Water Flush Cleaning Technique

[jpmcwjr]

As the chief promulgator of the hot water flush, I thank you for starting this thread. When I first wrote about it around 4 years ago, a couple of guys panicked, and sought to have this heretical view erased from the annals of pipes magazine. With retailers trying to sell alcohol based cleansers, they weren't adverse to spreading the "knowledge" that water and pipes don't mix. Death, in fact, according to some.

How?
I simply run tap water till it's as hot as it will get, and run it into the chamber and out the stem. Then I let dry. No pipe cleaner, no paper towel, unless the mortise needs extra care. I leave the stems fully in.

Over time, experiments have show up, such as Tim's- (ashdigger's) long soak, my dishwasher caper, and a bunch of anecdotes about dropping in swimming pools, in the lake or river.

 

[jpmcwjr]

See I don't ever wipe the inside of the bowl down but I'll run a pipe cleaner through the stem.

Not removing ash from the chamber will speed cake build up, which is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on your druthers regarding cake and cleaning.

 

[jerseysam]

That makes sense.

Still not doing it though. Too much of a ritual, life is too short.

Honestly, I think 80% of the battle is just being dilligent in cleaning not too long after a smoke. However you prefer....water, dry pipe cleaner, alcohol dabbed pipe cleaner, paper towel twist, ash tamp....if you are removing/absorbing the oil-condensation before it dries out you're winning the game. How you do it is more preference in outcome (including work/time spent).

The vast majority of the time I'm knocking out the ash, twist a paper towel through bowel, run one fluffy pipe cleaner through, and stick a second in to soak for a bit. When I grab a pipe I'll put two pipe cleaners in my pocket, or I smoke where I'll have quick access to my main 'pipe stuff' spot when finished. Sometimes I'll do the full wipe/polish/pipe-clean routing immediately when finished smoking....but if I'm enjoying a drink on the deck the only 'ritual I'm 100% on is getting two pipe cleaners through quick after finish (if a system or calabash/chamber I'll wipe that out). Polish/oil stem later.

Doing the above, over 100+ pipes, I've never had one go sour or produce anything beyond marginal build-up that a quick alcohol/bristle cleaner didn't set right in 5 minutes. I buy an estate or two every month just for a 'zen' activity (clean/restore) when I'm in the mood.....I've never had a pipe got anywhere near the condition I typically see (talking higher-end pipes that were 'cared' for to some degree).

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Honestly, I think 80% of the battle is just being dilligent in cleaning not too long after a smoke. However you prefer....water, dry pipe cleaner, alcohol dabbed pipe cleaner, paper towel twist, ash tamp....if you are removing/absorbing the oil-condensation before it dries out you're winning the game. How you do it is more preference in outcome (including work/time spent).

The vast majority of the time I'm knocking out the ash, twist a paper towel through bowel, run one fluffy pipe cleaner through, and stick a second in to soak for a bit. When I grab a pipe I'll put two pipe cleaners in my pocket, or I smoke where I'll have quick access to my main 'pipe stuff' spot when finished. Sometimes I'll do the full wipe/polish/pipe-clean routing immediately when finished smoking....but if I'm enjoying a drink on the deck the only 'ritual I'm 100% on is getting two pipe cleaners through quick after finish (if a system or calabash/chamber I'll wipe that out). Polish/oil stem later.

Doing the above, over 100+ pipes, I've never had one go sour or produce anything beyond marginal build-up that a quick alcohol/bristle cleaner didn't set right in 5 minutes. I buy an estate or two every month just for a 'zen' activity (clean/restore) when I'm in the mood.....I've never had a pipe got anywhere near the condition I typically see (talking higher-end pipes that were 'cared' for to some degree).

Not exactly true. The added step of flushing with water cleans the pipe much more thoroughly than simply running a pipe cleaner through. I do that as well before the water rinse. Just using a pipe cleaner is nowhere near as effective as adding the water rinse.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

That makes sense.

Still not doing it though. Too much of a ritual, life is too short.

It may seem to make sense but the reality is different.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I tried this on a beater pipe because I was sceptical. Despite good reviews of the approach it didn't ring my bell. Tightened the mortis/tenon/stem whatchamacallit, and dulled the pipe finish a bit. Maybe my water supply is hard or soft... maybe just the pipe I selected. I'll stick to high octane rum or whatever booze to clean the pipes carefully w/ bristle cleaners etc. It's worked for a long time and I'm not adventurous.

I do this on all my pipes whether smooth or blasted. I rub the pipe with a cloth to get rid of excess water. It may do the dinner slightly over time but an application of Decatur no buff wax occasionally takes care of that.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Four years? I've been doing this for 4 years? Wow, how time flies.

If other folks don't want to do it, fine. I think the first shock for me was how nasty smelling my pipes were from how I was doing it, just a pipe cleaner or two and re-rack it. The ones I rinsed smelled so fresh in comparison to when I would pick up one that hadn't been washed.

 

[didimauw]

Not removing ash from the chamber will speed cake build up, which is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on your druthers regarding cake and cleaning.

