How to Clean a Smoking Pipe?
- Thread starter rakeshkumar
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A pipe reamer and some pipe cleaners. If you are talking about extencive build up salt and some liquor will help. Be carefull thoughyou can ruin thr pipe if you get the alcohal on thr outside of the pipe, and can damage the bowl of you scrape to hard
Here's what I do after each smoke:
- Dump the remaining ash or dottle.
- Run a pipe cleaner thru the stem and shank, turn it around and run it thru again.
- Bent the pipe cleaner and swab out the bowl.
- Put some saliva on the rim and rub with a cloth.
- Wipe off the stem and then rub the stem with nose oil.
Cleaning pipe could be a process that really depends on your preferences mate.
here is what I always do and I recommend to do so,
1. dump the ash as ray said. I use 'pipe tool' to pick the remaining dottle.
2. you may need some nice pipe cleaner that is firm with good texture to ensure the iron wire won't damage your pipe. 100% cotton cleaner would be a good choice.
3. I would use a drop of Irish whiskey to clean my pipe after some types of tobacco smoked to maintain the sweetness of my pipe and the whiskey removes residual flavors of the tobacco somehow.
*do not use blended whiskey if you don't want to have a 'whiskey note' in your pipe
4. let the pipe dry itself in a cool dry place
* some of my friends even use water to clean the pipe. I am not aiming to start a debate on using water. BUT personally, I would not use water as it may make my pipe to be a bit wet and further smoking weird due to possible steam.
Cleaning pipe worth some different try conducted by yourself to figure out your beliked routine which may not need to be standard anyway.
here is what I always do and I recommend to do so,
1. dump the ash as ray said. I use 'pipe tool' to pick the remaining dottle.
2. you may need some nice pipe cleaner that is firm with good texture to ensure the iron wire won't damage your pipe. 100% cotton cleaner would be a good choice.
3. I would use a drop of Irish whiskey to clean my pipe after some types of tobacco smoked to maintain the sweetness of my pipe and the whiskey removes residual flavors of the tobacco somehow.
*do not use blended whiskey if you don't want to have a 'whiskey note' in your pipe
4. let the pipe dry itself in a cool dry place
* some of my friends even use water to clean the pipe. I am not aiming to start a debate on using water. BUT personally, I would not use water as it may make my pipe to be a bit wet and further smoking weird due to possible steam.
Cleaning pipe worth some different try conducted by yourself to figure out your beliked routine which may not need to be standard anyway.
in my practice Occasional flush with hot tap water does not do any harm,Nontheless it may be beneficial that the pipe is well broken in before attempting this
I simply wipe the chamber out with a twisted paper towel and clean the stem out with a pipe cleaner after every smoke, then run some hot water through them every 10 smokes or so, drying them thoroughly after doing so. I’ve never had to use a reamer on a pipe and never had to use a salt/alcohol (I’d recommend cotton balls instead of salt) treatment on any pipe that was new when I got it. Only estate pipes get the reaming and alcohol.
Very hot tap water flush every few smokes, air dry, and good to go. Sometimes a pipe cleaner is used, but not always.
Note: Flushing with hot water is less likely to add moisture than smoking. (!) Why? When you smoke, you're drawing hot air, smoke and H20 through the airway. Moisture at temperature and length of exposure is more likely to push moisture into the briar.
With a relative humidity in my house around 60%, I find an overnight drying is all that's need. Another note: I tend to have a fairly dry chamber after a smoke, as I dry my tobacco and smoke it down pretty far.
Note: Flushing with hot water is less likely to add moisture than smoking. (!) Why? When you smoke, you're drawing hot air, smoke and H20 through the airway. Moisture at temperature and length of exposure is more likely to push moisture into the briar.
With a relative humidity in my house around 60%, I find an overnight drying is all that's need. Another note: I tend to have a fairly dry chamber after a smoke, as I dry my tobacco and smoke it down pretty far.
Much like those above, I run a pipe cleaner through the stem after each (ok most) smoke, and I always wipe the bowl with a paper towel. Every couple of months I give my briars a hot water flush. Never had a foul tasting pipe, never had to ream, and never had to do salt and alcohol on a non-estate pipe.
i had never tried the hot water flush, but today i flushed a pipe that had had 15 smokes since I aquired it unsmoked.i was amazed at the colour of the water coming out the mortise.
Was this from the chamber or the draft hole?
I alway pass a cleaner through the stem/draft hole after each smoke
I then wiped it out with a paper towel and pipe cleaners in the stem and mortise.
It is now resting overnight and will be smoked tomorrow
Was this from the chamber or the draft hole?
I alway pass a cleaner through the stem/draft hole after each smoke
I then wiped it out with a paper towel and pipe cleaners in the stem and mortise.
It is now resting overnight and will be smoked tomorrow
Paul- Pretty sure it's gunk from the airway and esp. the mortise. Some perhaps out of the heel. I also like that it removes ash from the chamber walls, so it doesn't get in my mouth, nor does it build a soft cake.
I ran out of rubbing alcohol and tried a different approach with a sour tasting pipe:
I reamed away a thick cake to bare wood, cleaned everything with hot water, wiped it with paper towel and proceeded with pipe cleaners and rum. Not the white one, just "ordinary" rum which is used for baking. I let it sit for 4 days and man, the first smoke was soo tasty. Time will tell but maybe cleaning is more simple as one would think.
I reamed away a thick cake to bare wood, cleaned everything with hot water, wiped it with paper towel and proceeded with pipe cleaners and rum. Not the white one, just "ordinary" rum which is used for baking. I let it sit for 4 days and man, the first smoke was soo tasty. Time will tell but maybe cleaning is more simple as one would think.
could well be.I do swab the mortice after each smoke with the same pipe cleaner as the draft but hadnt gone in there with a cotton bud
I use the hot water method on all of my pipes, and we're not talkingfac tory pipes, but Beckers and custom made pipes. I've been doing it for a few years now, and my pipes all stay like new and smoke better than ever.
This might be obvious but it warrants being mentioned. When you are doing the hot water flush, remove the stem. Hot water will oxidize the stem and you don't want to create more work for yourself cleaning the stem.
I don’t remove the stem unless the mortise needs more attention. Hot water will bring out existing oxidation in some stems but is easily remedied by a bit of mineral oil.
I should clarify that I was giving the whole pipe a bath, not just running the water through the stummel. The whole damn stem oxidized and it wasn't showing anything before that. Lesson learned.
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