Rather than rolling papers or blunts, those who enjoy smoking weed opt to smoke out of a bong. It provides a smoother smoke since there’s no dry heat.
However, consistent use of your bong can cause it to get dirty and hinder your smoking experience. That’s why cleaning a bong is essential.
If you’re not sure how to clean a bong, keep reading. We’ll describe why you should and the materials you need to clean it out.
Table of Contents
- Basic Bong Cleaning
- Cleaning a Bong Will Enhance Your Smoking Experience
Basic Bong Cleaning
Having a dirty bong does not make your smoking session pleasant. You may end up coughing a lot because of the resin buildup, or you may not be getting as high as usual.
Either way, it can be a nuisance when you’re trying to relax and enjoy your smoke. But it’s even more annoying to clean your bong once it’s dirty.
However, you’ll only need to follow a few steps to clean your bong, depending on how dirty it is.
Step 1: Gather Your Materials
Before you start cleaning your bong, you’ll have to gather some supplies such as:
- Coarse salt
- Rubbing alcohol
- Vinegar
- Clean water
- Latex gloves
Once you have all of your materials set aside, it’s time to start bong cleaning.
Step 2: Disassemble Your Bong
In order to give your bong a thorough cleaning, you’ll need to disassemble it. Remove all parts that can be taken off the bong, such as the pipe and mouthpiece.
As you’re disassembling your device, check to see if there are any chips or cracks. If there are, you may need to replace a component of your bong.
Step 3: Empty Your Bong And Rinse With Warm Water
Empty the old water out of your bong. Do your best to get all remaining herbs out with the water as your pour it out.
Once you’ve finished that, rinse your bong out with warm water to further remove any particles that were left behind. Then partially fill it with warm water and rinse again.
Step 4: Mix Coarse Salt and Alcohol Together
Next, you should add coarse salt and rubbing alcohol into your bong so they can help clean the inside. The stronger the alcohol, the more effective the solution will be.
However, if you don’t have these materials, you can also use a combination of vinegar and baking soda.
Step 5: Plug the Holes, Shake and Rinse
After the materials are inside the bong, plug the bong’s holes with your fingers. Once it’s secure, shake the bong for about five minutes to have the mixture clean the inside of the bong.
Rinse the bong with clean water to remove the contents. Usually, the bong should be clean after the first rinse. However, if it’s still dirty, use the materials to go through another round of cleaning.
Why You Should Clean Your Bong
With any device or mechanism with working parts, it’s eventually going to need some form of maintenance. Bongs are no different.
The primary function of bongs is to filter the smoke and cool it down. However, each time you light your bong to take a rip, it becomes dirty because of what’s leftover from burning the weed.
So everything is floating in the water at the bottom of the bong or stuck to the glass interior. No one wants to smoke that. To avoid this, here are some other reasons why you should clean your dirty bong.
Less Chance of Harmful Pathogens
When you don’t clean your dirty bong, you increase the chance of developing respiratory conditions. Since your bong is filled with water in an enclosed space, mold could start to grow if your bong isn’t stored or cleaned correctly.
As a result, you could inhale mold spores which could be severely harmful to your body. Also, if you share your bong with others, you can get sick if they’re sick. So you’ll need to ensure your bong is thoroughly cleaned after each use.
Smoother Hits
Every weed smoker wants to enjoy a smooth smoke with no harshness on their lungs. Bongs provide that initially, but when they get dirty, your hits may not be as smooth they once were.
When the air path from the bowl to your mouth is blocked by resin and ash, it can be even harder to clean your bong. But by cleaning it correctly, you’ll be able to enjoy your bong like you’re using it for the first time.
Gets You Higher
When you have a dirty bong, not only will the hits be harsher, but it can also impact the level of your high. So your standard bong rips may have less of an effect since the air path is blocked.
However, when your bong is clean, you’ll get higher since there’s no blockage. Instead of tasting last week’s weed, you can taste what you’ve just purchased.
How Often Should You Clean Your Bong?
How often you should clean a bong will vary on the individual. If you’re a person that smokes out a bong occasionally, then you’ll only need to clean your bong now and then.
However, if you smoke out of your bong frequently for recreational or medical purposes, you should clean your bong at least once a week. But if you change the water often, you’ll have less need to worry about resin buildup.
Cleaning a Bong Will Enhance Your Smoking Experience
You may put off cleaning a bong because you may not think it does any harm. However, a dirty object hinders your smoking experience by increasing the chemicals you’re exposed to and the harshness of the smoke.
Avoid those problems by cleaning your bong thoroughly. Follow our directions above, and enjoy a nice clean bong rip during your next smoke session.
To learn more about bongs and other ways to enhance your smoking experience, visit our blog for related content.