How To Clean Your Pipe

Step 5 Finish

Wipe up, reassemble and put in a new screen, and you're done.

Here are the twins, as Bender would say "Make new friends and keep the old, because one is silver and the other is gold."

Comments

[applesupnorth]

Hey all, I have found something to add to this method of pipe cleaning. Once you add the rubbing alcohol, also add a couple table spoons of Epsons Salt. It REALLY helps!!! Not sure if it's the grit or if it make a chemical reaction, but it is easily 2-3 times more "potent" than alcohol alone. Try it! It works great! Also, another method I use is EASY OFF oven cleaner. It also works awesome! Just make sure to rinse the parts well after with water.

[xACIDITYx]

Yeah, it's the grit. This works especially well in glass pieces, where you can add some salt and then shake it around.

[DonTron]

Another interesting solvent, though often requiring much more apparatus commitment, is liquid C02. Sometimes soda water will do. CO2 is perfectly polar. HOH is profoundly non-polar. Between them both, one can dissolve nearly anything. 'Cept maybe zwitterions. The problem is that ordinary conditions are not on the liquid part of the phase diagram for CO2. This is good and bad. Its inconvenient and perhaps a little dangerous. Residue issues are practically nil, 'though. If the pipe is all metal, super-heating it is a possibility. Whatever method employed, be careful!

[acorneman]

If you're going to throw in a term like zwitterions, learn your chemistry. Carbon dioxide is NONPOLAR and water is POLAR.

[DonTron]

If your pipe is wooden, one option is to obtain a drill bit roughly matched to the bore of the pipe and run it through the pipe manually. This will deposit the resin in the grooves, then you can clean the bit using the previously delineated methods. Careful, use a rag, very, very sharp! Pardon my using 'you' when 'one' would represent better use of the Queen's English. Don't want to harsh anyone's buzz with bad grammar!

[DonTron]

Propanol tends to leave a nasty taste. Ethanol, though expensive is less unplesant. Boiling water works okay, so if the high (darn gov't) price is problematic, use a two-step process starting w/ boiling water. One can make little hangers w/ paper clips, pencils and twist ties, then soak in a ball jar, if one wants to monitor progress. It is less unhealthy if you keep your pipe clear. Watch out for pipe-cleaners, some brands contain glass and other untoward materials.

[FKINGLAG]

What if your pipe is wooden??