A "deep clean" for me usually involves Everclear and a reamer... kinda like Confession. ?
What Is Your Standard For Deep Cleaning A Tobacco Pipe?
- Thread starter sablebrush52
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Hey, no politics or ... religion, LOL. This isn't the seminary, folks.
Nor any butt jokes, apparently, but I understand it is tough for some people to be the butt of a joke.
Pipe smokers aren’t as cerebral and jovial as our Tolkien brothers would think us.
To that, I will quote the eternal optimist and confirmed bard of bottoms; Leonard Cohen, whose music is usually on to set the mood whilst I perform a deep clean of my beautiful, skilled, expertly drilled... briar.
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
Judging by what I've read so far I'm verging on becoming a ''slob''. My idea of a deep cleaning is dipping a pipe cleaner in whisky or rum and running it through once in a blue moon.
I do my best to keep the inside of the bowl free of too much cake and the rim as clean as possible. Normal pipe cleaner use happens no more than once a week and even then it's only on the pipes that have seen daily use. Some pipes don't see a pipe cleaner for weeks or even months.
I do my best to keep the inside of the bowl free of too much cake and the rim as clean as possible. Normal pipe cleaner use happens no more than once a week and even then it's only on the pipes that have seen daily use. Some pipes don't see a pipe cleaner for weeks or even months.
A ream with paper towel followed by water flush. Dry with pipe cleaners. Polish stem with jeweler's cloth. Every 10 smokes or so, I take the pipe apart and clean the shank with alcohol and the stem with unscented soap.
It takes little time to perform this ritual and I find it beneficial for the performance of my pipes.
It takes little time to perform this ritual and I find it beneficial for the performance of my pipes.
Old standard ....Everclear/kosher salt x 24 hours Don't forget to seal off the stem
Just leave the stem in if you do a long soak.
I haven't had to use salt nor Everclear for over five years. That was the standard then; this is now.
I haven't had to use salt nor Everclear for over five years. That was the standard then; this is now.
alcohol swabs pipe cleaners and a reamer. Ream the cake down to a good place. Swab the pipe till the swabs and pipe cleaners come out totally clean. Both soaked in something 80 proof or higher.
Learning a lot in this thread. Will have to give a few of these methods a try to see which one works best for me.
Don’t understand using soap even if unscented. You only do that on the stems? Or, are you using soap on the briar and in the chamber?
Don’t understand using soap even if unscented. You only do that on the stems? Or, are you using soap on the briar and in the chamber?
I use pipe cleaners dipped in Jameson (for Petersons) Grappa (for Savinelliis) Bourbon or American Brandy (for USA mades) Ouzo(for Greek pipes) Brandy (for French pipes) Blended Scotch (for Comoys, Hardcastles, et al...) Gluhwein or Schnapps (for the Germans) and VO or Crown(for Calichs)
I don't know how clean it gets my pipes, but it's good excuse to keep a well stocked liquor cabinet.
I don't know how clean it gets my pipes, but it's good excuse to keep a well stocked liquor cabinet.
Every 6 months or so…
1. I’ll lightly ream the bowl down to a very think casing.
2 . I’ll run pipe cleaners (bristled if necessary) soaked in Everclear through the shank, mortise, stem until there is no darkness on the cleaners.
3. Finally, I’ll rub the pipes down with a Terri cloth or shammy cloth.
My cobs don’t get this type of treatment as I love the flavor of a good ole rank cob.
️
1. I’ll lightly ream the bowl down to a very think casing.
2 . I’ll run pipe cleaners (bristled if necessary) soaked in Everclear through the shank, mortise, stem until there is no darkness on the cleaners.
3. Finally, I’ll rub the pipes down with a Terri cloth or shammy cloth.
My cobs don’t get this type of treatment as I love the flavor of a good ole rank cob.
️
I will use a fragrance free dishwashing gel for cleaning the interior of an acrylic stem. Other than that I use alcohol to clean vulcanite, and warm water or alcohol to clean the chamber and the shank airway.
I was under the impression that the salt and high proof alcohol was the best for getting funky smell or taste out of the bowl and shank?
That's for ghosting in the pipe, and when the simpler and milder treatments don't work.
If the funk is caused by a build up of gunk from your own tobacco, ghosting won't be an issue. Smell and taste are, and pipes are often much cleaner and sweeter after a hot water flush,
Still blows my mind that people put water in their pipe ?
Deep clean is a light ream, a pipecleaner with some liquor through the draft hole. Stem cleaner through the stem. A buffing wheel for overly oxidized stems.
Depending on the state of the cake I may thinly coat the inside of the bowl in honey before the next smoke.
Deep clean is a light ream, a pipecleaner with some liquor through the draft hole. Stem cleaner through the stem. A buffing wheel for overly oxidized stems.
Depending on the state of the cake I may thinly coat the inside of the bowl in honey before the next smoke.
I am still a newbie, but this seems to work: after each smoke I wipe out the bowl with whiskey and a paper towel, use a pipe cleaner with a little whiskey from the button to the bowl, and then wipe dry with a paper towel. I do this with both clays and briars. Seems to work well, and the pipes have a pleasant smell between smokes. ?