How to Clean a Glass Bong (The Easy Way)

Let’s Clean Your Bongs!

Glass bong enthusiasts love smoking in sparkling-clean, durable bongs. However, most folks are also hesitant to wash their dirty bongs. Cleaning a bong isn’t that difficult, so let’s dig into how you can get a clean bong with vinegar, alcohol, or a professional cleaner.

The Easy Way to Clean the Outside of a Bong

To clean the outside of a bong, you’ll need a piece of microfiber cleaning cloth and vinegar. Ideally, you’ll use distilled vinegar (or lemon juice, if you don't have vinegar) because it has a less intense smell. Put some vinegar on the cleaning cloth and wipe the surface of your bong. Fingerprints and water stains should come off easily. This is one of the easiest ways to learn how to clean a glass bong.

How to Clean the Inside of a Bong

To clean the inside of a glass bong or dab rig, you will need the following:

• Salt
• Isopropyl alcohol
• Cotton balls
• Cotton swabs or toothbrush 
• Hand towels
• Small plastic bags
• Hot water
• Tupperware containers

Step 1: Get Rid of the Dirty Bong Water

The dirty water from a bong comes with a pungent smell. Make sure you empty it before you do anything else. When draining the dirty bong water, make sure it doesn’t touch your skin because the liquid can hold bacteria.

Step 2: Take Your Bong Apart

The next step in how to clean a glass bong is to detach the bong bowl and the stem from the glass bong to avoid breakage. Bongs are usually composed of several detachable glass pieces, so disassemble the entire bong for successful cleaning.

Step 3: Clean All the Pieces with Hot Water

Begin cleaning the different detached parts. Use a constant flow of hot water because it helps to remove any stubborn dirt that’s stuck in your water bong. Warm water is all right, but hot water is better to remove the oils from the herbs. Just be careful to avoid getting scalded if you decide to use boiling water, as you could injure your hand or break your glass bong if you drop it.

Step 4: Place Every Loose Piece in Its Container

Next up on how to clean a glass bong, place the detached pieces in separate plastic containers and remember where you put them. Then use an alcohol and salt solution as a detergent to clean the parts. (This is a useful alternative to cleaning a bong with vinegar.)

Step 5: Shake

Gently shake the sealed containers after adding a tablespoon of salt and alcohol. The isopropyl alcohol and salt will penetrate the smallest holes and remove the sticky residue that results from smoking. Remember, the dirtier your pieces are, the more alcohol and salt you’ll need to use.

After gently shaking the pieces clean, place them somewhere safe before moving to the next step in how to clean a glass bong.

Step 6: Cover All the Open Spots and Shake Continuously

Hopefully, your bong is easy to clean. Cover all the holes in your bong using hand towels, cotton balls, or any soft material. If you don’t have hand towels or cotton balls, you can use pieces of plastic and rubber bands to cover the joint and mouthpiece.

After you cover them, fill your bong with more of the alcohol and salt solution. Then just shake, shake, and shake! Don’t drop your bong during shaking. Also, don’t hit it on anything to avoid breaking or damaging it.

Step 7: Rinse All Tools with Hot Water

You’ve reached the last step in how to clean a glass bong! After gentle shaking, empty all the alcohol and salt from your bong, then remove the small pieces from their containers. Rinse your bong with hot water to dilute the isopropyl alcohol, salt, and get rid of any final bits of sticky residue (if there’s any left).

Then, use a cotton swab or toothbrush to remove any leftover dirt and get into those hard-to-reach crevices. After that, let the pieces air dry. If your glass bong has water stains inside after it’s dried, wipe it with a vinegar-soaked cloth to take the stains out. Now, you’ll have a bong that looks brand-new!

Alternative Solutions for How to Clean a Glass Bong

If you don’t want to clean your bong with vinegar or alcohol, you could consider using pipe cleaner/glass bong cleaner. At our online head shop, we currently carry Orange Chronic for only $16.99.

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