how to clean a bong

How to Clean Your Bong

Would you eat your dinner off a dirty plate? Would you drink from a stained glass? We’re hoping the answer to both questions is a resounding ‘NO’! Therefore, it always astonishes us when we hear that bong owners have no issues smoking from a filthy glass piece.

It doesn’t take long for a pristine bong to become a toxic dump, which not only hurts the quality of your smoke; it could also damage your health. If you want to get the best out of your bong, clean it regularly. This guide will show you how.

When Is It Time to Clean Your Bong?

“You know it’s time to clean your bong if a ring starts to form around the waterline of your bong or when you pour purified water into it and see some little floaters of weed, resin, or residue in there,” explains Reyna. Those particles, combined with bacteria and mildew, “is what results in that really specific bong smell,” adds Navarro.

Both experts suggest cleaning your bong or pipe once a week. “A lot of connoisseurs clean their bong every day,” says Reyna. “If you want to keep it clean and prevent things like this, just dump the water when you are done using your bong every single time and clean it anyway.”

Navarro adds: “While we clean bongs (hopefully listening to some good tunes or a podcast at the same time!), it’s important to reflect on all the sacrifices made by Black and Brown people in order to achieve legalization. The legalization that allows you to clean your bong free of worry!”

How to Clean a Bong, According to Experts

When it comes to the best ways to clean your bong, Reyna and Navarro maintain that you don’t need fancy solutions. The classic rubbing alcohol and salt mixture is still the best way to keep your piece looking brand-spankin’ new, they say. “Those are two things [are things that] people have in their homes already. Let’s keep our community inclusive by using accessible products,” suggests Navarro.

To clean your bong, first take out all removable pieces (like the mouthpiece and pipe). Pour 91% or 99% isopropyl alcohol into the bong and add some coarse salt, such as Epsom or rock salt, as an abrasive. Shake your piece for about five minutes, then rinse with water and soap. Vinegar and rice will also work, but Navarro and Reyna prefer the former method.

When Is It Time to Clean Your Bong?

“You know it’s time to clean your bong if a ring starts to form around the waterline of your bong or when you pour purified water into it and see some little floaters of weed, resin, or residue in there,” explains Reyna. Those particles, combined with bacteria and mildew, “is what results in that really specific bong smell,” adds Navarro.

Both experts suggest cleaning your bong or pipe once a week. “A lot of connoisseurs clean their bong every day,” says Reyna. “If you want to keep it clean and prevent things like this, just dump the water when you are done using your bong every single time and clean it anyway.”

Navarro adds: “While we clean bongs (hopefully listening to some good tunes or a podcast at the same time!), it’s important to reflect on all the sacrifices made by Black and Brown people in order to achieve legalization. The legalization that allows you to clean your bong free of worry!”

How to Clean a Bong, According to Experts

When it comes to the best ways to clean your bong, Reyna and Navarro maintain that you don’t need fancy solutions. The classic rubbing alcohol and salt mixture is still the best way to keep your piece looking brand-spankin’ new, they say. “Those are two things [are things that] people have in their homes already. Let’s keep our community inclusive by using accessible products,” suggests Navarro.

To clean your bong, first take out all removable pieces (like the mouthpiece and pipe). Pour 91% or 99% isopropyl alcohol into the bong and add some coarse salt, such as Epsom or rock salt, as an abrasive. Shake your piece for about five minutes, then rinse with water and soap. Vinegar and rice will also work, but Navarro and Reyna prefer the former method.

Why You Should Clean Your Bong Regularly

how to clean a bong

Taste

A big part of the marijuana experience is the taste of your favorite ganja going down.

You might not think smoke has a taste, but it does. Just like everything else you put in your mouth, molecules from decarboxylated weed interact with the taste buds on your tongue to produce all different kinds of flavors.

You might not experience a rush of taste like you do when you pop a Jolly Rancher in your mouth, but the flavor is still there nonetheless.

Thing is, when you don’t clean your bong, the resin, slime, filthy bong water, and every other source of uncleanness start to give off a flavor of their own. And that flavor is not good.

If you’ve ever accidentally eaten a bad tomato, that’s the taste you can expect to experience if you don’t clean your bong. It’ll make you want to wash your mouth out with soap.

The longer you avoid cleaning your bong, the worse it will get.

Smell

Smell is one of the first signs you’ll detect that indicates it’s time to clean your bong.

Whether it comes from buildup on the walls of your bong or the stagnant water in the bottom, it’s going to smell bad. And when we say bad, we mean swamp-water-and-ashes bad.

We don’t know about you, but we’ve never found swamps particularly good-smelling in the first place. We certainly wouldn’t want to bring one into our home.

That’s exactly what you’re doing when you don’t clean your bong: creating a festering swamp of stink that will permeate the walls, the carpet, the furniture, and even your clothes.

Avoid the foul odors by rinsing your bong regularly.

Bacteria

Bacteria is the big offender when it comes to reasons why you should clean your bong more often.

After only 22 hours, bacteria of all sorts begin growing inside a dirty bong. And it only gets worse over time.

If you don’t think that sounds so bad, in extreme situations — we’re talking severely dirty bongs — necrotizing pneumonia is a very real possibility.

Notice the word ‘necrotizing’? That means that some of your lung tissue dies. Ouch!

Don’t risk severe medical problems. Just clean your bong.

Difficulty

Another good reason to clean your bong more often is that it becomes more difficult over time. The longer you wait, the harder you’re going to have to scrub.

If you’ve ever had to break out the steel wool to get your dinner dishes clean, that’s what you’ll have to face the longer you delay cleaning your bong.

how to clean a bong

The thing about washing a bong is you can’t get your hand down in there to really scrub.

Not only will you have baked-on resin to contend with, but you also won’t be able to reach it with conventional tools.

That’s a recipe for cleaning disaster (and lots of colorful swear words).

But if you clean your ganja gear on a regular basis, it will be infinitely easier to remove the resin, grime, and filth that builds in your bong with every use.

Which would you rather do: spend several hours trying to clean your bong with harsh chemicals or rinse it with hot water for several seconds?

We’ll take the latter option every time.

How to Clean a Bong Without Alcohol

Alcohol is prevalent for bong cleaning. Therefore, we decided that it would be a great idea to show you how to clean a bong without rubbing alcohol first. Isopropyl alcohol is a perfectly safe household solvent to use. However, there are lots of users who prefer to learn how to clean a glass bong without alcohol instead.

It is a method that takes a little longer, but you’ll eventually get the job done. Firstly, boil enough water to cover the entire bong in a saucepan. Next, reduce the heat to simmer and submerge your bong in water for 30 minutes. It is a delicate process.

Too hot and the glass could crack if the water evaporates and leaves part of the piece exposed. Too cold, and the water won’t release any bubbles. Drain the water after half an hour and use pipe cleaners and paper towels.

Other Bong Cleaning Options

Another standard method of cleaning a glass bong without alcohol is to use lemon along with boiling water. Once again, boil water and add lemon juice to the bong. Many users recommend purified water. If this sounds like you, make sure you filter it first.

Pour the boiling water into the bong, shake thoroughly and wait for approximately five minutes. This process enables the acid from the lemon juice to help get rid of the gunk. Pour the solution out of the bong and rinse it with warm water.

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