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how to clean a weed pipe
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How to Clean a Weed Pipe

Sep 08, 2024

As legal cannabis continues to gain mainstream popularity, more people are visiting their local dispensaries and head shops to explore a variety of cannabis products and smoking accessories. However, many of these newcomers might not be aware of the best practices for keeping their pipes clean after a great smoke session. Fortunately, DART offers solutions that not only help extend the life of your stash but also keep your weed pipe cleaner and your smoking experience more hygienic. 

DART’s one-hitter pipes are a simple yet highly effective choice for cannabis flower enthusiasts who want to enjoy their stash for longer. However, like any smoking device, even a DART one-hitter will eventually need a thorough cleaning. When that time comes, we’ve created this comprehensive guide to help you not only clean your DART one-hitter but also provide tips on how to clean any pipe, bowl, or bong to keep your sessions smooth and enjoyable.

The first step is to pick up a DART cleaning kit, not only because it's perfect for making sure your DART one-hitter pipe is clean and functional for as long as possible but because that kit is perfect for cleaning glass, ceramic, and other types of pipes as well! Just think of DART as your one-stop guide for all things top-notch cannabis pipes and pipe cleaning kits, no matter if you're a seasoned cannabis aficionado or a legal industry newbie.  

So, without further ado, let's break down why smoking out a dirty pipe isn't a risk worth taking, what you'll need to properly clean any pipe your smoking from, and providing a step-by-step guide for how to get your pipe squeaky clean before your next smoke session!   

Is it bad to smoke out of a dirty pipe?

Dirty Weed Pipe

While it might not seem like a big deal to most, smoking cannabis out of a dirty pipe can ruin the taste of the cannabis flower you're smoking, can ruin even the most fun smoke session, and have some serious long-term, negative health effects. 

In fact, smoking out of a dirty pipe can be just as risky as smoking out of a dirty bong or dab rig, with that caked on resin buildup and gunk clogging things up and harboring potentially harmful bacterial and germs. Dirty pipes produce harsh, foul-tasting, stinky smoke that's more likely to land you in the ER with a nasty bacterial lung infection. In super gross cases, uncleaned bongs and pipes have even been moldy. Simply put, there's some incredibly dangerous substances just hanging out in and on your pipe unless you clean it properly.  

In fact, one published paper from 2020 found more than 110 know toxins on just the exterior surface of an uncleaned cannabis pipe, with the potential of even more when the pipe is reheated via the process of smoking. 

Simply put, not cleaning your pipe is a risk that's not worth taking. One way to avoid those risks is to use the DART Plus pipes. Available in a variety of colors, super easy to assemble, travel with, and clean, and containing an innovative spring-loaded ash ejection system for the easiest and simplest clean-up after a smoke session, a DART pipe is a great alternative to your standard glass pieces, bowls, and water pipes/bongs from both a stash conservation and cleanliness perspective.    

You're better off just gathering up the ingredients and equipment you will need to properly wash and clean that pipe, going through the process of cleaning off the buildup and gunk, and smoking some a smooth, clean pipe. Not only will it lead to a better overall smoking experience, but it will lead to a healthier one as well! 

How to Clean a Dirty Pipe

Now that we've broken down exactly how important cleaning a pipe can be, lets go into detail about the different ways you can clean your pipe, what you'll need to do it properly, and how to do it step-by-step. 

So without further delay, let's get right into it! 

What You Will Need to Clean Your Pipe

To clean your weed pipes or bong properly, regardless of which method you'll use, you will need a few basic ingredients and tools. Here's a general list of the things you should get and keep on hand for cleaning your pipes:

  • A top-notch DART cleaning kit, perfect for scrubbing and cleaning any of your smoking devices as clean as a whistle in no-time.
  • a sealable plastic bag like a ziploc bag or an otherwise reusable 
  • a metal scraping tool, like a paper clip or the stainless steel poker you'll get in a DART cleaning kit for example, for getting caked on gunk, grime, and resin off
  • 99 percent rubbing alcohol/isopropyl alcohol/vinegar/another store-bought pipe-specific cleaning solutions
  • Table salt/sea salt/epsom salt/coarse salt/kosher salt or baking soda
  • Something soft to clean with like paper towel, q-tips, cotton swabs, or the wire brushes in the DART cleaning kit
  • some clean, filtered room temperature, warm water, or hot water

Once you have collected up those common household items or taken a trip to the local drug or grocery store to pick some up, you're now ready to actually get down to the simple, yet incredibly important business of getting your pipe squeaky clean with a super-handy step-by-step guide! 

Best Way to Clean a Pipe or Bong

There are four main ways to clean pretty much any cannabis pipe you're looking to clean whether it's a regular old glass pipe, even the most intricate and ornate glass pieces, standard glass bong water pipes, and even fancy ceramic pipes and mouthpieces. No matter what type of dirty glass you're dealing with, these methods we're about to deep-dive into will for sure get it clean! 

