleaner through the stem, usually only a little blackness appears at the very tip with the rest being clean. Then I flip the pipe cleaner over to the clean side and run it through the air hole into the bottom of the bowl, that too usually comes up a little dirty, but not bad.
Then I pinch up the cleaner and clean out the tenon. And then I take the other clean part of the cleaner, form it into a U-shape and run it around the inside of the bowl, knocking out whatever's stirred up. Then I leave pipe and stem apart just to make sure everything dries out, assembling later.
I can usually get away with using just the one pipe cleaner because I guess the pipe is pretty clean to start with? Which I guess answers part of my question? hehe
Now periodically (though not regularly, but I probably should have some sort of schedule to it) I have done the "remove stem and run a pipe cleaner dipped in alcohol through stem...then put another cleaner in air hole and fill bowl with alcohol, let sit an hour, then clean with pipe cleaners until clean" method. In my case substitute Pipe Sweetener for alcohol, but I am going to get a bottle of Everclear for future cleans.
So all of this leads me back to the salt question, is that just something for really dirty pipes, or ones you aren't sure how they were maintained, or am I short changing my cleaning by not using it? Or is my method of cleaning and drying after each smoke make it where only using alcohol is sufficient?
FYI: I have 7 pipes (3 designated non-aromatic/English and 4 aromatic), but at most smoke one bowl a day, and probably only a few bowls a week, so my pipes aren't in heavy use to begin with.
Sorry to be long-winded on this, but for everyone that has stuck it out through one of my posts, that's how I roll, and write! hehe
My main question concerns the Salt and Alcohol method (also charcoal, or cotton balls)...now is this mainly done for recovering and cleaning estate or used pipes? Or for cleaning pipes that have not had regular maintenance done? Or is this a usual cleaning practice of people?
Let me tell you how I do things...after smoking a pipe, I let it cool down, usually, at some point covering the bowl and shaking the ash around to coat the inside. When it's fully cool, I knock out the ash and whatever's left, using a tool as necessary. Then I removed the stem from the pipe (but only if there is no resistance so I don't mess up the tenon or the stem, I am careful to make sure everything is cool). I never seem to be able to get a pipe cleaner to run all the way from mouth hole into the bowl, which is why I just gave up and do the "removing stem" method every time.
Then I run a pipe cleaner through the stem, usually only a little blackness appears at the very tip with the rest being clean. Then I flip the pipe cleaner over to the clean side and run it through the air hole into the bottom of the bowl, that too usually comes up a little dirty, but not bad.
Then I pinch up the cleaner and clean out the tenon. And then I take the other clean part of the cleaner, form it into a U-shape and run it around the inside of the bowl, knocking out whatever's stirred up. Then I leave pipe and stem apart just to make sure everything dries out, assembling later.
I can usually get away with using just the one pipe cleaner because I guess the pipe is pretty clean to start with? Which I guess answers part of my question? hehe
Now periodically (though not regularly, but I probably should have some sort of schedule to it) I have done the "remove stem and run a pipe cleaner dipped in alcohol through stem...then put another cleaner in air hole and fill bowl with alcohol, let sit an hour, then clean with pipe cleaners until clean" method. In my case substitute Pipe Sweetener for alcohol, but I am going to get a bottle of Everclear for future cleans.
So all of this leads me back to the salt question, is that just something for really dirty pipes, or ones you aren't sure how they were maintained, or am I short changing my cleaning by not using it? Or is my method of cleaning and drying after each smoke make it where only using alcohol is sufficient?
FYI: I have 7 pipes (3 designated non-aromatic/English and 4 aromatic), but at most smoke one bowl a day, and probably only a few bowls a week, so my pipes aren't in heavy use to begin with.
Sorry to be long-winded on this, but for everyone that has stuck it out through one of my posts, that's how I roll, and write! hehe