I prefer how my pipes taste after rinsing, so I'm in the rinse-club. Hot water will take beeswax right off, and carnuba after a couple of rinses. I just keep a jar of paste wax and re-wax them as needed.
How Often do you Really Need to Clean your Pipe?
- Thread starter MrJohnnyBlack
- Start date
I prefer how my pipes taste after rinsing, so I'm in the rinse-club. Hot water will take beeswax right off, and carnuba after a couple of rinses. I just keep a jar of paste wax and re-wax them as needed.
Hey there, Warren.
Gonna ask one of my patented "dumb questions" that I should already know....
I've only cleaned with isopropyl alcohol but would like to try the Everclear. Do you just find that at liquor stores??
Yes, Everclear is usually available at any liquor store and some grocery stores that sell beer.
Isopropyl alcohol is available higher concentration than Everclear, but Everclear leaves a certain taste/smell behind for a couple minutes that I find less offensive than isopropyl. (This only matters because I typically smoke a pipe right after my alcohol cleans.)
It was just the wax. There was no color. No harm at all to the wood as can be seen in the photo, which now has a smooth "natural" finish. The other pipe was a busted and glued back together old rusticated Custom-Bilt that was also a good smoker turned sour. No harm to that one either. I have plenty of beeswax.
Being a major advocator for the hot water flush, may I point out that that would take care of residual taste/smell? Enjoy!
I smoke Peterson System pipes 95% of the time and besides cleaning the reservoir out with a pipe cleaner immediately after smoking I've never really needed to do much else. A cleaner through the stem every 5th smoke or so and that's it. As for my meerschaums I just keep the bowl relatively cake free, it's tarry but not cakey, if that makes sense, I blow through the stem into the bowl to move any moisture into the meerschaum itself as it'll absorb it and do it's thing, a cleaner through the stem only avoiding the shank as that's where the gooey color inducing goodness likes to hang out. 
Maybe, mayyyybe once a year or so I'll take some scotch or isopropyl to my system reservoir and draft hole.
And the cobs I have, pfffft, who cleans cobs
Maybe, mayyyybe once a year or so I'll take some scotch or isopropyl to my system reservoir and draft hole.
And the cobs I have, pfffft, who cleans cobs
It does make sense. I noticed that the cake in my beater $26 daily-smoker meer is a gooey tar. I've read all sorts of advice about meers, and yes, if it was a $260 meer I might be tempted to go with the white gloves treatment. I confess that I had formed the impression that if I subject my meer to hot water flushes and alcohol swabs that I would permanently damage it. Not anymore. That tar is going to get gone!
Yup. In Alaska anyway. I understand some localities have banned the "dull strength" stuff.
I smoke Peterson System pipes 95% of the time and besides cleaning the reservoir out with a pipe cleaner immediately after smoking I've never really needed to do much else. A cleaner through the stem every 5th smoke or so and that's it. As for my meerschaums I just keep the bowl relatively cake free, it's tarry but not cakey, if that makes sense, I blow through the stem into the bowl to move any moisture into the meerschaum itself as it'll absorb it and do it's thing, a cleaner through the stem only avoiding the shank as that's where the gooey color inducing goodness likes to hang out.
Maybe, mayyyybe once a year or so I'll take some scotch or isopropyl to my system reservoir and draft hole.
And the cobs I have, pfffft, who cleans cobs
I like you. I like you very much. Cheers mate!
How nice. But keep your personal likes and dislikes to yourself.I like you. I like you very much. Cheers mate!
Thanks Warren.
Just picked up a bottle. When I asked the attendant if they had any, he said "sure" and showed me. I told him I was getting some to clean pipes. As I checked out he asked a bit more and I said that I smoke pipes and this has been recommended. He said, "Oh.... I thought you meant pipes as in plumbing."
I told him at 190 proof.... it would probably clean those, too.
My answer is more ambiguous….. I clean my pipes WHEN it feels USEFUL to do so. In other words, if the pipe is performing to expectations, no cleaning is needed. If I notice something less than desired, I will take some level of corrective action.
We ain't allowed to like people?
I guess I'll try to quit liking you then... It's gonna be hard though, because we both wash our pipes.
Usually I do a deep clean after each bowl. Don’t really know why, it just seems to be a good thing to do. Sometimes I forget and to tell you the truth, it doesn’t seem to make any difference. The subsequent smokes seem just fine. So I am happy either way.
Most of the time I smoke a clay pipe, no idea how that factors in. Once one of my clays got a chunk of something stuck in it which I had difficulty removing. Water, alcohol, bristles, nothing worked. I had every intention of putting it in a charcoal fire in the BBQ to burn it out. But then finally a water rinse cleared away the schmutz. So it never did go into the BBQ. So there you go.
Most of the time I smoke a clay pipe, no idea how that factors in. Once one of my clays got a chunk of something stuck in it which I had difficulty removing. Water, alcohol, bristles, nothing worked. I had every intention of putting it in a charcoal fire in the BBQ to burn it out. But then finally a water rinse cleared away the schmutz. So it never did go into the BBQ. So there you go.
I clean with a wet pipe cleaner after every bowl. Run it through the stem and airway. Wet it again and swab the bowl then wipe out with a paper towel.
I haven’t done anything more than this with the pipe I smoke every day for the last 6 months. I just did a deep clean on said pipe with alcohol and didn’t really get much gunk out, so probably not even necessary.
I haven’t done anything more than this with the pipe I smoke every day for the last 6 months. I just did a deep clean on said pipe with alcohol and didn’t really get much gunk out, so probably not even necessary.
Oh, hell yeah; to almost any degree. And dislike, hate, foam at the mouth. Just saying to keep it to yourself.
You know you can't quit me! (Never saw the movie, but have seen some ads.) And I like your style, Sir. And most of the folks here. My list of dislikes is short.
/rant. It is annoying, though, when folks write wordy titles with no proper format. /rant.
I'm surprised this thread has been so civil with "water flushing" already mentioned.
There are two different pipe smokers. One camp believes that water should never touch a pipe. The other feels it's just fine.
In all truth, I think it's perfectly fine to flush a pipe with water.
But the thing is, when I first starting smoking briar, I dropped a pipe in a mug of coffee. It took me forever to bring back the shine. Since then, I never let water touch my pipes. I'm pretty sure I'm paranoid. It seems people flushing their pipe has no problem.
There are two different pipe smokers. One camp believes that water should never touch a pipe. The other feels it's just fine.
In all truth, I think it's perfectly fine to flush a pipe with water.
But the thing is, when I first starting smoking briar, I dropped a pipe in a mug of coffee. It took me forever to bring back the shine. Since then, I never let water touch my pipes. I'm pretty sure I'm paranoid. It seems people flushing their pipe has no problem.