Isopropyl Alcohol and Salt

Perhaps the most well-known and often used method for deep cleaning your glass smoking devices, this one is a stoner classic. All you'll need is some salt, - any variety table salt/sea salt/epsom salt/coarse salt/kosher salt will all do - some 99 percent isopropyl rubbing alcohol, and a sealable tupperware or ziploc bag. 

Simply put the isopropyl alcohol into the sealable bag or container, add about 2 tsp of the salt into the mix, then add the pipe so that it's submerged. Seal up that bag or container, let it sit overnight, then come and find it next morning. 

After soaking it for the night, give that container a shake, then remove the glass cannabis or tobacco pipe from the liquid, rinse it off, clean it off with a soft cleaning tool like a q-tip, cotton swab, or one of the two wire brushes that come standard in the DART cleaning kit to remove resin or any other dirt, grime, and gunk that got pried loose by the salt and alcohol mix from the inside of your pipe. 

Vinegar and Baking Soda

Just like with the previously mentioned salt and alcohol mixture, this next one on the list is an old school stoner classic cleaning process. It's as simple as it is effective! 

All you'll need to do is submerge the DART one-hitter pipe, bong, or glass piece in vinegar in ziploc bag or tupperware container, adding a dash of baking soda. The mixture will fizz up and you'll leave the pipe in the bag to soak for about three hours. 

After those three hours, pull the pipe from the mixture, clean off the inside with one of the two pipe cleaner-style wire brushes present in the standard DART cleaning kit. That scrubbing should be enough to get any caked on resin and debris off the walls of the pipe, giving you a cleaner and safer smoking experience. 

Boiling Water

If you're dealing with a pipe, bong, or bowl that's in need of some hardcore cleaning, possibly one that's never been cleaned before, it's time to go for the nuclear option. Just be prepared to plug your nose, open the windows, and spend some time outside instead of being cooped up in the house. 

Perhaps the simplest cleaning option on this list, you just need to get a pot of hot water to a rolling boil on the stove, the drop the bowl, pipe, or smoking device into the water. Make sure to keep a lid on the pot, because this method is very, VERY stinky if you're not careful. You'll still get some stink that leaks out even with the lid on, but keeping the lid on for the 30 minutes the pipe is boiling will go a long way suppressing that stink.

While it's true that this method isn't the most efficient way to remove resin without scrubbing at it with pipe cleaners, q-tips, or cotton swabs with an extra cleaning solution for a top-notch deep cleaning process and extra clean pipe. 

We really only suggest this option if you have no other supplies on the list other than some dish soap and lemon juice as a cleaning solution and the DART cleaning kit for some wire brush scrubbing when and where it's needed.  

Weed Bowl Cleaning FAQ

Figuring out the best way to clean your glass or ceramic pipes can be tough, especially when you're primarily used to just using dry herb vaporizers and disposable, concentrate-filled vapes from the dispensary. 

So with that in mind, let's get some quick-fire questions that you might have about the cleaning process that you might have, especially if you're used to self-cleaning and efficient smoking experiences like the DART one-hitter pipes usually provide.   

How to clean a glass pipe without rubbing alcohol? 

You don't need isopropyl rubbing alcohol to get your pipe, bong, or smoking device squeaky clean. You can use vinegar and baking soda, a separate cleaning solution purchased online, from the local head shop, or dispensary, or just tossing that dirty pipe into a pot of boiling water and giving it a good scrub down after it cools down. 

Needless to say, you have quite a few options when it comes to getting your pipe as fresh and clean as possible ahead of your next smoke session.   

Fastest Way to Clean a Glass Pipe?

The fastest way to clean a pipe is to go with the boiling water method. Both the isopropyl alcohol and salt and vinegar and baking soda mixtures require time soaking, sometimes hours at a time to get the best results. While the boiling method might require some extra time scrubbing the inside of the pipe with the wire brushes from the DART cleaning kit, the 30 minute boil time, 20 minutes or so for the pipe, bowl, bong, stem, or mouthpiece to cool off, and the 15 extra minutes it will take to scrub off the excess resin with the brushes, you're still saving time in the long run compared to other methods. 

It's worth noting, however, that the DART one-hitter pipes are quicker to clean, easier to use, and simply won't get as dirty as the standard glass pipes. If you're into speed, cleanliness, and efficiency, then you can't go wrong with a DART pipe!   

How to Clean a Pipe Stem Without Pipe Cleaners?

If you don't have a pipe-cleaner style wire brush like from the DART pipe cleaning kit, you can always use a q-tip, cotton swab, or a metal scraping tool like a bend paper clip. The alcohol and salt or vinegar and baking soda mix will do the hard work of softening that caked on gunk and resin from the inside of the pipe, you'll just to use your metal tool to shake the rest loose.

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