Pipe Cleaning Questions

[Andriko]

Hi all,

At the moment I am alternating 2 pipes, smoking one bowl a day, and am trying to be more conscientious about cleaning them, but have some questions;

Generally, I lightly scrape out the bowl afterwards with a pipe tool and a pipe brush (those resuable ones with bristles) before giving a few goes over with a pipe cleaner. However, there is usually quite a bit of black soot that comes out, particularly from the bottom of the bowl, and especially by the draw hole. How much do I need to worry about cleaning this? I am not scrapping super hard with the pipe tool, but alot of particles seem to come loose - am I getting rid of the carbon cake by mistake, or is this all stuff that will sour the taste? I have noticed that lately the end of the bowl can be a little bitter.

For a deeper clean, I went over the pipes with q-tips and vodka. Cleaning the bowl this way produces a very black q-tip. Once again, am I just removing the carbon cake before it's time (there isn't much of a carbon cake right now anyway, I am a long way off from needing a reemer!). How extensive does this deeper' clean really need to be - I saw a Muttonchop video, and he seemed to hardly do anything!

Finally, at what point do I need to worry about salt baths and such?

I am asking because I've noticed the last few days that some of the taste seems to have flattened out, and I am not sure if this is lack of cleaning or not (it could be that the weather suddenly got colder, or my tastebuds have gotten 'used' to it all).

Thanks for the help!

A

 

[paulfg]

you dont need to deep clean that often and I only use salt alcohol on a new to me estate pipe.
people have different routines.
I only clean with vodka about every 20 bowls others do it more often,as for the chamber I prefer a little cake and just wipe the bowl with the pipe cleaner after each smoke and run a cleaner through the stem

 

[saintpeter]

you dont need to deep clean that often and I only use salt alcohol on a new to me estate pipe.
people have different routines.
I only clean with vodka about every 20 bowls others do it more often,as for the chamber I prefer a little cake and just wipe the bowl with the pipe cleaner after each smoke and run a cleaner through the stem

What he said.

 

[Andriko]

Thanks guys. Perhaps I've been over doing it a bit!

 

[Grangerous]

Water. Just flush the pipe under warm running water. A tight twist of paper towel and a pipe cleaner to dry the shank and stem. It’ll smoke clean and taste fine right away. Yes, right away. Using this method there is no cake to hold moisture that will need to “rest” until it’s dry. Load another bowl and enjoy if you like. You’re not hurting a cleaned briar. Using this method you’ll not build up cake. Fresh, clean pipes smoke just fine. If you get into the habit of doing this then deep cleanings become unnecessary.

Conversely, others like to build cake and like the flavors associated with it. Personally, I find dirty pipes ashy and rancid and I prefer them clean.

 

[Andriko]

Water. Just flush the pipe under warm running water. A tight twist of paper towel and a pipe cleaner to dry the shank and stem. It’ll smoke clean and taste fine right away. Yes, right away. Using this method there is no cake to hold moisture that will need to “rest” until it’s dry. Load another bowl and enjoy if you like. You’re not hurting a cleaned briar. Using this method you’ll not build up cake. Fresh, clean pipes smoke just fine. If you get into the habit of doing this then deep cleanings become unnecessary.

Conversely, others like to build cake and like the flavors associated with it. Personally, I find dirty pipes ashy and rancid and I prefer them clean.

That seems too easy! There I am prepared to be all fastidious and get an industrial pipe cleaner for everytime I use the pipe, and all I need is a tap!

I will give it a go, though I am curious about the carbon cake, as I haven't really had time to develop one yet to see what it's like.

 

[anotherbob]

Thanks guys. Perhaps I've been over doing it a bit!

yes a bit. Heck if you don't clean your pipe nothing horrible happens they just start tasting bad.

 

[Andriko]

yes a bit. Heck if you don't clean your pipe nothing horrible happens they just start tasting bad.

Yes, it's true. Just trying to find the balance.

 

[Olkofri]

Careful with water. Some pipes' finishes don't take kindly to it.

You still need a shank brush, and you need to run that through the draught hole periodically. Not after every smoke, mind, but every 5 smokes or so would be wise. It depends on how soggy the blends you smoke are: more moisture seems to leave behind more soot.

Also, clean the pipe right after you finish smoking it (yes, DO allow it to cool for half an hour or so before taking it apart): you need to remove all that soot whilst it's still moist. Once it dries and cakes in in there it'll be more difficult and will require more effort.

And yes, DO take the pipe apart to clean it. Don't just run cleaners and brushes down the channel. There's a lot of tar and gunk that builds up in the mortise and tenon joint during smoke and you need to clean that too.

 

[anotherbob]

Yes, it's true. Just trying to find the balance.

my point is mainly you don't have to worry about if you're cleaning it enough. If you're not you'll notice and it's easy to correct

 

[wayneteipen]

The pipe cleaning ritual isn't entirely necessary at all unless there's an issue. I rarely clean my pipes. Heck, they're lucky to get a pipe cleaner run through them. If you smoke them dry and make sure they rest to dry between smokes, they won't go rancid. Remove cake if it builds up more than a few millimeters. If you enjoy the ritual, go for it. To each their own. For me though, I have better ways to spend my time.