Intro To Cannabis: How To Clean Glass Pipes

Hello! We’re pumped to have you back at the Genesis Grow Corp. blog, where we cover all things cannabis that you should know as a seasoned or novice cannabis consumer! At Genesis Grow Corp. we’re in love with cannabis — we just can’t get enough of it. We’ve dedicated ourselves to cultivating and engineering cannabis that pushes the limits of quality and possibility in the industry.  

Additionally, we recognize the importance of having an informed consumer base, so we work hard to provide the answers to the questions that many lovers of cannabis encounter at some point during their relationship with the amazing plant.

Today, we’ll be diving into glass pipes, and more specifically, cleaning them. We’ll talk about why you want to clean your glass pipes as well as some different methods you can use to clean your glass pipes. 

Why Should You Clean Your Glass Pipe?

The most obvious answer to this question is that when you’re consistently utilizing a glass pipe to smoke cannabis — whether it’s a water pipe, hand held pipe, or anything in between — it gets extremely dirty. We don’t know about you, but we thoroughly appreciate the crisp, elegant presence of a clean pipe over a dirty one.

But beyond appearance, cleaning your pipe regularly also ensures that your piece is performing optimally. When your pipe has a build up of ash and residue, your pipe can clog and smoke just generally has a more difficult time traveling through the device. This means that when you have a dirty pipe, you’re not getting as much smoke as you could and that the smoke is not as clean as it would be from a clean pipe.

On that note, dirty pipes are prone to catching on fire. Well, more specifically, residue is prone to catching on fire. When a lot of residue, ash, and partially burnt cannabis is built up in your pipe, it is at risk of lighting if it comes into contact with fire (and you have to use fire to light your fresh cannabis). 

Take it from us, inhaling pipe residue that has caught on fire is not a pleasant experience. It’s harsh on your throat, tastes gross, and poses some health risks. First and foremost, if your pipe residue catches on fire, it could burn your hands or mouth. Additionally, the ash and residue of burnt cannabis contains carcinogens, which you’re inhaling when you smoke from a dirty pipe. 

So beyond the health, safety, and appearance, there is one more major reason you should consistently clean your cannabis pipe — it’s tastes better! Yeah, it’s that simple! But it’s important for those who appreciate the whole experience of consuming cannabis. When your pipe is clean, you can properly taste the qualities of the strain you’re utilizing, not to mention without ash and residue impairing the smokes ability to travel, you’ll obtain a more intense and clear high! 

How Do You Clean A Glass Pipe?

Now that we know why you should clean your glass pipes, let’s cover how you can clean your glass pipes! It doesn’t take long, and in fact it can be a relaxing experience!

Before we get into it, we want to make a quick note to ensure that you’re not going to accidentally break your glass pipe when you clean it! Firstly, make sure you’re careful when practicing any of these cleaning methods. 

Secondly, if your glass pipe is comprised of multiple glass pieces (i.e. a bong with a bong, downstem, and bowl), make sure you disassemble the pipe and clean each element individually.

The Classic Method: Rubbing Alcohol And Salt

Amazingly, you can clean your glass pipes with household items many people already have stuffed in the cupboards! By combining isopropyl alcohol and course salt like kosher or table salt, you’ll have created a solution that is effective at cleaning a dirty pipe. 

Let’s run through what you’ll need. As we’ve already said, you’re going to need isopropyl alcohol. The alcohol breaks down the resin and gunk that has built up in your pipe, and it also helps remove stains that the cannabis resin leaves behind. Your best bet is to use 91% isopropyl alcohol as it’s highly concentrated and will work at breaking down the resin faster than lower concentrations. 

The salt works to help dislodge resin and gunk that has stuck onto the pipe; that’s why it’s so important to use course salt. In addition to the alcohol and salt, you’ll need a plastic sandwich bag and toothpicks or cotton swabs.

Now, let’s talk about the process to clean your pipe! 

First, use your cotton swabs or toothpicks to dislodge as much of the residue that you can before you use any alcohol or salt. You can also run hot water through the piece to dislodge loose resin. 

Once you’ve manually removed as much residue as possible, put your piece in a bag and cover it with the alcohol. Then, add about a tablespoon of your salt to the bag.

After you’ve added all these things to the bag, seal it and begin shaking the bag. You need to be careful that you don’t hit the bag or your pipe against anything that could break it. Additionally, be sure to get the salt inside of your pipe during the shaking process, as the resin will be mostly on the interior of your pipe. 

Do this for a few minutes, all the while paying attention to the state of your pipe. Once it’s clean or mostly clean, you can either leave it in the solution to allow the remaining resin to further soak and break down, or you can remove it and use your toothpicks or cotton swabs to spot clean remaining amounts of resin. 

Once the pipe is clean, rinse it out with hot water, let it dry, and enjoy! 

For extremely dirty pipes, you may need to leave it in the solution overnight, or repeat the process multiple times. 

The New Wave: Pipe Cleaning Solution

In this amazing world where cannabis is legal in most states, there are now premixed pipe cleaning solutions you can buy at head shops, online, and in some luxury cannabis retailers. These solutions are similar to the method above, aside from a few things. 

They’re more expensive than the DIY approaches, but they make up for the higher price point by cleaning your pipe faster than alcohol and salt ever could. These solutions contain alcohol and salt; however, there are other variables added to expedite the cleaning process. 

In terms of use, it’s essentially the same as the method above. However, because it’s a more effective method, you don’t need to spend time manually dislodging loose resin before submerging the pipe. 

Once the pipe is submerged, you don’t need to shake the solution; however, it will make the process that much faster. Then, usually within a minute or two, the resin is gone and your pipe just needs to be rinsed in hot water!

When All Else Fails: Other Methods

So if you’re in a crunch and don’t have the materials we’ve talked about above, but you’d still like a clean pipe to smoke out of, there are a few last-ditch efforts you can try. 

One method is to literally boil the pipe in water for around 30 minutes, which will loosen the resin from your pipe. After it has boiled, simply use a cotton swab to remove any resin that is still in the pipe, rinse, let it dry, and smoke! 

This method is tedious and poses risks of burning yourself and cracking your pipe if all the water evaporates and the pipe is left in the hot pot. You can also break your pipe if you immediately cool it after removing it from the boiling water, so be careful! Additionally, you may need to repeat the process multiple times to fully clean your pipe!

Another method you can try is to freeze your pipe, as this will harden the resin and make it brittle. When it’s frozen, you’ll be able to pick the resin off the pipe with a small tool like a toothpick. This is probably the most tedious method, as you don’t have much time after removing the glass from the freezer to remove the resin before it thaws. 

Finally, you can clean your pipe by using cleaning solutions that fizz, as these solutions will work to break down resin as the bubbles work to dislodge loose resin. You can use baking soda and vinegar, denture cleaner, or any other cleaning solution that produce bubbles. Then you simply soak, rinse, and repeat until clean!

Genesis Grow Corp

 We hope this blog taught you something useful, and we wish you days full of dank luxury cannabis and clean pipes! The last bit of advice we’ll leave you with is that you should regularly clean your glass pipe. This will make it easier and faster to clean when you need to, plus you’ll constantly be able to experience the lovely sensation of smoking out of a clean pipe. 

Now if you’re in need of some luxury cannabis to smoke out of your clean pipe, find a Genesis Grow Corp. retailer today! Our luxury cannabis brands are the top-of-the-line, and engineered to be the pinnacle of quality when it comes to California cannabis.

If you’re interested in learning more about our luxury cannabis growing operation, or you’d like to find a distributor near you, contact us today!