Best Way to Clean a Pipe

[ukparagolfer]

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule 9)

So my daily pipe is a molina billard which I smoke to and from work.

How do you guys clean your pipes and how often?

 

[musicman]

Generally, in between smokes, I will clean the stem and stummel with two pipe cleaners. First, I take a bristle cleaner and run it through the stem. Then each end gets stuffed in the mortise with a brief scrub. Then I fold the pipe cleaner in half, and use it to clean the inside of the mortise, and then the inside of the bowl. Then I take a clean non-bristled pipe cleaner and run it through the stem a couple of times.

A deeper clean might happen once every couple of months, but if you're smoking the same pipe every day you might need to do this every couple of weeks, but it will involve a couple more pipe cleaners, and I will clean out the stem with a pipe cleaner dipped in high proof alcohol.

Techniques vary. Some people swear by the method of running hot water through the pipe immediately after finishing your smoke. But what I do works for me. There is no "right" way, just what works for you.

 

[warren]

I do it the usual way on Sundays.

 

[olkofri]

1. Dump the dottle.
2. Run a pipe cleaner (if it's an unfiltered pipe) through the stem and twist.
3. Use the same cleaner to wipe the chamber's walls.
4. Take stem off and put aside to wash in the sink.
5. Run another cleaner through the draught hole. If it's a filtered pipe, use an extra-fluffy cleaner folded in two or three to clean out the mortise/filter chamber.
6. Spit into my anatomical snuff box and dab my forefinger in that saliva and dab the whole chamber with it.
7. Use a paper towel to vigorously wipe the chamber till it's smooth clean.
8. Remove any stubborn carbon fouling with the spoon of the Czech tool.
9. Swab again with the paper towel, till it comes out white.
10. Put stummel back in the rack.
11. Dip a pipe cleaner into the dish soap container and run it through the draught hole in the stem, then wash the stem with a sponge; rinse well, and let it dry.
12. Re-assemble the pipe when the stem is dry, inserting a new filter if it takes them.

I do that after every smoke.

Like cleaning a gun after a range session, really.

 

[bullet08]

Clean them after each smoke right after the last draw.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Run some warm water through it, wipe it down inside and out.

 

[olkofri]

Run some warm water through it, wipe it down inside and out.

Then dry it with a heat gun? ?
?

 

[Casual]

anatomical snuff box

Well, I’ll be. What a bizarre little detail. Never heard that term before.

 

[cigrmaster]

After I smoke one bowl in one pipe, I clean the pipe to within an inch of it's life. I then put it in my rack for normally 1-2 days at least. I spend good money on my tobacco and my pipes. I want each smoke to smoke great so I want a clean pipe everytime out. I have my system that I use every day and neve change it. Tobacco can taste like crap in a dirty pipe and I never go there. It is so easy to clean a pipe I don't find a good cleaning to be a chore. I go through a ton of BJ pipe cleaners, the tapered fluffy and the tapered bristle types. I usually use P&C to buy my cleaners are 2.00 a package. I order 20 packs of each every time I buy them. I also buy my Obidisian stem oil at the same time and buy about 20 of each on every order.

Most people think I am a nut job because of the amount of cleaners and Obidisian I purchase but that is fine. My pipes, my way of cleaning. Do what ever makes you feel comfortable. In the end most of us have our own specific quirks that we are used to and we don't care what people think.

 

[mikethompson]

Cleaning a pipe from your daily rotation and cleaning an estate pipe are two different jobs. But the usual process of 'maintenance cleaning' is pretty much what everyone has posted.

 

[stokesdale]

1. Dump the dottle.
2. Run a pipe cleaner (if it's an unfiltered pipe) through the stem and twist.
3. Use the same cleaner to wipe the chamber's walls.
4. Take stem off and put aside to wash in the sink.
5. Run another cleaner through the draught hole. If it's a filtered pipe, use an extra-fluffy cleaner folded in two or three to clean out the mortise/filter chamber.
6. Spit into my anatomical snuff box and dab my forefinger in that saliva and dab the whole chamber with it.
7. Use a paper towel to vigorously wipe the chamber till it's smooth clean.
8. Remove any stubborn carbon fouling with the spoon of the Czech tool.
9. Swab again with the paper towel, till it comes out white.
10. Put stummel back in the rack.
11. Dip a pipe cleaner into the dish soap container and run it through the draught hole in the stem, then wash the stem with a sponge; rinse well, and let it dry.
12. Re-assemble the pipe when the stem is dry, inserting a new filter if it takes them.

