The Dirty Fact About Pipes That Tempt Me to Quit

[brass]

I spent a couple of hours tonight deep cleaning my rotation, which I try to do monthly. I enjoy most rituals associated with pipe smoking but this chore is foul. The nicotine smell is lingering hours later even after vigorous washing with soap.
The dirty duty did give me a new standard for purchasing or keeping an old pipe. Going forward, I'm going to ask myself, "Do you like this pipe well enough to clean it monthly?" I looked at one in my rotation, and decided no, and stored it after cleaning, taking it out of rotation.

 

[woodsroad]

Wear nitril gloves.

 

[grouchydog]

I hear you - that's why I quit shooting revolvers; what a pain to clean thoroughly. Pipes aren't that bad to me, but it's not a fun task to deep clean them...

 

[sparrowhawk]

I have the same problem with cleaning pipes: shaintiques is always scolding me for not cleaning my pipes often enough, But it is one of the reasons I'm building a pipe cabinet with a drawer that contains all pipe cleaning needs.

 

[zekest]

After I finish a pipe, I run a pipe cleaner from button-to-bowl and leave it in until the next morning.
Before I leave for work in the morning, I carefully remove the the stem from the brier shank and remove the pipe cleaner so that the clean end passes through the button so not to befoul the stem. I run a paper towel or cloth patch around the bowl to clean out any remaining ungood byproducts. I cut the nasty part off the pipe cleaner, double the pipe cleaner over and use it to clean out the brier shank using a small nose pliers.
Carefully replace the stem onto the shank, blowing through the button to clear any residual fuzz an errant pipe cleaner might have left behind, and rest the pipe for the day (or more).
I alcohol clean a few times a year only, on a rainy day when there is nothing else or better to do.

 

[mso489]

It's an excuse for having a lot of pipes, so any one of them takes much longer to require a major overhaul;

or is that just yet another excuse for PAD? (Pipe Acquisition Disorder, for New Members) I actually enjoy

the ritual, but probably don't keep the airways as clean as some do.

 

[simnettpratt]

I'm weird too, and actually enjoy cleaning them, as part of the ritual. One of the main reasons I like flakes is you have to do extra stuff to smoke them. Enjoy washing my car as well. Wish I enjoyed cleaning the damn house.

 

[andrew]

Some estates I'll salt and alcohol if they're bad, usually I don't even bother though. I'll just soak a pipe cleaner in iso and run it through, let it dry, and smoke, I don't understand people who clean a pipe to the point where a pipe cleaner comes out clean. Maybe I'm not OCD enough to care.

 

[natenice1]

+1 simnettpratt myself enjoy cleaning the house too though OCD yes if someone in the house does it I have do it over! Serious OCD I know tried meds and they don't help! :crazy:

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

-andrew
Some estates I'll salt and alcohol if they're bad, usually I don't even bother though. I'll just soak a pipe cleaner in iso and run it through, let it dry, and smoke, I don't understand people who clean a pipe to the point where a pipe cleaner comes out clean. Maybe I'm not OCD enough to care.

Yup, I just try to make sure and get alcohol all over the stem and shank, plus a few strokes with a dry cleaner, and it should keep from going foul.
Of course, I don't smoke the same pipe more than twice a month (especially now that I have cobs), so it might take a few years before I run into problems.

 

[spud]

I agree with Andrew, as long you don't get a drink of pipe juice, it's O.K.

 

[jimbo69]

You can get a cheap sonic cleaner (usually used for jewelry) on one of the major online sellers. I toss in my stems from time to time. Other than that, pipe cleaners and reamers when appropriate are all mine really need.
My grandfather just banged his, stem as a handle to a hammer into his ashtray and reloaded

 

[mrenglish]

Mine get cleaned after every smoke or two. Once smoked it goes onto a pipe rack and weekly I run denatured alcohol through them. Usually 14-16 pipes a week get cleaned. I do not separate the stem, just run the soaked cleaners through until they come out clean. Then every 5-6 months I give them a good scrubbing with a shank brush.

 

[condorlover1]

That is the problem with vintage meerschaum addiction otherwise known as ('VMA') in that you cannot use alcohol anywhere near one of these pipes. I use a very fine pipe cleaner that Shaintiques gets for me, I have a key ring of different lengths of wire made up for me by 'Woodsroad' for unblocking stems and air holes and the rest is down to me regularly reaming the pipe every three months when the cake exceeds 1/8 of an inch. Never had a problem with a pipe yet in terms of flavor etc although I do wonder how much of that is down to the meerschaum.

 

[halfy]

My pipes are being cleaned every 3-5 smokes. Pretty easy job. Maybe that's why I was constantly possessed by PAD ...

 

[andystewart]

I run both ends of a pipe-cleaner through the pipe and wipe the button, rim and bowl after every smoke. The pipes go in a box as I feel they need a clean. Then they get the alcohol/pipe-cleaner/shank-brush/stem and bowl polish treatment and a few days to recover. I apply some Paragon or Halcyon II wax if required, so that there's a shine and some protection. There are enough pipes to keep me going while some rest, so all good.
Andy

 

[allan]

Thanks mike for that lesson in good hygiene
I'm not a clean freak, by any means-just ask my wife
If I smoke the same pipe in the same day more than twice, I'm usually very sorry. The pipe gets saturated with moisture and needs a good resting period in between smokes
That leads me to the cleaning. I can't say i enjoy doing it, even though it doesn't take very long with everclear, shank brush and cleaners. I just find that the more pipes I acquire, the more I smoke them, and then therefore I have more of them to clean!
Still, I am always happy afterwards because the pipes are fresh tasting and always worth the effort

 

[thesmokingtexan]

I run a pipe cleaner through the pipe and stem a couple times and then fold the pipe cleaner into a large radius loop and run that around the bowl after each smoke and then let it rest. That seems to be good enough. Never had to do a deep clean.

 

[shutterbugg]

^1! Exactly my routine for 40 years. Never even take them apart.

 

[johnscs]

I share Brass's dislike for the offputting odors produced by cleaning up a pipe. It's not enough to deter me from continuing my love for pipes or pipe smoking, though. I think my pattern is like that of a lot of pipe guys: After each smoke, I clean my pipe w/a pipe cleaner, wipe out the bowl to clear it of moisture, and polish up the stem. That routine seems to make it fairly unnecessary to give any of my pipes a more thorough cleaning. Maybe I'm fairly easy on my pipes, but the regular maintenance seems to keep my pipes fresh enough. Whether they're sitting in my pipe rack or in a coat pocket, my pipes generally don't produce much of a scent at all - definitely not a bad one.