It’s time again for another Sunday Prep blog, this time about how to clean your bong. I have talked about this before, and today, we are going to talk about cleaning your bong.

I believe in trying to wash my bongs thoroughly like this once a week, and change water daily. This is a brief little introduction to some ways to get your bong sparkling clean every week.

Warning, doing this every week will give you a much better smoke and will make each cleaning pretty easy so…Oh no whatever will you do?

So, first you will want to gather your tools. On average, I use the following:

1) Some sort of Isopropyl Alcohol. 80% and up does the trick beautifully and can be used elsewhere in the home so, I rock out to whichever bottle falls into hat category at the cheapest price point.

2.) Some sort of coarse salt. Kosher, table, rock, epsom, the later is generally cheapest, but get some of that. Epsom salt can also be used elsewhere in the home, and for self care, so I suggest it.

3.) Some tools for cleaning, I namely use pipe cleaners and the occasional cotton swab.

If you clean your water bongs this often, you may run through supplies, so be sure to save your alcohol, and do thrifty things like buy in bulk. You may notice from my pictures old alcohol in various stages of browning. This is from past cleanings. I got this tip from a YouTuber called PositiveSmash420, but also cleans her bongs once a week, and she saves her old alcohol in containers, and reuses it until it is an incredibly dark black color, then tosses it, getting more use from the liquid.

Some people may also chime in here and suggest various cleaners and before you do, read on.

They are more expensive, and sometimes are prohibitive for some people. My intention is to give you a way to clean your bongs, TODAY, so you have a quality smoke, TODAY. If you want to use a cleaner, by all means enjoy. I will probably use a cleaner for my how to clean your dab rig blog, and I will link this blog, in case someone can’t get the cleaner.

Basically, Yes, I know cleaners exist, but I am talking about how to do it on a budget, and in theory, how to do it now.

Okay, disclaimer that tells you that yes, I know know there are cleaners out there, but I am saving that for the how to clean your dab rig, and I want to provide people with a way to clean their pieces TODAY with very little money, if any. (Most people have rubbing alcohol and some form of salt in their homes)

Okay, now you have gathered your supplies, grab the bong you are going to be cleaning. Make sure all the flower has been smoked, and empty your bowl. Go ahead and put this bowl aside, we will be cleaning it separate from the bong.

Go ahead and pour out any old bong water, and rinse your bong with warm water. This serves to remove any larger peices of “gunk” or resin and plant material, that may already be in the bong.

Now that you have rinsed off your bong, pour in some alcohol.

Now, as I mentioned earlier, you can save your alcohol for future uses. I personally like to use my cleaned alcohol for my bong, and I use the dirtier stuff for the bowl itself.

So, I tend to pour in some salt first, so the alcohol being poured in will help rub the salt against the glass to clean it. I will then pour some in after the alcohol.

In terms of amounts, I eye ball the salt, and I pour the alcohol in like it’s water for the bong.

I usually let this mixture sit for a minute, which helps clean it a ton.

While I wait, I generally load another bowl, and toss the bowl from the bong I am cleaning into a small plastic container that once held, I think, sour cream, but now acts as my dirty alcohol and bowl holder while I clean the bowl.

So, I generally don’t use the salt much for the bowl, I find soaking the dirty bowl in the container does plenty, and when I add a pipe cleaner and some work, it tends to work out beautifully.

So, I toss the bowl to soak in alcohol, smoke my loaded bowl while the alcohol soaks the bong and helps lift the resin off of the glass.

So, after it has soaked for a few minutes, I grab my pipe cleaners and q-tips, which I don’t always need, and get to work. First, I cover the ends of the bong to make sure the alcohol is staying in the bong.

I shake this around, and normally most of the resin comes off.

What doesn’t come off after a soak and shake, generally comes off with the smallest amount of effort from a pipe cleaner. If you do not wash your bongs often, or ever, and are using this blog to start a new habit, I applaud you, but this may take a little extra effort. If you can fit your peice safely in a microwave, the heat can sometimes help, but time and pipe cleaners will ultimatly be a more constant fix.

The regular salt, or even the Epsom salt, you will be using, will not dissolve in the alcohol, and is coarse enough to make for an excellent abrasive material to clean your bong.

Pipe cleaners, or something similar, I have seen some people use paper towels rolled up, which also works.

So, use your tools to remove any resin left on the glass. Depending on the intricacies of your bong, you may have trouble with some parts. Get creative, and remember, some more soaking may also help remove the resin.

Once you are satisfied with how clean the bong is, you can pour the alcohol back into the bottle. Don’t worry about any salt that may get poured with it, it won’t cause any real issues.

Dump whatever is left, and run some warm water though the pipe to dissolve any lodged pieces of salt and rinse away the alcohol.

I suggest at least three very thorough rinses, swishing water all around the bong, to ensure all the alcohol and salt is washed away. Give your bong a smell test to see if it smells clean, or like alcohol. You do not want it to smell like alcohol, ideally, it will smell like nothing, which, for those who know, is the only TRUE scent of clean.

So, now you have a bong nice and cleaned. I suggest setting it aside, finish cleaning your bowl before you pour fresh water back into it.

So, back to that dirty bowl of yours. It should have been soaking for a little bit now, at least a few minutes. Remove your bowl, but keep the bowl of alcohol available for any needs. Grab that pipe cleaner or qtip or both, and work on removing any and all resin that has collected inside or outside of your piece.

This shouldn’t take too long, but it can, as it is likely one of the dirtiest parts of your bong. This is where the flower is being burned, the fire is being applied, and, the most resin is formed, so it will likely be the dirtiest part of your bong.

Generally, the soaking is enough for me, and it only really takes one pipe cleaner to get mine sorted. Again, you may need more if you haven’t cleaned your bong recently, or less if you have.

If you need to lubricate the piece to get some more cleaning solution on it, dip it back in the bowl of alcohol. This is why I said not to dump it just yet. Handling the bowl may make it dry off, or it may require more cleaning, so keep that bowl around for that alone.

Once you have finished cleaning your bowl, give it a good rinse, just like you did earlier, and return the alcohol to the bottle, unless it has gotten too gross to want to do that, in which case, dump it, preferably down any drain that needs some declogging, and follow it up with some hot water to help the pipes.

What, just because the point of this blog is to teach you how to clean you bong doesn’t mean I can’t also throw in a helpful cleaning tip.

Now that you have rinsed your bowl, you will want to dry it off. Microfiber cloth works well, paper towel will too.

Dry your bong, dry the bowl, and load the bowl.

Fill the bong with as much cold (preferably filtered) water. Add ice if your bong is that kind of bong. Light your newly clean bong, and enjoy your smooth, delicious smoke.

I find cleaning mine once a week is perfect, and leads to a great, quality smoke. The down side is you are much more aware of the cleanliness of the water, and you will want to use fresh water every other bowl or so.

But it will be a better smoke, and it is delicious. It also makes for you to have a pretty bong, look its best, often. Bongs are like display pieces, when not being used, and with frequent cleaning, they can actually be seen as the beautiful pieces of art that they are.

Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed this blog on how to clean your bong, and that it helps you prep for the week to come. Now, go clean your bong!

What prep do you do on a Sunday to prep for the coming week?

❤

Abbi