If your bong looks more “creepy swamp” and less “crystal clear lake” these days, it’s time to learn how to clean a bong. If you’re not sure where to start, consider this your complete guide to cleaning a bong.
Why You Absolutely, Positively Have To Clean Your Bong
It’s an annoying chore that puts more time between you and your next hit. But it’s essential if you want to keep your weed habits as healthy as possible, and knowing how to clean a bong effectively makes it easier. And no, changing out the water does not count as cleaning.
Bacteria and mold can grow easily in bongs because it’s the perfect combination of moisture and organic materials. Inhaling dirty bong water means inhaling mold spores and harmful bacteria. In the worst cases, you may be inhaling E. coli or Streptococcus. It can also lead to respiratory infections like bronchitis and pneumonia.
How Often Should You Clean Your Bong?
The correct answer is as often as possible. The more you clean it, the healthier every hit will be. But most people recommend cleaning it every few days or once a week, depending on your use habits.
As for changing the water, it’s best to do that at least daily, if not after every bowl you smoke. We know it’s a pain in the behind, but it’s for your own good.
How To Clean a Bong (Glass or Silicone)
There are many techniques and supplies people use to clean their bongs. You can try them all and see which works best for you. But we’ll start with the standard at-home method.
Good ‘Ole Salt and Alcohol
For this, you need about three tablespoons of salt (ideally coarse sea salt), a 16 or 32-ounce bottle of isopropyl alcohol (ideally 91%+), and plastic bags or hand towels.
1. Take Apart
Remove the bowl and downstem and rinse out your bong as thoroughly as you can. Run hot water through it. If it’s thin glass, use warm water.
2. Fill With Alcohol
Fill the base halfway with alcohol, using half or two-thirds of your alcohol. Do the same with any percolators or other parts of the bong that hold water or get moist.
3. Add Salt
Pour in a generous amount of sea salt. One to two tablespoons is usually enough.
4. Soak Other Bong Parts
Fill two plastic or glass bowls or plastic bags with the rest of the alcohol. Add the rest of the salt. Add your bowl and downstem to their bowl/bag. Let soak.
Note: For bongs with a thick layer of stubborn resin, you may want to let it soak in the alcohol for 10-20 minutes.
5. Seal Openings
Cover all openings on your bong by plugging them with plastic bags and/or towels that you don’t care about getting dirty. This is just one way to do it. Feel free to get creative with how you close up these openings. Some people freeball it and just use their hands to block them.
6. Shake, Shake, Shake
Shake the bong vigorously. Shake like your life depends on it, like it’s going to pay your rent. Do this for a few minutes, shaking from different angles and in different motions. Make sure you have a tight grip on your bong while doing this, and don’t stand near anything you might hit, such as a fancy floor lamp.
7. Rinse (and Maybe Repeat)
Rinse the bong out until you can no longer smell the alcohol or see any salt.
8. Clean the Other Bits
If you used plastic bags for your bowl and downstem, shake them inside the bags. If you used bowls, you can rinse them out with hot water. For leftover resin, use pipe cleaners, chopsticks, or cotton swabs to clean it manually.
If you do all this and your bong is still dirty, you can let everything soak in alcohol for longer and then repeat the steps.
Other Cleaning Options and Supplies
While the alcohol and salt method is tried and true, it’s not your only option. Below are other popular bong-cleaning methods.
Dish Soap and Warm Water
For bongs that aren’t super swampy, dish soap and warm water might be enough. Be sure to rinse thoroughly so you’re not inhaling soap residue later. Follow the same steps, skipping the alcohol and salt and using a few squirts of dish soap and hot or warm water.
Baking Soda and Vinegar
This can work for bongs that need more oomph than soap but less power than alcohol. Again, follow the same steps, but pour in baking soda first, and then add distilled white vinegar. You can also dilute with warm water.
Boiling or Freezing
These methods are a bit riskier, so we only recommend them for silicone bongs. Doing either of these with a glass bong could result in breakage. But with silicone, you can either pour boiling water into the bong to loosen resin, or you can freeze the bong, making the resin easier to scrape off. We recommend all the methods above before this one.
Commercial Cleaners and Tools
Lastly, there are many enticing products for bong cleaning. You can use commercial cleaners, such as Formula 420, and simply follow the directions. Or try fancy tools, like Blazy Susan’s Silicone Cleaning Caps (instead of plastic bags and towels) or the Magnetic Resin Blaster Scrubber. There are also bong cleaning kits with various tools for scrubbing nooks and crannies.
The Best Cleaner For Bongs
Everyone has their preferences and hacks, but we stand by the alcohol and salt method. It’s effective, even on disgusting bongs. But there’s no one perfect way to clean a bong, so don’t be afraid to experiment with methods and find one that works for you and your smoking companion.
