I Just Cleaned 24 Pipes in 20 Minutes!

[jpmcwjr]

My curiosity is peaked.

Do you rinse it with the stem on the pipe? YES

Do you dry it with the stem on the pipe? YES

Does anybody know if some stem materials are more susceptible to discoloration from hot water than others?

Vulcanite comes in various grades of resistance to oxidation. I have not experienced oxidation due to exposure to hot water, and in fact I often scrub it with a sponge and detergent. (liquid, such as Dawn). Then a very light coating of mineral oil, and the stem is a semi-gloss black. (Hi gloss would be buffed with Carnauba)

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Why do I always get a Jim Jones (Kool-Aid) vibe whenever the topic of water cleaning briars comes up?

Years of setting around the Briary having guys tell stories about their pipes, I always heard the ones that had the punchline... and then it fell into the river, or bathtub, or pool. I started asking the guys, "then what?" And, they'd look dumbfounded, "well, it was destroyed."

"How was it destroyed?"

"It got wet."

"What did getting your pipe wet do to it that was terrible?"

Then they'd just look at me with that, 'I-never-thought-the-story-through-to-this-point' look on their faces. But, I was curious, why would that kill a pipe? And, obviously for a very long time guys have thought this... mostly without ever giving it much thought.
It's a weird thing, this idea of water destroying pipes, when clearly it does no such thing. It's like when you tell a five year old that there is no Santa Clause. It is a long held belief that was never questioned at all.
So, yeh, it is a little cultish sounding.

 

[timt]

If anybody had tried to tell my 5 year old there was no Santa Claus, I would have knocked him on his ass.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Noted: I must be seated when telling Timt's 5-year old that there is no Santa... ha ha! just messin' w ya.

It's really the 7 year olds that throw the biggest fits, ha ha... I mean ho ho ho. ::

 

[workman]

Can someone please describe exactly what it is you do with this thing called water.

 

[donjgiles]

Wait.... there is no Santa????

 

[blackadderlxx]

 

[cortezattic]

I'm in the alcohol camp. Has anyone tried cleaning with water, and then after drying, go back over it with alcohol to see what the first wash failed to remove?

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I think you could reduce the time required by a fair margin if you used a dishwasher.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Cortez, Yes, you could keep cleaning with alcohol, because it is a more aggressive solvent. But, you don't use alcohol on them daily, and just running some water through it is a quick way to get a better clean and it is very quick. I still do a deep cleaning, but way less often.
...way quicker than using a dishwasher. I can wash all of my pipes in under an hour. My dishwasher takes at least two hours to run all of it's cycles. Plus, my dog would lick all of my pipes before I shut the door, and that might not be good for him. ::

 

[cortezattic]

For a long time now, I've been cleaning just the shank and stem (with alcohol), and that seems to be sufficient. The bowl merely gets reamed, and scraped with a dry wad of paper.

 

[mso489]

From the title, I was afraid you'd run them through the dishwasher. A quick job in any case.

 

[trouttimes]

In my house, water is made into ice which is used to chill scotch.

 

[saltedplug]

It's hard to believe that guys used to think water would destroy their pipes.

I tend to think that cleaning pipes with water is best left to those who also microwave their tobacco, perhaps because they both appeal to the same spirit. But as I get into trouble characterizing that spirit I will leave the wording up to you.
More importantly, I don't believe longitudinal studies have been done on these practices. The tobacco will have been smoked up, but one has to wonder if the water-cleaned pipe that seems fine today will deteriorate tomorrow.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

one has to wonder if the water-cleaned pipe that seems fine today will deteriorate tomorrow.

Ha ha ha!!! Yeh, in all of human history, we have no idea what the effects water will have on wood. It's just a brief rinsing, it blows my mind that... no it doesn't. :::sigh::: In every human advancement or innovation, there has always been that guy... "wheels are the Devil's invention." "flint knapping, probably causes cancer." "If you do get that thing up into the air, Wilber, you just might drag the clouds down upon us and kill everyone." ::

 

[jpmcwjr]

Hmmm. Briar finds water essential for its growth, even life.
The wonder is why some think alcohol is good for pipes. It isn't, though there will be those who think so, or just like to be oppositional. (No one here, of course)

 

[saltedplug]

Not simply oppositional, but oppositional to irritate you and that other guy. Actually I am giddy with success having thought, but not uttered, the customary epithet.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

It's his Zen nature to be the shadow to our light... or something along those lines... one hand clapping and all of that. ::

 

[bassbug]

I may be barking up the wrong tree here but I wonder...Why bother drying briar for years before carving a pipe out of it just to reintroduce the moisture when you wash it regularly?
For me it's just pipe cleaners through the stem and draft hole, wipe the interior of the bowl with paper towel and every once in a while, do the pipe cleaner soaked in whiskey. I have enough other things in my life to wash :wink:

 

[bryguysc]

Man! I was really hoping for a pic of a dishwasher when I opened this up! :D