How Often do you Really Need to Clean your Pipe?

[MrJohnnyBlack]

Title edited for capitals. Please follow Rule 9.

Greetings Gents!

I am here to ask you just how often do you really think a briar or a corn cob pipe needs to be cleaned?

I would like the following analogy to be applied. For example, my dentist says I should have a cleaning every 6 months. I have had my very first cleaning in 7 years and that very said dentist said my teeth are very clean and that I don’t need a cleaning. 12 diplomas on the wall in the clinic graduated from Columbia University with top honors. Yes, I do floss and electric Phillips toothbrush have cleaned my teeth but let’s get to pipes, okay?

I have a single briar pipe right now a $200 Vauen. I smoke a bowl evey 4 or 6 days every week. My next pipes will be 2 X briar high end Petersons and 3 Missouri corn cobs.

How often do you really clean your pipes and please do get into detail on the cleaning process such as what tools you use to clean your pipes, etc.

Let us pass the knowledge from elder pipe user to the younger generation as I want humanity to enjoy a good tobacco for generations to come.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I disassemble mine immediately after each smoke. Run a pipe cleaner through the stem and airway, clean out the mortise with a Q-tip, wipe the chamber out with a paper towel, then reassemble. I often smoke the same pipe multiple times per day for weeks at a time before switching to another.

 

[OzPiper]

There is cleaning, and DEEP cleaning.

I clean my pipes after each and every smoke.
1-3 pipe cleaners through the stem and shank, until they come out looking clean.
Then doubled over to scrub out the chamber.
I use a micro fibre cloth or jeweller’s cloth to buff the stummel and silver before storing the pipe.

I deep clean only if there is appreciable buildup of cake. Or if there is an “off” taste.
I’d start with a simple water rinse followed by pipe cleaners and a kitchen paper towel twisted in the bowl.

If that is not sufficient to get rid of the taste or smell, I’d ream out the bowl - leaving a thin (1mm) layer of cake
Then scrubbing brushes with liquid soap in the shank.
Followed by a cotton-ball and alcohol soak of the bowl + alcohol-dipped cleaners in the shank for 24 hrs. And repeated if necessary.

I’ve found that with regular cleaning after each smoke, deep cleaning is RARELY necessary.

PS. I have a large rotation of pipes, so each pipe only sees a handful of smokes per year. They get a lengthy rest in-between smokes.
You may have to deep clean your pipes regularly if you smoke the same pipe multiple times per day/week/month. Or if you are a wet smoker.

 

[paulfg]

There is cleaning, and DEEP cleaning.

I clean my pipes after each and every smoke.
1-3 pipe cleaners through the stem and shank, until they come out looking clean.
Then doubled over to scrub out the chamber.
I use a micro fibre cloth or jeweller’s cloth to buff the stummel and silver before storing the pipe.

I deep clean only if there is appreciable buildup of cake. Or if there is an “off” taste.
I’d start with a simple water rinse followed by pipe cleaners and a kitchen paper towel twisted in the bowl.

If that is not sufficient to get rid of the taste or smell, I’d ream out the bowl - leaving a thin (1mm) layer of cake
Then scrubbing brushes with liquid soap in the shank.
Followed by a cotton-ball and alcohol soak of the bowl + alcohol-dipped cleaners in the shank for 24 hrs. And repeated if necessary.

I’ve found that with regular cleaning after each smoke, deep cleaning is RARELY necessary.

PS. I have a large rotation of pipes, so each pipe only sees a handful of smokes per year. They get a lengthy rest in-between smokes.
You may have to deep clean your pipes regularly if you smoke the same pipe multiple times per day/week/month. Or if you are a wet smoker.

exactly this.
I do the pipe cleaner after each bowl full and a deeper clean (clean with alcohol/pipe cleaners not alcohol soak) about every six months.
A full soak is usually only used for estate purchases or a pipe I am about to sell

 

[BingBong]

As little as I can get away with. Yes, I'm a slob.

