Bongs are a favourite of pot smokers from all over the world. Where you find cannabis, you’ll often find a bong nearby.
But when it comes to smoking cannabis, there’s no worse feeling than being passed a dirty bong with resin and black water all along the side.
Not only is it potentially bad for your health, but the water also doesn’t taste as good, and it tastes awful.
That’s why it’s essential to know how to clean a bong.
If you cruise the internet, you’ll find plenty of factory-made bong cleaners. These are great but can cost a fortune if you are proactive in trying to keep your bong clean.
With a few items you have at home and a couple from Walmart, you’ll have yourself a reliable bong cleaner.
Not all methods are built the same. But we’re going to show you how to clean a bong in the best ways possible.
How to Clean a Bong With Isopropyl Alcohol
What’s the best way to clean a bong with isopropyl alcohol? First, collect your supplies.
1. Supplies Needed
Cleaning a bong doesn’t require many supplies, but you will have to gather the following.
– Table salt, sea salt or rock salt. DO NOT USE RICE. Especially in bongs with percolators. They will get caught inside and mould!
– Twist ties, pipe cleaners Q-Tips or and an old toothbrush for the hard to reach spots
– Wine cork, fabric or cotton to plug up the down stem and mouthpiece
– Rubbing/isopropyl alcohol
– Rubber bands to fasten the plugs
– Containers such as Tupperware for the smaller pieces
– Plastic gloves if desired
2. Spill Out the Dirty Bong Water
Simple enough! Spill out all the dirty bong water. No further explanation required.
3. Dismantle your Bong
Many bongs these days are built in more than one piece. These will require you to take them apart before cleaning.
The last thing you need is to be shaking the bong ferociously and have it fall apart on.
4. Take Pieces and Place in Tupperware
To get the most out of this operation, you’ll want to give every little part an excellent clean. Fill your Tupperware with hot water, ¼ teaspoon of rubbing alcohol and salt.
You will require a separate container for each piece.
Let your bowl and downstem soak while you take care of the rest.
5. Pour Hot Water in your Bong
You can boil water if you choose to, but it’s a little unnecessary with the rubbing alcohol option.
Hot water will be more than sufficient. Hot water by itself is an excellent start to get the filth and grime dislodged from the bong.
Related: How To Use A Dab Rig: Best Tips and Techniques
6. Dump Water and Add Isopropyl and Salt
The amounts themselves aren’t too important, but a good tablespoon of alcohol will do.
As for the salt, the more, the merrier. Salt is abrasive, so the more you have, the better it will be to clean out your bong.
We recommend sea salt or rock salt as it’s larger, but table salt will do.
7. Plug Holes and Shake
Using either the cork or cotton cloth, cover your bong and use the rubber bands to secure in place. Now without throwing you back out, give it a good shake for 5 minutes.
Be active and mindful of how you shake the bong. There will be certain areas that are dirtier and will need more attention.
Try and get the salt in these nooks and have the really destroy the gunk!
8. Rinse Out and Repeat If Necessary
Using hot water, rinse out your bong cleaner and see how it turned out. If it’s been a while since the last cleaning, it may need another go at it.
It’s a good idea to get it as clean as possible, for this will make the next clean much more accessible.
9. Close the Tupperware Lids and Shake The Bowl and Downstem
Now that most of the bong is looking brand spanking new, all that’s left is the bowl and downstem.
Close the individual Tupperware containers and give them a good shake. Just like the bong itself, 5 minutes is a substantial amount of time.
10. Use the Toothbrush or Q-Tip to Clean Every Little Part Possible
Our DIY bong cleaner won’t always be able to get everything cleaned up. However, the right toothbrush and Q-Tip will be able to take care of the rest.
Give them a good scrub and voila, your bong is clean! This is definitely up there as the best way to clean a bong.
How to Clean a Bong with Lemon Water
If you want to stay away from using Isopropyl alcohol on your bong, then lemon water is a great alternative.
You will need either a fresh cut lemon or store-bought lemon juice. I guess you could call lemon water something of homemade bong cleaner.
In the above step 4, once your bong has been dismantled, squeeze your lemons or add in the lemon juice to the bong.
Feel free to use as much as you’d like.
Then for step 6, once the water has boiled, carefully pour it.
Ideally, you want to let the water cool down a bit. When it’s a bit on the cooler side, give it a shake. Let it sit while the lemon keeps working its magic.
After letting your solution sit for 5 minutes, rinse it out with hot water and bask in the glory of your freshly cleaned bong.
How to Clean a Bong with Vinegar and Baking Soda
Do you remember the good old days in elementary school when you’d make a volcano from baking soda and vinegar? Well, we’re bringing the glory days back!
That’s right, we’re going to show you how to clean a bong with vinegar in 5 steps.
1. Start by disposing of your dirty bong water.
2. Next, you’ll want to rinse it out with warm water to get a sweet pre-clean going.
3. Once it’s been cleaned up, add a ½ cup of baking soda to the bong, and a let it rest for as long as possible. You want to try and get baking soda on every dirt part likely. For the most part, the baking soda will stick the grime. Now we play the waiting game.
4. After waiting for a minimum of 2 hours, and overnight if possible, we get to the good stuff. Take your science fair bong to the bathroom to avoid messes, as it will get very messy. Add a ½ cup of vinegar and enjoy the explosions.
5. Once the vinegar and baking soda have settled down, rinse and scrub your bong until it’s as clean as it possibly can. This is one of the best ways to clean your bong at home.
Maintenance
Now that we’ve finally got your bong in smoking form keeping it clean is the next step.
Preventive medicine is the best kind by far. And next time you do clean your bong, it would need to be such a tedious process.
Store your Bong Without Water
The best way to keep it nice and fresh is to empty it out after smoke. This will definitely keep things cleaner than clean. Keeping the water in, while much more relaxed, can only cause problems down the road.
By storing our bongs without water, we ensure it won’t need to be washed as often.
Add a Couple of Drops of Lemon
Not only is lemon a great DIY bong cleaner, but it’s also useful in preventing it from getting dirty.
Add a couple of drops of lemon to your bong water. The enzymes in the lemon will protect it from grime and add a nice little touch to the flavour.
Be sure not to add too much, as it will overpower the cannabis and be far too citrusy.
Related: Smoking vs Vaping Weed: Which is Better for You?
A Clean Bong is the Best Bong
So, now do you know how to clean your bong?
The feeling of finally cleaning your bong is just like any task that you’ve procrastinated on forever. You start thinking to yourself why wasn’t this done earlier? It’s so easy and makes like that much better.
They say cleanliness is closest to godliness. Maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but it’s just the way it is!
We hope you’ve enjoyed our breakdown on the best way to clean your bong and various methods.
Let’s just say this will be the last time you’re ever caught with a dirty bong!
Stock up on supplies here.
