Cleaning Pipes

[puff_not_snuff]

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[briarbuck]

ttt

 

[oldguyoldpipes]

I use 151 proof rum for deep cleans. After every smoke, I simply corkscrew a paper towel into the chamber and run a pipe cleaner through the shank.

Same. Just be careful with getting the 151 rum on the stems. It will discolor them in a snap. I also bought several different sized bristle brushes from smokingpipes.com and use them to scrub out the stem and draw hole to the bowl. I have found that most of my bad tastes come from this area if I don't run pipe cleaners through after every smoke. I just wipe out the bowl with a paper towel or napkin and make sure the cake does not build up hardly at all.

As many other said: I just run a pipe cleaner through the stem and shank after each smoke, then bend the same pipe cleaner and use it to swab out the inside of the bowl.

For estaes or ghost issues is better a more deep cleaning with alcohol or dedicated pipe cleaning solutions. I'm not a fan of the salt and alcohol treatment, in my experience using just the alochol works fine.

I heard of so many crazy and dangerous methods that can not believe someone would treat his beloved pipes that way!
But anyway, there are so many different tastes...

I have had a few estate pipes, especially British pipes, that I have had to do deep cleaning with the ground coffee method. For me, this method seems to work better than the salt method. I also bury the entire bowl and stem under the coffee grounds (dry) and let them rest for up to 1 week. Then I rinse with hot water and clean all the insides with 151 rum. Let them dry out for 48 hours, put on a light coat of wax and they are ready for whatever I want to put in them. This method always "gets rid of the ghost". Hope it works for you.

 

[hauntedmyst]

I avoid deep cleaning my pipes by swabbing the bowl and shank with Everclear on pipe cleaners after every smoke and ream if needed. Why let every bowl you smoke get gradually funkier and funkier until you can't handle it anymore and need a deep clean?

If that's what you like, go for it. I don't find my pipes gunk up very quickly so they don't smoke funky. I run some pie cleaners through and deep clean about every 3 months whether they need it or not.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

I disassemble them after each smoke and clean them. No need for deep cleaning.

As do I. Hot water rinse does OK, but not quite 100% of where I want a pipe to be before I smoke it again. But this is another hardy perennial topic, lots of opinions.

 

[cigrmaster]

After every use I clean the shit out of my pipe. Most here would call it over kill but I want my next bowl of tobacco to taste great. I go through tons of fluffy and bristle pipe cleaners. I only use PJ Long and I order in 20 lots of each.
My ass should be so clean.

 

[docrameous]

Look up the threads on water cleansing. Been doing it now for around 1 1/2 years. I rarely, if ever, have to deep clean now. Also helps keep the rims clean.

This is what I do. The bonus is that the pipes smell a lot better in storage!

 

[Sloopjohnbee]

Ozone and Chlorine Dioxide buds; ask for more informative breakdown