(Genuine) Questions for the Water Flushers

[Grangerous]

Hey, happy to post in a thread of yours!

I'm not going to be a wanker but what I will say will trigger some people for sure, so they may become!

My approach is to clean with paper towels and pipe cleaners after every smoke, and often leave to rest for the night. Water flushing comes once per month or so.

1) What I do is remove stems - vulcanite (a material I hate) will oxidise to hell and back - then flush with as hot as the water in my house will get (it is set to 70C). I leave the pipe aside and do the same with other pipes I will clean. Then return to it, add water to the chamber and scrub with an old toothbrush, as hot water is running through the chamber. Following that I will take my pipe knife - sensitive readers look away now - and proceed to ream the chamber of all cake, down to bare wood. Then do one more round with the toothbrush to remove any residual sludge and the pipes get put for drying. Bent or straight pipe makes no difference.

2) My experience is that when doing the above, after drying the pipes smell like unburnt tobacco of the genre used in them, the Latakia pipes smell just like the tobacco in the tin, the VaPer pipes smell somewhat sweet and woody. I do it because I find that the first couple of bowls on bare wood are pure bliss, super clean tastes.

3) I don't believe in hard thin or any kind of carbon layers, in fact it gives me great satisfaction to seeing it all flushed down the drain after reaming the chamber :D

“do it because I find that the first couple of bowls on bare wood are pure bliss, super clean tastes.”

I absolutely agree, a clean pipe just tastes better. Pure, fresh tobacco flavor, untainted by stale build up.

 

[Grangerous]

I didn’t like a cake even just a year ago. Now I do. I actually enjoy a thicker cake. When I can’t jam my ring finger in the hole I trim it back.

Chuck,
What changed this for you? I’ve always wanted to know why so many old timers allowed a very thick cake. I’m intrigued. It has to be a flavor preference for some.

 

[sandollars]

Feel free to redefine a term. The explanation actually negates any possibility of it being passive aggressive as it openly clarifies a possible misunderstanding. I did miss the ask where these types of posts were discouraged. For that I apologize. I will bow out as I have no direct helpful knowledge for this post.

BOTH OF YOU! GO TO YOUR ROOMS!!!!

 

[sablebrush52]

When I water rinse I first remove the stem. I'm going to clean out the mortise so there's no point to keeping the stem attached.

I clean out the pipe with pipe cleaners and a wad or two of paper toweling for the bowl before I start the water rinse.

Then I set the stream of warm water at a trickle, such that it fills the chamber without overflowing while the water drains from the end of the shank. I'll let the water run for anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute. I again clean out the chamber with wadding, which removes a lot of soft cake, and thoroughly scrub out the shank and mortise.

Then I set the stummel aside to dry

Acrylic stems are washed in warm water with pipe cleaners that have been dipped in unscented dishwasher gel, and scrub out the airway and slot. Then I thoroughly rinse the stem.

Vulcanite stems are cleaned with alcohol.

If I'm aiming to spiff up the vulcanite I'll give them a polish with Simichrome and finish with Paragon wax.

After a few minutes (for the most part) I reassemble the pipe and it's good to go.

Latakia ghosts are almost impossible to remove, but I have successfully done so by adding a boiling alcohol flush (or two) to the line up of cleaning techniques.

So far, no problems of any kind with using water to clean out my pipes.

 

[telescopes]

Feel free to redefine a term. The explanation actually negates any possibility of it being passive aggressive as it openly clarifies a possible misunderstanding. I did miss the ask where these types of posts were discouraged. For that I apologize. I will bow out as I have no direct helpful knowledge for this post.

No worries. I step in all sorts of situations myself. For me, it comes with age.

 

[telescopes]

Chuck,
What changed this for you? I’ve always wanted to know why so many old timers allowed a very thick cake. I’m intrigued. It has to be a flavor preference for some.

For me, I find it creates a cooler bowl when I smoke.

 

[JOHN72]

I have doubts, as tap water contains a lot chlorine and calcareous waters, in my city. I mean, I could create bad flavors and ghost smoke?

 

[captainsousie]

I have doubts, as tap water contains a lot chlorine and calcareous waters, in my city. I mean, I could create bad flavors and ghost smoke?

Actually, chlorine and chloramines both evaporate fairly quickly leaving little to no aroma after a relatively short time. They can interact negatively with vulcanite to some extent.

 

[Rockyrepose]

I keep it fairly simple, It takes just a couple of minutes.

After each smoke I just rinse with water that isn't scalding hot for maybe 10-20 seconds warm enough to break up debris. Dry the exterior and then spiral a paper towel down into the base of the bowl. I blow any moisture out of the stem and run a second towel down which usually comes out clean. That's it. I've not tried to remove ghosting with this method but I love how clean they smoke the next time around. I don't remove the stem every time, maybe every 6 to 10 smokes.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I don't have any full bent pipes but if I did, I'd likely remove the stem before flushing. The water flush with a wipe down helps create a thin and very hard layer of cake. You'll still have to ram occasionally but may 1/4 as often. I don't think water flushing would prevent a ghost from a Lakeland or very strong aromatic but it may diminish it some.

 

[jerseysam]

I don't think water flushing would prevent a ghost from a Lakeland or very strong aromatic but it may diminish it some.

I'll second Hoosier here; I complete the pipe-shame triple crown of being an aromatic/Lakeland smoker, a Latakia smoker, and a full convert to the ?water flush ?. I have not found water flushing to be a curative for the presently ghosted.....it more reduces the pace and scale of gettin' ghosted. And even then....that's when you flush before all the tar/oil/wet dottle dries or absorbs.

I don't remove the stem on anything I can pass a cleaner on. I take off the stem when I can't, most times. I find that if I flush relatively soon to a smoke wrapping up.....the mortise stays pretty clean without extra deep cleaning. More leisurely timing on water flushing still does a nice job reducing oder/off tastes.....but you do have to get after the mortise on a break-down clean more often. Everybody's mileage may vary....just my experience.

 

[Ahi Ka]

Chur Chur everyone for their responses. I got what I came for ??

 

[mikebjrtx]

Be sure you get all the water out. Especially if you have system pipe.

 

[crashthegrey]

Man, I've been a bit inactive of late, but this thread feels like home again.

 

[Country Bladesmith]

I rinse mine out with hot tap water right after smoking, while the tar is still soft from being warm. Like @hoosierpipeguy said, it’ll still form a really thin, dense layer of buildup over time, but you won’t have ash and shit trapped in it. I’d say it’s similar to the effect of dry paper towel reaming, but better, more effective.
Keeps ghosting to a minimum. I find that I can smoke pretty much anything that isn’t Latakia or aromatic in my briar pipes without any ghosting or carryover as long as I rinse the chamber out well after each smoke. Aros and Lat get smoked in my meer or dedicated pipes.

 

[Casual]

I think we should crowdfund an autoclave for our resident pipe scientist @mikethompson to perform some tests.

A sanitized pipe is a fresh pipe.

 

[Country Bladesmith]

I think we should crowdfund an autoclave for our resident pipe scientist @mikethompson to perform some tests.

A sanitized pipe is a fresh pipe.

A pressure cooker would suffice as a makeshift autoclave. You’d have to rig up something to hold the pipe above the water.

 

[Casual]

A pressure cooker would suffice as a makeshift autoclave. You’d have to rig up something to hold the pipe above the water.

Add a few Brussels sprouts and I’m in.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

I’ve got a pipe I’m not to fond of that I’m going to clean with water just to see if it makes any improvement.

 

[telescopes]

Water flushing improves the smoke. Salt and alcohol overnight restores the smoke.