How To Clean a Bong in 5 Easy Steps

how to clean a bongHow to clean a bong

What sucks more than a dirty bong? Cleaning a dirty bong. Like rolling a good joint or cornering a bowl learning how to clean a bong is a stoner essential. Why? Well if you don’t learn how to clean a bong properly you’ll either break a lot of ‘em, toss a lot of dirty bongs in the trash or just get used to the taste of weed and dirty bong water.

it seems like a resin-covered bong is more prone to breakage than a clean one when dropped on the garage floor. True story. Anyhow you should learn how to clean a bong because you might be cool and have a ton of expensive water pipes and bongs, oil rigs, bubblers whatever—but when they’re caked in resin and filled with thick, sludgy super gross bong nobody is impressed. Is that a reason to turn down a bong hit? No. What’s wrong with you? Don’t ever turn down a bong hit, dude.

Wait what were we talking about? Clean bong good. Dirty bong bad. Oh yeah. That’s right—how to clean a bong. Here’s how we’ll break this shit down. We’ll first give you what we think is the best way to clean a bong—because it’s quick, simple, always works and is cost-effective—we’ll even break it down for you step-by-step. Then we’ll clue you in on a few ways to keep your bong clean and toss in a few pro tips along the way. Ya ready?

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how to clean a glass pipeHow to clean a bong QUICK AND EASY

You’re in a hurry. You don’t have time to bust out the scrubbers and sponges and shit. It’s cool, we’ve all been there. Here’s all you’ve gotta do.

How to clean a bong quickly

  1. Empty and rinse bong
  2. Add coarse salt + alcohol solution
  3. Cover openings
  4. Shake
  5. Empty and rinse

That’s it, dude, you’re done. Pretty simple. Your bong is probably cleaner than it was before you started. But it’s not pristine shiny clean. Still though this method works for glass bongs, water pipes, oil rigs, bubblers basically whatever’s caked with resin that you want to quick-clean. Just make sure to rinse it really well once you’re done. There’s no need to smoke through any lingering alcohol vapors, ya know?

Anyhow, cleaning a bong thoroughly isn’t difficult. It’s just time-consuming. So if you really want to deep clean your pipes and bongs so they’re looking as good as new just follow our five step “how to clean a bong thoroughly” process below.

How to clean a bong THOROUGHLY

If you’re looking for the best way to clean a bong this is it, man. It’s not only the best way to clean a bong it’s also probably the cheapest and well, most time-consuming. To get a really clean bong you basically need three things—coarse salt, an alcohol solution and some time. This is not only the most popular way to clean a bong it’s also the most effective. Here’s what you’ll need for cleaning a bong thoroughly (if you don’t have everything on the list below—improvise, dude):

  • A deep sink or bathtub with warm running water
  • Alcohol—you could use 70 percent or 91 percent isopropyl alcohol depending on resin density. If you’ve got a really dirty bong you could even use 100% Acetone/nail polish remover. Avoid the bong cleaner you find at the head shop. Alcohol works better at cleaning a bong than that bong cleaner stuff and it’s a lot cheaper too.
  • Salt—you could use Epsom salt, Coarse sea salt, or even rock salt
  • Wooden skewers
  • Plastic wrap and rubber bands
  • Q-tips
  • Paper or cloth towels

