What Is Your Standard For Deep Cleaning A Tobacco Pipe?

[sablebrush52]

Some of us take very good care of our pipes, keeping them scrupulously clean after use. Some of us are a bit more hit and miss in this department. Some of us are complete slobs.

So when some of you decide to "deep clean" a pipe what does that involve? What's your standard for "job done"?

 

[didimauw]

Warm water flush and a pipe cleaner through the stem. I'm lazy.

 

[smokiespipesmoker123]

Pipe cleaner through the stem, damp paper towel in the chamber and clean the shmutz off the rim

 

[Chasing Embers]

Disassembled and cleaned with Q-tips, pipe cleaners, and moonshine after each smoke. Stem and stummel wiped down with a jeweler's cloth after reassembly.

 

[Grangerous]

Water rinse. Pipe cleaners. Tight twist of paper towel. After two maybe three smokes maximum.
Clean, fresh pipes taste best.

 

[warren]

Standards? Now I'm expected to have standards?

When it's clean inside and out. Not to bare wood though. I like a bit of a cake. I never polish or go for the "glow." Nor do I mind a bit discoloring on the ebonite.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Deep clean usually will include a light reaming. Pipe Cleaner soaked in Ever lead and run through stem until it comes out completely clean. Same for shank. Judiciously using the water flush method reduces the need for deep cleaning by at least a factor of 4 or 5.

 

[STP]

Deep clean usually will include a light reaming. Pipe Cleaner soaked in Ever lead and run through stem until it comes out completely clean. Same for shank. Judiciously using the water flush method reduces the need for deep cleaning by at least a factor of 4 or 5.

^^^ This… and I was reluctant to use the water flush method, but I’m sold. New avatar ?

 

[captainsousie]

There is no safe answer in this thread.

 

[ray47]

I'm supposed to clean the pipe? WOW, learn something new everyday .

 

[unadoptedlamp]

Same standard for cleaning just about anything else I put in my mouth.

Warm water, lots of soap suds, and a thorough cleaning. Anything less is just sloppy, in my opinion.

I would never give my dishes or my wife's ass a cursory rub with moonshine and call it a job well done, but that's just me. I've got standards.

However, I'm not surprised at a lot of the cleaning "standards" put forth in the forums.

In a place predominately made up of dudes -who are notorious for being close to sub-human in respects to general cleanliness if you ask the opinion of the other 50% of the population- I fully expect the answer to be along the lines of "splash a little booze on it and call it good!"

Funny stuff... but sadly, entirely predictable.

Now, everyone, let's recite the possum lodge men's prayer by Red Green.

I am a man.

I can change.

If I have to.

I guess.

 

[bullet08]

Taking it to Turkish bath? Short of that, I just clean it after each smoke by disassembling and scrubbing the heck out of all surfaces tobacco and smoke touches.

 

[Chasing Embers]

but sadly, entirely predictable.

Much like your reply.

 

[F4RM3R]

I run some pipe cleaners after every smoke. So my regular pipes don’t need a deep clean often. When I do clean though it’s rum/bourbon and pipe cleaners

 

[daveinlax]

I don't deep clean my pipes that often but when I do take them apart I use the cheap 97% alcohol and a brush on the stem and shank, a alcohol soaked Q-Tip in the mortise and a little vodka carefully applied to the the rim with a Q-Tip if needed. I clean up the chamber with sand paper if the cake is thick and finish up with Flitz Polish on vulcanite stems and Renaissance Wax over the whole pipe. I buff the rusticated and blasts with a boars hair brush or a chamois on the smooth pipes.
I always have a red/pink Dunhill Polishing Cloth, pipe cleaners and a paper towel for the chamber at hand for everyday use.

 

[DanWil84]

I hardly have an idea when a pipe needs a deep clean, tobacco never tasted funny when I processed it properly. After every bowl I put a cleaner through the stem untill it's clean, fold a pipe cleaner and wipe the bowl.

 

[kcghost]

I rarely deep clean a pipe. Usually just a pipe cleaner run the from button to bowl and that's it.

 

[OzPiper]

After each smoke, a couple of pipe cleaners in the airway then doubled up to scrub the bowl, followed by a scrunched up damp/wet paper towel in the bowl.

I deep clean all estate pipes received these days. I also did a few of my original pipes (bought in the '70's) recently.

Chambers reamed if necessary, leaving a minimal cake (<1mm). Then hot water flush, followed by a cotton ball + clear peach brandy soak for at least 24 hrs. Repeated if necessary.

The shank and stem is then cleaned with alcohol-soaked cleaners and q-tips. If the shank is really dirty, it's reamed with a set of jeweller's screwdrivers, then scrubbed out with shank brushes, hot water and soap. I like to see clean wood in the shank. Then alcohol-soaked cleaners left in for24 hrs

 

[paulfg]

pipe cleaner after each bowl and maybe once a week a rub with a polishing cloth and as I have several pipes in my rotation an alcohol pipe cleaner and q tip clean maybe twice a year.

salt/alcohol soak is reserved for new to me estate pipes

 

[karam]

Water flush, scrubbing chamber with old toothbrush, reaming while still wet about every 10 smokes, works out to about once a month per pipe.