After The Smoke and the Pipe Goes Back on the Rack..........

thewanderingdude

Do you store/rest your pipes with a clean pipe cleaner ran through the stem to the bowl? I've always heard that it helps draw out moisture from the pipe helping it rest. I've always done it that way, but wondered if leaving open airways would actually be better

drac2485

I've heard a mix of opinions and experiences. I used too until
I heard stories of people pulling moldy pipe cleaners and seeing them. The possible reason for it is that if left open air will move and dry it out. If the pipe cleaner is left in it then the trapped moisture will just sit. Normally I'll leave my pipe cleaner in for a few hours but then pull it out. Now I just use it pull it out and set my pipe on the rack.

PappyJoe

Not usually but I always run a pipe cleaner through them after smoking. 

highstump

I run a pipe cleaner through to the bowl then double the cleaner over and give a quick swab in the bowl. From there, back on the rack.

JoeHandyman

I don't leave the cleaner in the pipe but I do clean after every use. I use 12" cleaners and just clip off the dirty end after each use until it's too short. Started this when I got my Cobbits and needed some long cleaners, especially for the Gandaft. Since the Cobbits were varying lengths, I started with the idea of wire snipping the 12" ones to fit each pipe. Then the idea of just clipping off the ends evolved. I carry a case containing a few of the 12" cleaners folded in half and the wire snipper.

judandhispipe

When I am done smoking for the day,cleaners get run through the stem, the  bowl is wiped out with a bit of paper towel, and the rim is cleaned off with a cotton swap moistened with saliva.

PipeProfessor

I always run a pipe cleaner through mine. If a very wet smoke, I break down the pipe (after letting it cool) and let it dry out well for the next two days.

pipeman83

I never leave a pipe cleaner in the pipe, after smoking it I wipe the inside of the bowl out with a paper towel , then I run a couple of pipe cleaners through the stem and shank to get the excess moisture out , then I wipe the outside of the stem with a lens cleaning cloth soaked with obsidium oil or chapstick , this protects against oxidation, then I place it in the rack.

ghostsofpompeii

I don't leave a pipe cleaner in either. I'll give it a good cleaning with the pipe cleaner and dry out the bowl with a Q-Tip or paper towel. After about four or five smokes I'll give it a thorough cleaning with some kind of pipe sweetener or liquor - both the stem and inside the bowl. Freshening up the bowl keeps the pipes from stinking when they're in the rack. Left unchecked, if you have a rack full of stinky pipes that stench can stink up a room after a time. 

thebadgerpiper

I'll leave a pipe cleaner in my pipe right after I finish. I'll leave them in for an hour or so, but I'll take it out before I put my pipe back on the rack. Sometimes I'll leave the cleaner in on the rack, but usually I try to take it out.

Rshey1

Never done that.I always run a pipe cleaner cleaning out the bowl with the pipe cleaner as well. Then set on the rack for 2 or 3 days.I have a few that I keep in rotation.

Philip

Ditto

xDutchx

My method is the same as ghostsofpompeii.

Woodsman

Clean them and put them in the rack.