Keeping Your Favorite Glass Piece Clean in 7 Simple Steps

You just got off from a long, hard day at work and want nothing more than to sit at home, relax and smoke some of your favorite Veritas flower. The setting is perfect, with your favorite movie or show on along with a plethora of snacks by your side. You load your first bowl of the night and prepare to drift off to your own personal utopia. You take a nice toke only to get...nothing but a clogged piece and a strange taste. You take a look at your favorite glass piece, only to realize it is completely black from the residue. The last time it was even remotely clean was on the day you got it. Don’t toss it just yet; this doesn’t mean it has reached the end...lucky for you, the Veritas team has a solution!

The Process:

Our first suggestion is to make sure your piece is cleaned weekly (or more frequently) depending on your personal cannabis usage and quantity smoked. We always suggest starting with a relatively new or clean glass piece BUT these simple 7 steps will work to clean an existing dirty bong or bowl to clean out that residue.

Step 1. In a clean kitchen sink, run hot water until it reaches the highest temperature possible. We do not recommend cleaning your glass in a bathroom sink or in a dirty kitchen sink because of the residue and cannabis ash that will get on other items in and around the cleaning station during the cleaning process.

Step 2. Rinse your dirty smoking apparatus with the hot water to remove any loose residue. This will start to loosen up any caked-on residue in the piece.

Step 3. While the piece of glass is still warm (warmer temperatures help the process of cleaning out residue) from the first rinse, use paper towels to clean out the inside of your bowl or pipe. This will remove more of the initial residue stuck on the inside of your piece.

Step 4. The next step is to fill the piece with Isopropyl Alcohol while plugging all of the openings. Give it a gentle shake and rinse with hot water for a second time.

Step 5. Let your glass piece soak in 91% (or preferably 99%) Isopropyl Alcohol (available at your local grocery store). If possible, depending on the size of the piece being cleaned, fully submerge the piece and allow to soak for 30-45 mins (Tip: If you are short on time, you can also use the microwave to heat up your Isopropyl Alcohol and then fill your piece and continue the rinse and shake process to speed up the cleaning time period).

Step 6. After the piece has soaked in Isopropyl Alcohol for 30-45 minutes, give the piece a new full rinse with hot water and watch as the remaining loose particles and residue rinse out of your smoking utensil.

If your piece is still dirty, processes 3 and 4 can be repeated 2-3 times to ensure the best possible cleaning. If you are cleaning a bong, kosher salt can be added to help with the cleaning process as well. After a full hot water rinse, make sure any remaining salt particles are cleaned out. Use paper towels again to dry out and clean out the rest of the piece.

Step 7. Enjoy your fresh piece of glass! If you use a water pipe or bong, we suggest using distilled water (especially if the piece of glass is clear) to help reduce the chance of water streaks or other stains in your glass piece. The more frequently you can clean your smoking utensils, the better and the easier it will be to keep them clean in the long run.

Photos: @thc_samuel

Context: Samuel Farley, MHPC Media