I agree with the other responders. You should never have to do a salt/alcohol treatment of the bowl unless you smoke something that will absolutely never leave the bowl (and you want it to).
My approach is to run a pipe cleaner through after every bowl. After a day of smoking a single pipe -- say, 3-5 bowls -- then it rests for at least a week before I return to that same pipe. (It often rests much longer, since I have a number of pipes to choose from.)
If you're going to smoke every day, I would have to recommend investing in at least seven pipes. That way, each can get a week off to rest and dry out. On the other hand, if you're only smoking one bowl a day, I don't think you're going to run into too many issues with only one pipe, unless you're smoking particularly wet aromatics.
After six months or so, I'll take the pipes I've been smoking over that period and give them a more thorough cleaning with a 150-proof rum. I remove the stems, dip a pipe cleaner in the rum, and run it through the stem and shank. Then I use a pipe brush dipped in rum to thoroughly clean the shank. Then I'll run a bristle pipe cleaner or two through the stem and shank. And I follow this with dry pipe cleaners through the stem and shank until they come out clean. So it may take 3-6 soft pipe cleaners and 2-3 bristle cleaners per pipe. Then I put the pipes back together and let them all dry out for a week or so before I smoke them again. At no point, though, do I pour liquid into the bowl or run a rum-soaked cleaner around the bowl. There just isn't any need. . . and I'm wanting to build up a nice cake, not soften or remove it with alcohol.
I have tried packaged "pipe sweetener" instead of rum, but I've found that it leaves a very chemical taste in the pipe. A high-alcohol solvent -- like 150-proof rum or Everclear -- leaves no "off" taste and has enough alcohol to break down the tars that can build up over time.
This is just my own approach. It's served me well for 30+ years.
Bob
