Frequent Alcohol Cleanings?

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waznyf

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 24, 2012
742
48
29
Texas
Hey everyone,
Recently saw a post about using rubbing alcohol to clean pipes and it got me to thinking.

I used to use alcohol every time I cleaned my pipes, given that this could be after every smoke or even a couple days apart.

Recently when talking to some other pipe smokers, they informed me that they only use a paper towel and pipe cleaner after each smoke. This confused me and now I've decided to ask because I want what is best for my pipes as do all of us.

What do you guys do? Is it a paper towel and pipe cleaner every time, and alcohol cleaning once a month? Let me know. :puffy:

 

tbradsim1

Lifer
Jan 14, 2012
9,093
11,011
Southwest Louisiana
I believe IMHO once a month is enough, the most important thing a lot of pipe smokers don"t do is a-tip the inside if the shank where the tendon mates inside of the shank, a lot of heavy deposits lurk there, just running a pipe cleaner doesn"t get that, run a q-tip around that next time you smoke and see what you get there, the old cajun

 

dhizzy

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 29, 2011
649
1
It seems that alot of pipe smokers have varying opinions here. I am guilty of going a bit too long between alcohol cleanings but do not believe that it is necessary after each smoke. I'd say it depends on how much you smoke the pipe. Maybe every 5-7 smokes sounds resonable but I should take my own advice.

:roll:

 

spyder71

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 14, 2011
693
2
Good advice Cagun.

I double over a pipe cleaener to get the gunk out. I smoke any given pipe 2-4 times in a day and I use three or more pipes in a day. Every morning over coffee and my first bowl I clean yesterdays pipes with 91% rubbing alcohol and pipe cleaners. The clean ones then sit til the next week. I got in the habit of using two certain pipes on mon, tue, etc... so that I know they have rested well between smokes. This topic has been gone over and I suspect there will be tons of different methods described here shortly.

 

dhizzy

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 29, 2011
649
1
Yes it has. And some say rubbing alcohol is bad. I stick to Everclear.

 

waznyf

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 24, 2012
742
48
29
Texas
Yes it has. And some say rubbing alcohol is bad. I stick to Everclear.
I too use everclear. I will the good ol' cajun's advice. I know that opinions vary but I want to run with the majority haha

 

kabong30

Can't Leave
Jun 2, 2012
329
2
The shank thing is one of the reasons I prefer system pipes. I have better access to all parts of the pipe.

 

pipedreams101

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 1, 2012
125
0
First off I pick a pipe for a given day and I smoke the hell out of it for that day, so by the end of the day its pretty nasty. I use alcohol at the end of the day to clean the pipe i have chosen for that day. I used to use pipe sweetener, or liquor but i recently switched to mentholated rubbing alcohol with no ill results. So short form, I use alcohol daily....

 

tiltjlp

Can't Leave
Apr 9, 2011
396
0
Cheviot Ohio
I completely clean every pipe after every use, which means using 91% Isopropyl, pipe cleaners, and dry reaming the bowl. That way I never have to worry about ghosting or sour pipes. I’ve done this for over 50 years with no problems.

 

skyblue

Lurker
Dec 28, 2012
4
0
For me it's a lovely Sunday afternoon/evening ritual to clean all my pipes thoroughly using a wee dram of whiskey to dip cleaners into. They tell me they enjoy it. So I have a few with them :)

 

mrenglish

Lifer
Dec 25, 2010
2,220
72
Columbus, Ohio
I clean my pipes with denatured alcohol after 1-3 smokes. The main reason is they are easier/faster to clean than cleaning them once a month or whatever. I only remove the stem occasionally though.

 

mlyvers

Can't Leave
Sep 23, 2012
487
0
i think the shank gets very dirty. i take a paper towel and twist the corner, then add alittle everclear onto the towel. i insert the towel into the shank and turn around several times. this will clean inside the shank by removing all the gunk. this also saves on pipe cleaners. i will cut the paper towel into 4 squares. it works great for me.
mike.

 

cajundad

Can't Leave
Nov 1, 2012
468
1
Louisiana
I would not use the menthol alcohal , because it is 30 to 50% H20 , and could raise the grain of your briar . The menthol is also residual . Not knocking anyone who chooses to use it . I just wouldnt recommend it to anyone . Iso alcohal at 91% or greater is ok in my book . It evaporates very quickly without leaving behind large amounts of water unlike the 50 - 70% iso alcohal . Add methyl salicylate/wintergreen oil [ witch is whats in the menthol alcohal , and you have even more residual . I like to use everclear and/or 151 Rum as rothnh mentioned . Grain alcohal is recommended by most Online retailers of briar pipes . http://www.smokingpipes.com/information/howto/cleaning.cfm

Again no disrespect to whomever chooses to use this . In regaurds to your question , I think The Old Cajun and rothnh and a couple others answered it . The only think I may add is to be careful not to clean out your cake with a new pipe .

 

yazamitaz

Lifer
Mar 1, 2013
1,757
1
For me it's a lovely Sunday afternoon/evening ritual to clean all my pipes thoroughly using a wee dram of whiskey to dip cleaners into. They tell me they enjoy it. So I have a few with them
I love that Sky

 
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