Just like you'd not eat your food off a dirty plate or drink from stained glass, smoking cannabis from a filthy glass bong is something you'd like to avoid at all costs. But when you regularly use your bong for smoking, the resin or sticky residue from the cannabis starts building up on the glass stem.

Regularly cleaning the bong is not just about keeping things neat and tidy. Over time, the build-up leads to a host of issues like-

  • Water discoloration and stinking
  • Diluted cannabis taste
  • Stained percolator
  • Inferior high
  • Coughing while smoking
  • Respiratory infection

Now that you are aware of some of the reasons why you should regularly clean your bong, here's a quick overview of how to do it-

Cleaning Glass Bong with Isopropyl Alcohol

The best way to clean your bong is with isopropyl alcohol. While several people use up to 99% isopropyl alcohol for cleaning glass, you should be completely alright even with 70%-80%. Apart from isopropyl alcohol, you'll also need-

  • Rock salt or table salt
  • Wire cleaners or pipe cleaners
  • Small piece of fabric, cotton, or cork
  • Plastic gloves

Here are the steps you should follow-

  1. Detach all the parts of your water bong and rinse them with hot water, especially the bowl and stem, to remove the gunk.
  2. Add salt, followed by isopropyl alcohol, to the bong and use fabric or cork to cover the stem and tube.
  3. Ensure that the holes are properly covered before you start shaking the bong vigorously for at least five minutes.
  4. The pipe should also be immersed in a salt and alcohol solution for up to ten minutes.
  5. If the bong has not been cleaned for some time, follow these steps again for the best results.
  6. If the bong is very dirty, you can also consider keeping it immersed in the solution for up to one hour.
  7. Soak the wire or pipe cleaner in the solution and use it to scrub the hard-to-reach areas of your bong.
  8. The solution can be poured into the toilet bowl once you are done.
  9. For extra shine, you can also half-fill the bong with water and add a few drops of dish-washing liquid. Plug all the holes, shake the piece for a few minutes, and dispose of the water.
  10. Rinse the bong again with clean water, and you are good to go.

Cleaning Bong without Isopropyl Alcohol

While isopropyl alcohol is the mainstay when it comes to cleaning a glass water bong, it is not an absolute must. Many people prefer not using alcohol to clean their bongs, and it is completely alright too. A simple alternative to alcohol cleaning is submerging the bong in a saucepan full of hot water.

Start with boiling water in a saucepan. Ensure that the size of the saucepan and amount of water is enough for covering the bong. Switch to simmer once the water starts boiling and submerge the bong in it for at least 30 minutes. But the process is delicate because if the water is very hot, it can crack the glass, and if it is not hot enough, the water will not release bubbles.

Once you are done, use a pipe cleaner and dish-washing liquid to clean the bong. A final rinse with clean water, and you are all set for the next smoking session.

Other Options for Cleaning a Glass Bong

There are a few other cleaning methods that people rely on for cleaning their bongs. Take a look-

  • Lemon and Hot Water

Start with boiling the water in a saucepan. As the water boils, add some lemon juice to your water bong. Once the water is ready, pour it into the bong and cover all the holes. Shake the bong for a few minutes before disposing of the water and lemon mixture.

The acid in the lemon juice will help remove the gunk build-up. You can also follow it with some scrubbing with the pipe cleaner. Once done, rinse the bong in warm water.

  • Salt and Warm Water

Pour 3-4 tablespoons of rock salt into the bong. As rock salt is coarser, the cleaning results are better than what you can get with table salt. Add warm water up to the shaft line of the bong. Cover the holes and shake your bong for a few minutes or until the salt dissolves completely.

Dispose of the warm water solution once done. You can follow this process a few times until you are fully satisfied with the results.

  • Commercial Cleaners

If the cleaning methods discussed above that use household items are not your thing, you always have the option to purchase a commercial cleaning product. You can now easily find ones that have been exclusively manufactured for cleaning glass bonds. Follow the instruction mentioned on the product for using them.

How Often Should You Clean Your Bong?

The cleaning frequency is directly proportional to how regularly you smoke. If you only smoke, let's say, once or twice a month, you can clean it on a monthly basis. But if you are a regular smoker, either for medical or recreational reasons, you should clean your glass bong at least once every week.

Bongs can get dirty pretty fast. A smarter solution is to perform light cleaning at regular intervals so that you don't have to do deep cleaning very frequently. A few signs that suggest you should clean your bong at the earliest are as follows-

  • Resin build-up on the glass
  • Debris collected under the chamber
  • Water in the bong stinks and is not clear
  • Percolator, if present, has dark stains

Ready to Clean Your Glass Bong?

Not cleaning your glass bong regularly will not only impact the quality of your high and smoking experience but can also damage your health. There is also a possibility of a dirty bong leading to lung infection.

Why risk all of it when bong cleaning is not even complex or time-consuming? Choose any of the methods listed in this post to keep your beloved bong sparkling new and enjoy smoother hits and superior highs every single time.