Why glass gets grimy
Every water pipe collects resin. The water traps some of it, the glass keeps the rest, and after a couple of weeks the walls go from clear to amber. That is normal. What is not normal is letting it sit until the downstem clogs and the whole thing smells like an ashtray. Cleaning glass is a fifteen minute job if you do it often and a two hour job if you do not.
Here is the routine our staff give people who pick up glass in store.
What you need
- 99% or 91% isopropyl alcohol. The higher the percentage, the less water in the mix and the faster it cuts resin.
- Coarse salt. Epsom, rock or kosher. Salt is the scrubber, alcohol is the solvent.
- Plugs or caps. Silicone plugs beat your palm and a wad of paper towel.
- Pipe cleaners and a bottle brush for downstems and tight bends.
- A ready-made cleaner if you would rather skip the mixing. We keep cleaners and accessories on the shelf at every store.
The basic clean, step by step
1. Dump the old water. Do it over a sink strainer so nothing goes down the drain that should not.
2. Pull the bowl and the downstem out and set them aside. Those get cleaned separately.
3. Rinse the chamber with warm water. Warm, not hot. Cold glass plus boiling water is how pieces crack.
4. Pour in enough alcohol to cover the dirty areas, then add a couple of tablespoons of salt.
5. Plug the joint and the mouthpiece, then shake. Thirty seconds up to a couple of minutes depending on how bad it is. Let a heavy build-up soak for an hour first.
6. Rinse three or four times with warm water until you cannot smell alcohol.
7. Air dry upside down on a towel.
Bowls, downstems and bangers
The small parts hold the worst of it. Drop them in a sealed bag or a jar with alcohol and salt and let them sit while you do the chamber. Pipe cleaners reach the middle of a downstem where shaking never gets.
Quartz bangers work differently. Swab them with a cotton bud while they are still warm, not hot, and the residue lifts before it hardens. Waiting until it goes black turns a ten second job into an overnight soak.
How often
- Water: change it every session. It is free and it does most of the work.
- Full clean: weekly for daily users, every couple of weeks otherwise.
- Bowl: whenever it stops pulling easily.
What not to do
- No boiling water on cold glass, and no cold water on hot glass. Thermal shock breaks more pieces than dropping them does.
- No metal picks inside the tube. Scratches hold resin and weaken the wall.
- No dishwasher. Heat cycles and glass joints do not get along.
- No cleaning near the edge of a counter. Wet glass is slippery glass.
Pick a piece that is easy to look after
Simple beats clever if you hate cleaning. Fewer percs, wider joints and a removable downstem all cut the work. A beaker base holds more water and rinses out faster than a tall straight tube with three chambers stacked up it. Our glass and water pipe guide walks through the shapes and what each one suits.
Silicone is the low-maintenance option. It will not shatter and most of it survives a dishwasher, though it never looks as good as glass.
Come see it before you buy
Glass is one of those things you want in your hands first: the weight, the joint size, how it sits on a table. Everything is sold in store only, no online orders and nothing shipped, at all five MooseVape locations - Newton in Surrey, Surrey Central, Delta on Scott Road, Denman in the West End and Abbotsford on Clearbrook Rd. Every one of them is open 24 hours.
We are strictly 19+ and staff check government-issued photo ID at every purchase, no exceptions. BC rules for tobacco and vapour products, including the 20 mg/mL nicotine cap on e-liquid and the 0 mg/mL nicotine-free option, are published on the province's tobacco and vapour pages.
Find your closest store or check our FAQ before you head out.