How to clean your bong thoroughly in 5 Steps

  1. Empty the dirty bong water and fill your bong with the warmest water you can stand. Warm water helps loosing the resin. Cold water will help it stick. Cap all the openings and shake or use that wooden skewer or Q-tips to remove as much resin as possible.
  2. Pour in the alcohol solution. At this point you have two choices—you could soak your bong or continue cleaning it. Soaking takes time, but involves a lot less work. If you’ve got a clean back-up bong or two, soaking your dirty bong overnight is a great option. In fact if you’ve got something like a honeycomb bong or one with lots of fancy perk and shit, soaking is highly recommended. However if you soak the bong or not the next step is the same.
  3. Pour in salt and cover any openings using plastic wrap and rubber bands. This will keep your bong or pipe sealed and prevent any leaks or spillage. You could use your hands or towels and stuff.
  4. Now shake. And keep shaking. The salt will act as a light abrasive and scrub the tough spots along the inside of the glass.
  5. Empty the dirty solution and rinse using the warmest water you can stand. You might need that skewer or Q-tip to get at any remaining bits. Knock ’em free and use more warm water to rinse everything out. Actually make sure to rinse your bong really well with water—you don’t want to leave any traces of alcohol. Now you’re bong should be ready to get dirty again.

say goodbye to dirty bong waterDon’t use bong water in your water bong

Wha? Don’t use water in your water bong? It’s true, man. What if we told you that our buds sent over this bong water replacement that prevents resin from building up in your bong, bubbler or oil rig—even after thirty-nine hits? It’s called Piece Water and it’s all you need to keep your piece pristine.

It’s made from a blend of all-natural mineral, vegetable and fruit extracts. They prevent resin from forming on your glass water pipes and bongs and unlike that free bong cleaner you get at the local head shop after buying a bong—it’s non-toxic. It’s also flavorless, odorless and a bit thicker than water so it helps with filtration. When we tested some it worked really well. We keep a bottle in the fridge on hand for times when we need a frosty bong hit. Which is hourly.

Speaking of frosty bong hits, we’ve got a PRO TIP for ya, man—use refreezable ice cubes instead of regular ice in your bong. That way you don’t have to worry about any bong water displace issues as the ice melts. Dirty bong water issues are never good. Plus it takes time to find the perfect water to air ratio in a bong. You don’t want to fuck that shit up—especially if the end result is a mouthful of dirty bong water. Just make sure to use refreezable ice cubes that won’t get stuck in your bong.

hits from the bong5 tips to keeping your bong clean

What stoner doesn’t love that new bong smell? Well you can extend that aroma with a few simple strategies:

1. Change bong water regularly

You know who likes dirty bong water? Nobody, dude. So why not just pour that shit out each time you’re done getting stoned? Maybe just do it every other time, or once a day? No? How about weekly? Think about it, man, the dirtier the bong water the uglier the stain on the carpet. Just sayin’.

2. Store your bong empty

If you start with a clean bong this strategy makes sense. Sesh with your clean bong then rinse it out and store it without any water in it. You won’t have to worry about spilling nasty bong water on the couch plus you’ll keep your water pipes looking cleaner longer.

3. Use lemon juice

Add a few drops of fresh lemon juice to your bong water. Similarly to how that Piece Water stuff (above) works, the active enzymes in the lemon juice will break down and prevent resin from building-up on the inside of your glass bong. It also reduces that dirty bong water smell. PRO TIP—you’re not making lemonade, dude. So don’t overdo it. And don’t let that shit sit in your bong for hella days. It’s going to eventually grow some bacteria, man.

4. Use Ash Catchers

External attachments like ash catchers are great. The ash, debris and resin from each bowl you smoke gets caught in the ash catcher instead of going directly into your bong. This helps keep your bong cleaner longer and cuts back on having bits of weed floating around in your bong while ya use it. Ash catchers are typically easy to clean too—well a lot easier to clean than a fancy bong with a ton of perks all caked in resin.

5. Don’t use soda, juice, chocolate milk, etc

Some stoners have tried substituting bong water for soda, juice and shit like Gatorade or Powerade. You know what happens? They get a funky-tasting bong hit and then continued funky-tasting bong hits far into the future—even after they’ve poured that shit out. The corn syrup, sugars, dyes and acids not only taste terrible when you smoke through ’em they get sticky, make a huge mess and linger in your bong. So don’t try it, dude.

Have any helpful tips or tricks on how to clean a bong or how to keep one clean? Let us know in the comments below…



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