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For the past couple of years I have been cleaning my pipes after each smoke by running hot water through the chamber and out the shank. I also run water through the stem. After swabbing out the airway with a pipe cleaner and the chamber with a paper towel, I let the stummel and stem dry separately overnight before reconnecting them.
Recently I've noticed it's a little harder to reinsert the tenon into the mortise after water-flushing. I have no idea whether this is due to slight swelling of the mortise or a figment of my imagination. Most of my pipes are made from a solid block of briar so I'm not really that worried about a little more resistance reinserting the stem. But some of my pipes have bamboo shanks, birch or bone ferrules or other ornamentation that I presume must be attached by some sort of adhesive. I worry that the increased torque required to reinsert the stem into shanks made of bamboo or with extensions—plus the effect of hot water on the adhesive—will eventually loosen those joints.
So far I've had no evidence this is a problem but I'd be interested to know what other water-flushers have thoughts about this.
Recently I've noticed it's a little harder to reinsert the tenon into the mortise after water-flushing. I have no idea whether this is due to slight swelling of the mortise or a figment of my imagination. Most of my pipes are made from a solid block of briar so I'm not really that worried about a little more resistance reinserting the stem. But some of my pipes have bamboo shanks, birch or bone ferrules or other ornamentation that I presume must be attached by some sort of adhesive. I worry that the increased torque required to reinsert the stem into shanks made of bamboo or with extensions—plus the effect of hot water on the adhesive—will eventually loosen those joints.
So far I've had no evidence this is a problem but I'd be interested to know what other water-flushers have thoughts about this.