Yup, and with enough water pressure, I get a lot of crap out of the bowl and stem.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Yup, and with enough water pressure, I get a lot of crap out of the bowl and stem.

This. I turn the bowl slightly so the water running back up catches all sides. I can often detect an ash smell which tells me it is displacing it. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Rare need to deep clean or ream and the pipe smoke great.

 

[fightnhampster]

I've seen one post here for hot water. Do the rest of y'all use hot as well?

It sounds like it does not dull smooth pipe finishes?

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I've seen one post here for hot water. Do the rest of y'all use hot as well?

It sounds like it does not dull smooth pipe finishes?

I've used both. I think the hot water does a marginally better job cleaning but I had minor concerns about it affecting the stain, so I went back to cold. The hot water can be a bit painful as well when it splashes on the fingers holding the pipe. I really don't know if the hot water will affect the stain, probably not. I've had it very, very hot and seen no stain rub off on the napkin I used to dry the pipe.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

I do practice this flushing method now and then, though with brand new pipes I start doing this only after short breaking in period( so to say, when several bowlfuls have been smoked )

 

[BROBS]

I've used both. I think the hot water does a marginally better job cleaning but I had minor concerns about it affecting the stain, so I went back to cold. The hot water can be a bit painful as well when it splashes on the fingers holding the pipe. I really don't know if the hot water will affect the stain, probably not. I've had it very, very hot and seen no stain rub off on the napkin I used to dry the pipe.

Depends on the pipe. Do this to a Bari and you’ll turn a red or orange pipe to natural in a jiffy.
also will remove stain and wax from others.. especially hot water.
I’ll continue to avoid this method.

 

[sablebrush52]

After hearing John evangelize water cleaning for over a year, I decided to take the plunge. I'm glad I did. My own methods differ a little in that I always remove the stem if it's Vulcanite because warm water will raise the sulphur in the stem, graying it. Also, I like to get into the mortise to swab it out. Much evil lurks in a fouled mortise. But I'm fine with using water to clean acrylic stems as alcohol is not recommended for acrylic since it can cause micro fissures to form over time and repeated exposure, leading to a structural failure of the tenon.

Removing the stem has not caused me any fit problems, whatsoever. If the mortise feels a little tight, I'll wait an hour to reassemble, and that does the trick. Assuming the briar is of high quality and was properly cured before being shaped, it will be dimensionally quite stable, so will return to proper fit. Of course, I live in a dry climate, humid climates may present more of a challenge.

 

[sablebrush52]

Depends on the pipe. Do this to a Bari and you’ll turn a red or orange pipe to natural in a jiffy.
also will remove stain and wax from others.. especially hot water.
I’ll continue to avoid this method.

I don't douse the pipe in water. It's a trickle that just fills the bowl to the top without overflow and runs out the end of the shank. So far no damage to the finish of any of my pipes, including my big ol orange red Bjarne.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I've never had an issue with the finish on any of my pipes. If anything they all look as great as the day I bought them. And, I have some really nice pipes, not antiques or ancient relics... but nice.

Wax is an interesting thing. I'd be hard pressed just to just rinse the wax off of anything, even in scalding water. It may warm a bit, but then a simple hand buff with a soft rag brings it all up to a shine. But, even without a simple quick buff, I don't notice anything hazed or dull.

But, if someone is avoiding the process, by all means... These are just testimony, not evangelizing here.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Depends on the pipe. Do this to a Bari and you’ll turn a red or orange pipe to natural in a jiffy.
also will remove stain and wax from others.. especially hot water.
I’ll continue to avoid this method.

You should. I've used it on over 75 different pipes without having any issue. I'm not sure what a Bari is but if the stain on one washes off with cold water, I want to make sure not to purchase one. I know for fact that multiple rinses have not affected Moretti, Caminetto, Radice, Castello, Savinelli, Dunhill, Al Pascia, Cermak, Larrysson, Alden, Alexander Hasty, L'Anatra, Goussard, BST, Rad Davis, Ruthenberg, Skip Elliott, Jack Howell and others. YMMV

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I've never had an issue with the finish on any of my pipes. If anything they all look as great as the day I bought them. And, I have some really nice pipes, not antiques or ancient relics... but nice.

Wax is an interesting thing. I'd be hard pressed just to just rinse the wax off of anything, even in scalding water. It may warm a bit, but then a simple hand buff with a soft rag brings it all up to a shine. But, even without a simple quick buff, I don't notice anything hazed or dull.

But, if someone is avoiding the process, by all means... These are just testimony, not evangelizing here.

I share your experiences and views. If the wax isn't affected by an hour or more of heat from burning tobacco in the bowl, I don't see how running water is going to affect it, even hot running water.

 

[sablebrush52]

Hot water can affect microcrystalline waxes, like Halcyon or Paragon, but I just renew the wax and it's as good as new.

 

[briarbuck]

After receiving on of Hoosiers pipes yesterday, I can vogue for the cleanness of his pipes.

BTW Hoosier the Rad smokes as good as all my other Rads. It's a bigger bowl than it looks. Appreciate it.