 

[Sigmund]

A clean pipe simply tastes better. If you are just after a nic hit no worries. If you want the most out of every smoke keep it clean. I run a cleaner though every time and wipe out the bowl. I deep clean sporatically but not often. If you keep it clean its less work later. If you only have a one pipe its even more important since it gets limited dry time between smokes.

If you are using a filter in your vauen your stem will stay very clean. I suggest removing the filter after the pipe cools so the pipe can dry. The filter will be wet. You can use a filter 2-3 times. 2 is better but only reuse them once they have completely dried. I have noticed with darker blends 3 times use is too many. The filter imparts a touch of bitterness at that point.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I do a water rinse after a couple of smokes. If you do the water rinse you'll rarely have to do any major cleaning.

 

[Hutch Piper]

I run a pipe cleaner through after every smoke. I also swab the bowl out with a pipe cleaner folded in half. The next day, after the pipe has cooled, I run Everclear through the pipe and stem until it comes out clean. I do believe a clean pipe smokes better.

 

[jerry]

A clean pipe is a happy pipe! That’s my philosophy.

 

[captpat]

As a general practice, I suspect most pipe smokers do some level of cleaning after every bowl. Over the years we've seen many examples of used estate pipes that looked new and then those that never were subjected to a pipe cleaner, so much cake that only minuscule amounts of tobacco could be accommodated. In the end, the individual smoker needs to decide when cleaning is "really" necessary, as well as how in-depth it needs to be.

 

[PaulRVA]

Pipe cleaners down the stem until clean then folded over and used to swab out the bowl.
Cloth to any silver and around the rim and finished.
If it’s a pipe that gets build up in the mortise it gets a q-tip swab out
And a damp paper towel twisted and swabbed out as well.
The bowl gets a damp paper towel
Or a quick scrape with a tool if needed.

 

[samb]

Pretty much same as above for me. Pipe cleaner in the stem and bowl after every smoke and I haven’t had a pipe long enough to think I need a deep cleaning.

 

[InWithBothFeet]

Lazy slug here. I rarely clean. I have the same pack of pipe cleaners that I bought in March when I started this and I can't tell there's any missing from the pack.

 

[Sigmund]

Lazy slug here. I rarely clean. I have the same pack of pipe cleaners that I bought in March when I started this and I can't tell there's any missing from the pack.

Yuk!

Does everything you smoke taste like tar?

 

[Chasing Embers]

Yuk!

Does everything you smoke taste like tar?

I ran 100 smokes through a new meerschaum not to long ago with zero cleaning as a coloring experiment. Didn't affect the flavor at all.

 

[Sigmund]

Not even the stem? I can sure taste when its dirty. To each his own.

 

[thomasw]

I do a water rinse after a couple of smokes. If you do the water rinse you'll rarely have to do any major cleaning.

Interested to learn this method. I have read of this years ago by @sablebrush52 and the moderator @j*** . What's the procedure and water temperature you use?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

The more you more you keep your pipes clean, the less you have to clean them.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Almost direct opposite of chasing embers: I seldom remove the stem-–only for that occasional deep cleaning or I suspect the mortise is foul— and sometimes a pipe gets smoked multiple times before any cleaning at all.

When it's time to clean, I usually have a few dozen pipes that can use refreshing. So, after removing dottle or ash, I run very hot tap water into the bowl and out the stem. Then a paper towel in the chamber, pipe cleaner for the stem, Q-tip for mortise.

However, I've become less fastidious over the last few years, and sometimes don't even bother with pipe cleaner or paper towel; they dry on their own and are smokable in a few hours. No problems. But not recommended!

 

[InWithBothFeet]

Yuk!

Does everything you smoke taste like tar?

Dunno, I've never eaten any tar. All my pipes are filter pipes though and I never smoke a filter more than once. They're cheap.