It’s unavoidable. After a certain number of times, your bong will either need replacing or cleaning out. But, how do you go about cleaning your bong? And, what are the signs that you need to clean it in the first place?
Below we take a look at when, why, and how your bong needs to be cleaned.
When To Clean Your Bong
There are some tell tale signs that your bong is ready for a cleaning.
Glass Slime
The biggest red flag is slime inside the glass. If you see your glass is collecting sludge and slime, it’s time to clean it out.
Brown Water
If your water turns brown or becomes discolored in any way, that’s another sign.
Bad Smell
Any unusual, bad odor is a clear indicator that your bong needs refreshing.
Floaters
Floaters are things like bits of resin, or other small, undefined particles. If you notice these types of things floating around in your water, get out the cleaning supplies.
Specks
Specks can sometimes gather on the glass or the pipe. These can be black or white, maybe brown. Regardless of color, you shouldn’t use your bong if you notice these.
Fuzz
Fuzz can be fuzz, or it can be mold. Regardless, clean it up. You don’t want to be inhaling any of this type of dirt as it can cause health problems.
Why You Need To Clean Your Bong
Illness
Avoiding getting sick is a good reason to clean your bong. If you leave things like sludge, mold, or dirty water in your bong, you are opening yourself up for sickness.
It could be an infection, or it could be breathing issues, it could even lead to something more serious. Being sick is not the purpose of using a bong, so to avoid this, you’ve got to clean it properly and thoroughly.
Smooth Hits
A clean bong will give the smoother hits. There’s no running away from that fact. And, isn’t that the aim of the process? You will feel the benefit in the smoothness of the hit that you get. Only if you clean your bong first.
Better High
It’s pretty much guaranteed that a clean bong gives you a better high. Your bong won’t function in the same way if it’s all clogged up and dirty. Fact. So, you won’t get the same high, just in the same way that your hits won’t be as smooth. Double fact.
How To Clean Your Bong
Now we’ve explored the reasons why, let’s get into the how. Bear in mind that whichever route you go down, you will have to take your bong to pieces and know how to put it back together again. If you don’t clean all the parts, there’s not much point in cleaning the bong at all.
This is because dirt can build up in any single part of the bong mechanism. You will also need to do at least a bit of scrubbing and shining, aka physical work, to get a good clean. So alongside any of the following products, you will also need a clean and durable cloth, sponge, or similar.
Rubbing Alcohol and Salt Method
This is one of the most common methods for efficient bong cleaning.
You will need rubbing alcohol, such as isopropyl alcohol, and some salt. It doesn’t really matter that much what kind of rubbing alcohol you source. There are so many out there.
The thing to look for is the alcohol content. Anything lower than 91% isn’t going to do a great job. Preferably, look for a rubbing alcohol product that is at least 99%.
The salt needs to be unscented and in its purest form. Unless you want your hits to forever taste like eucalyptus.
All that needs to happen is that you pour some rubbing alcohol into the bong. Don’t forget to remove the removable pieces.
Add in some salt. The salt needs to be thick and rough. Regular table salt won’t cut it.
Next, shake up your bong until everything is moving inside it. This shaking needs to happen for around five minutes.
Empty the bong, rinse it thoroughly. Shine as appropriate.
And, you’re done!
Boiled Water Method
You could try the age old boiled water method. This method is really straightforward. All you have to do is disassemble your bong.
Then, when you have all the parts, soak them in boiled water in turn. After they have soaked, rinse them out in boiled water as well.
This is a sanitary cleaning method, but it doesn’t always yield the best results. Some of the tougher slime and grime might stay put without the assistance of a strong cleaning product such as rubbing alcohol.
Specialist Cleaners
There are some specialist cleaners that claim efficient dirt removal. Some work, some don’t. If you’re going to try the professional cleaning product route, do your research first.
These are things like cleaning solutions and pipe cleaners. They’re not as good for the environment as regular old rubbing alcohol, solutions or even boiled water. But, they do a good job at cleaning your bong.
We recommend theFormula 420 cleaning solution. It’s tried and tested and gets good cleaning results.
Conclusion
Cleaning your bong doesn’t have to be hard work.
As you’ve now seen, there are easy and accessible options that work for everyone.
Even if you just use boiled water to rinse out your bong parts, you are still cleaning it. It might not be as deep of a clean as rubbing alcohol or a specialist cleaner can provide. But, it is completely sanitary and will get a good amount of dirt and grime off the bong.
If you want a smooth, clean, great high experience, then you have to clean your bong. To avoid unnecessary build up of grim and dangerous substances inside the parts, it’s recommended that you just clean it after every few times that you use it.
My name is David Lumis and I am a self-proclaimed smoker. Five years ago, after I had been made redundant from my job as an engineer, my anxiety hit an all time peak. I have always struggled with it since I was a teenager, but that life event sent me into overdrive.
My story is exactly why I want to educate more people about cannabis and show them that it isn’t a dirty drug, but a form of medicine. If you are struggling, I urge you to read through this site to see how cannabis can help you.
