Cleaning your bong once in a while keeps your smoking experience pristine, preserves the taste of your herbs, delivers smoother hits and a superior high. How frequently you clean the bong depends on how often you smoke. Every three days is the recommended cleaning period for avid smokers, while casual smokers can take up to a week.
There are various methods of cleaning bongs depending on the material of the bong. Here are some of them.
Cleaning Glass Bongs
Glass bongs are the most popular and the easiest to clean. To clean a glass bong, you will need:
- Sea salt
- Hot water
- 70-91% rubbing alcohol
Step 1: Place the bong in the sink. Put chunks of sea salt inside the bong. The salt acts as a scrubbing agent, so you should put in a good amount.
Step 2: Fill the bong with ½ - 2 cups of alcohol depending on the size of the bong. Leave plenty of space, so you can still shake the bong, and the alcohol won't splash out from the top.
Step 3: Swirl the mixture of alcohol and sea salt to begin cleaning the bong. The salt particles will crash into the sides of the bong, removing the stubborn residue.
Step 4: Keep repeating steps 1-3 until the bong is clean. Run some hot water through and use a pipe cleaner to remove any remaining residue pieces.
How to Clean a Silicone Bong
Silicone bongs are easier to clean because the resin doesn't stick to the silicone material. The best and safest method of cleaning a silicone bong is by using dish soap and hot water. You shouldn’t place the bong in the dishwasher. While this method will also get the bong clean, it will leave the dishwasher filled with resin specks. It’s best to hand wash the bong. It allows you to get to all the nooks and crannies, and you don't have to clean the dishwasher after.
How to Clean a Plastic Bong
Plastic bongs are made of acrylic. Cleaning this type of material is very similar to cleaning glass bongs save for a few slight changes.
What you need
- Salt
- Hot water
- 50-70% rubbing alcohol
- Lemons
Step 1: Put the bong inside the sink and add a generous amount of salt to the bong.
Step 2: Fill the bong with up to 2 cups of alcohol, depending on the size of the bong. The gold rule is to have enough alcohol that is slightly above the salt. It shouldn't be too much that it pours out when you shake.
Step 3: Swirl the bong and its contents in a circular motion to start cleaning the bong. The salt particles act as a scrubbing agent and remove the stubborn resin from the sides of the bong.
Step 4: After clearing the residue, rinse the bong with hot water. Add a full squeezed lemon and the hottest water you can get from your sink. Swirl the mixture around for 60 seconds, then rinse the clean plastic bong and leave it out to dry.