Moldy pipe

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kippstakes

Lurker
Jul 31, 2014
7
0
One of my pipes went missing from the collection a few months ago. Finally turned up yesterday behind a table on the porch. There is a substantial layer of white mold growing in the bowl, and I'm sure it doesn't taste great to say the least.

I love this old pipe and would like to restore it if possible.

Any suggestions?
Thanks!

 

phil67

Lifer
Dec 14, 2013
2,052
7
If it's a briar I would go with a Kosher salt and alcohol treatment, or as some prefer now, cotton and alcohol (I personalty prefer the salt). Shouldn't prove to be much of a problem at all.

 

torque

Can't Leave
May 21, 2013
444
2
Dry the pipe well before you start cleaning it. Mold only requires a few things to grow and moisture is the main ingredient. Deprive it of moisture and it will die. Once it's dead then phil's suggestion is the route I would take to clean out the dormant spores (which can reactivate if not removed). I would use salt in this case to get that little bit of extra disinfection that salt offers. I would hit it multiple times, not just once, but that's me. I tend toward erring on the side of WAY OVERBOARD, lol.

 

phil67

Lifer
Dec 14, 2013
2,052
7
Let us now how it works out.

The last time I did one I let it sit with 151 proof alcohol and salt for three full days, and then let it air out for a good week or more after I removed it. It smelled absolutely fresh and still smokes like a champ. :wink:

 

philobeddoe

Lifer
Oct 31, 2011
7,405
11,579
East Indiana
Personally, I could never smoke the pipe again and would simply clean it out and keep it as a shelf ornament. But if you really want to smoke it again, then I would follow the advice of the other members, but add one more step after several salt and alcohol treatments. I would then send the pipe out to have an ozone treatment to kill whatever might be left, you cannot be too careful.

 

torque

Can't Leave
May 21, 2013
444
2
Ozone treatment isn't a bad idea. My biggest concern wouldn't be the bowl (that gets set on fire regularly) but the shank. I would definitely shank brush the crap out of the pipe before using it. As said before, you can dry the pipe really well and kill the mold/fungus but some of the spores will go dormant so need to get them out of there and the shank is the hardest part to get completely clean.

 

skapunk1

Can't Leave
Feb 20, 2013
495
1
Load it up and fire away.... maybe you'll ride the snake till the end of time... Jim Morrison style....hahahaha.
Seriously though.... everclear the hell out of that bowl....

 

zekest

Lifer
Apr 1, 2013
1,136
9
I would definitely shank brush the crap out of the pipe before using it.
Great idea!
If you don't have a shank brush handy, two, three, or even four bristle pipe cleaners married up and dipped in everclear and worked back-and-forth whilst being gripped with a pliers from your garage toolbox will also do the trick.

 

kippstakes

Lurker
Jul 31, 2014
7
0
Okay! Update. After two cycles of 'the professor's rx' and quite a bit of stem cleaning, I gave her a test run today and all seems to be well. There was a musty note during maybe the first 1/4 of the bowl, but that washed out into a nice, sweet smoke. Pretty happy with the results, wasn't sure about her prognosis.

I'll give it another go tomorrow, but it seems okay.

 

phil67

Lifer
Dec 14, 2013
2,052
7
Well, if by chance there were any residual more spores I'm sure they are gone by now after smoking it. As previously mentioned, giving the shank a good vigorous cleaning is a good thing as cleaning the bowl is relatively easy. Hope the resurrected pipe gives you many good smokes in the years ahead. Stick around as this is a great site, but if we never hear from you again we'll then know that something went dramatically wrong! :lol:

 

kippstakes

Lurker
Jul 31, 2014
7
0
I think she's back to her tasty self again.

I'm sure you'll be hearing from me again, one way or another.

Thanks

 
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