4 Alternatives To Alcohol When Cleaning Your Pipe

So, to lend you a hand in this tricky situation and make sure your bong looks good as new, here are four alternatives to alcohol when cleaning your pipe:  

1. Grain Alcohol or Vodka  

One of the best bong cleaners is a grain alcohol, which is ethanol generated from other agricultural sources or grain such as vodka or beer. The liquid is colorless with no unpleasant odor.   

Soak your bong in a container with a mixture of table salt and grain alcohol before proceeding with your usual cleaning process. See to it that you give your pipe a thorough rinsing to get rid of non-alcoholic residues like sugar.   

2. Acetone   

Acetone is inexpensive, accessible in local stores, and does a terrific job of cleaning glass bongs or metal smoking gadgets.  

Here’s how you can clean your pipe with acetone:  

• Immerse your bong in a mixture of ¼ cup water and ½ cup of acetone to breakdown the dirt inside.  
• After several minutes, you can readily wash off the grime under running warm water. Check that you clean every spot, or else you’ll still have the taste and odor of acetone, which can be perilous to your health.     

Before cleaning your pipe with acetone, please ensure you have adequate ventilation. Although modest amounts of this substance will have no adverse effects on your health, it’s best to wear rubber gloves and a mask as safeguards. 

Instantaneously inhaling a substantial amount of acetone can lead to dizziness, nausea, headaches, and inflammation of the eyes, throat, nose, and lungs. Rinse your bong to remove all acetone remnants thoroughly to avoid absorbing any undesirable discharge emanating from the substance.  

3. Lemon Juice  

Apart from its great smell, lemon juice is generally acrid, making the ingredient an excellent pipe cleaner. You have to apply a small amount of heat while adding water to the concoction since producing a considerable volume is difficult.  

With lemon juice being a natural substance, you need not fret about leaving residues after cleaning your pipe. It can add lemon flavor to your smoke when you use it frequently. Follow these simple steps in cleaning your bong with lemon juice:  

• Simmer a mixture of ¼ cup of water and ½ cup of lemon juice. Once your solution is ready, soak your bong in the concoction.   
• Let your pipe soak in the mixture for roughly 20 minutes before washing it with cool tap water.   

4. Baking Soda with Vinegar  

Nowadays, isopropyl or rubbing alcohol may not be readily available on grocery shelves. However, do you want to know what people aren’t stockpiling on? It’s vinegar. As an alternative to alcohol, you can clean your pipes with standard vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Either of the two could dissolve the dirt inside your bong. Here’s how to do it:  

• Mix ¼ cup water, one tablespoon baking soda, and ½ cup of vinegar in a bowl or container.  
• Immerse your pipe for about five minutes, then thoroughly rinse to eliminate any bitter flavor or nasty smell.    

Combining the two substances will give you a concoction that’s ideal for cleaning pipes. What’s more, they are both natural ingredients you usually stock in your home. Adding baking soda softens your water, ensuring that there’ll be no stains left in your pipe. Vinegar, on the one hand, gets rid of any odor while eliminating residue quickly.  

The shortage of isopropyl or rubbing alcohol shouldn’t keep anyone from having a clean and straightforward piece of pipe. In case you can’t work with any of the substitutes mentioned above because of allergies, another alternative is table salt and the old reliable hot water. When opting for this cleaning method, don’t forget to protect your hands by using tongs, rubber gloves, or cooking mitts.    

Final Thoughts  

Please note that the options mentioned above are alternatives when you run out of rubbing alcohol. These substances effectively dissolve natural oils left inside pipes or bongs, allowing for smooth cleaning in no time.