I do that after every smoke.

Like cleaning a gun after a range session, really.

My god man!

 

[Sloopjohnbee]

depends what needs cleaning?
type of pipe/parts clean?
sanitary clean?
daily use clean?
restorative clean?
ghost elimination clean?
cosmetic/photogenic clean?
clean to different people can mean a lot of things
Ask yourself, what is wrong with the pipe, what do I need out of it, what does it need out of me?

 

[Misanthrope]

I burn 'em in the fireplace after a single smoke and buy a new one, works a treat. Economy's rough, someone has to keep all those pipemakers afloat.

Well, no, I use pipecleaners and paper towels to scrub the airway and wipe the bowl until clean, then they rest on my rack until the next day.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Then dry it with a heat gun? ?
?

You can if you're of the OCD type. But you can smoke it immediately after toweling the chamber. Though why not let it rest for a while as you fire up a different pipe?

 

[olkofri]

You can if you're of the OCD type. But you can smoke it immediately after toweling the chamber. Though why not let it rest for a while as you fire up a different pipe?

I was making a jocular reference to this:
https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/th...chase-for-science.79878/page-12#post-36253317

Hence the covert smile emoticon.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

One smoke: one pipe cleaner, and chamber wipe with paper, and thats about it, sometimes I do flushing with warm water ,very efficient way to keep the pipe fresh odor-free, and clean btw.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I was making a jocular reference to this:
https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/th...chase-for-science.79878/page-12#post-36253317

Hence the covert smile emoticon.

"I see", said the blind man as he picked up his hammer and saw.

 

[indoeuro]

To keep my pipes clean and fresh I just clean out the ones I've smoked during the week with high proof alcohol. I prefer Wray's Overproof Rum, but any drinking booze will do.
Simply soak one end of a pipe cleaner in the alcohol and run that end down from the bit to the bowl, scrubbing gently as you go. Pull it out and run the dry end down. Wrap a napkin around the stem to catch any alcohol that seeps out of the bit. Bend the cleaner in half and soak the bend in alcohol, them run that around the interior of the bowl to give it a good soaking and smooth out all the schmutz. Wipe the interior dry with the napkin and let the pipe air out overnight.

 

[Papamique]

To keep my pipes clean and fresh I just clean out the ones I've smoked during the week with high proof alcohol. I prefer Wray's Overproof Rum, but any drinking booze will do.
Simply soak one end of a pipe cleaner in the alcohol and run that end down from the bit to the bowl, scrubbing gently as you go. Pull it out and run the dry end down. Wrap a napkin around the stem to catch any alcohol that seeps out of the bit. Bend the cleaner in half and soak the bend in alcohol, them run that around the interior of the bowl to give it a good soaking and smooth out all the schmutz. Wipe the interior dry with the napkin and let the pipe air out overnight.

This is almost exactly what I do also. Almost exactly (that’s for you language snobs). With the exception that it is not weekly, it is just once in a while.

I will run a pipe cleaner after the smoke from the bit to the bowl and then let it sit in the pipe until I smoke it again. I know a lot of people feel it doesn’t air properly and all that but I like to do it and it works for me. It has an added benefit of keeping tiny egg laying spiders out of my pipes.

 

[ashdigger]

After each smoke I use a pipe cleaner to run through the stem and then I fold it in half and sweep the bowl.

Roughly once a week I grab the bin all of my smoked pipes are laying in and I get out some Everclear (190 proof), some hot water (maintained with a small portable camp stove ), some paper towels, a pile of various types of pipe cleaners and some Q-tips for the shank and I go to work.

I really enjoy sitting and cleaning my pipes. I really enjoy smoking my pipes. I don’t have rack queens. Every pipe I own gets smoked or it gets sold or gifted.