Will 80 proof vodka work.....

KenofAhwlby

...to sterilize pipes,, stems, bits, etc.   Or does it need to be 90 proof or stronger,,,,,

ghostsofpompeii

I'm pretty sure it will sterilize your liver as well. Or maybe petrify.

Jdukes

@KenofAhwlby  I use 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol when I do the final sterilization on my stems. Has worked for me so far. Just make sure you rinse and clean thoroughly before use. 

thebadgerpiper

I believe 90% is the recommended proof. I used to use Isopropyl, but switched to Everclear based on the recommendations of others.

RockyMountainBriar

Remember 90% alcohol is 180 proof, so 80 proof is only 40% alcohol....the rest is water, 80 proof is still better than water🙂.  Just a bit of FYI for any that did not already know.  Also, I just looked at my fifth of Everclear....it is 95% grain alcohol = 190 proof.
Warms your innards😋

PappyJoe

I had a couple of estate pipes which needed heavy work on the finish as well as the inside of the bowl so I did an experiment and cleaned one with Everclear and the other with 91% Isopropyl alcohol. Everclear may have been the higher proof but the isopropyl appeared to work faster and removed more of the old finish and stain better. 

The stems were heavily oxidized as well and those I clean and sterilized by soaking in two tablespoons of Oxyclean in a quart mason jar of hot water. I let the soak for a minimum of two hours and shake the jar occasionally. I dip pipe cleaner in the mix and run them through the stems to clean the gunk out of the airway. Once the pipe cleaners start coming out clean, I rinse under the faucet running hot water. 

For a final step after the stem is cleaned and polished - or after a pipe hasn't been used for a few days - I dip a pipe cleaner in bourbon and run it through the stem.

mapletop

@Jdukes There are three molecular forms / varieties of alcohol.
Isopropyl alcohol is poisonous 
Methyl  alcohol is also poisonous 
Ethel alcohol is the drinking variety (ever-clear or grain spirits, beer etc...) and  is the only intrinsically   ( if you can actually say that ) safe variety of alcohol to use where there as any chance of ingesting or breathing in the vapors.

PappyJoe

@mapletop - which is why you rinse pipes you clean with isopropyl alcohol with water and let them dry before smoking. By the way, I believe isopropyl is only poisonous if you drink it. Once its evaporates, it doesn't leave any poisonous residue.

AnantaAndroscoggin

The Chemist at one place I worked at, was wont to repeat periodically, something about how "There's 900 different alcohol molecules, and only one of them won't kill a person."

motie2

Rum, Bourbon, P.G.A., Everclear, Vodka, and isopropyl (if allowed to dry); anything with a reasonably high alcohol content will work. Higher proof = works better. I once used cinnamon Lavoris... Not great but worked. These days I use 94 proof / 47% alcohol by volume Jonah's Curse Black Spiced Rum. Works swell.

KA9FFJ

@motie2 Rum, Bourbon, Vodka... am I sensing a pattern here?... 😏

RandyB1966

Don't use denatured alcohol that does have something in it that is not for human consumption.  It is what the Navy used on this ships to keep people from drinking it. 

KA9FFJ

@RandyB1966 That's probably what's wrong with most of us jarheads...

motie2

@KA9FFJ

Yes, you do, and it's "Rum #1"

ghostsofpompeii

Another possibility that shouldn't cause any harm what-so-ever is Listerine mouth wash.

RockyMountainBriar

For that fresh, minty pipe

motie2

@ghotsofpompeii -- Yeah, but who wants that taste lingering in a pipe?

ghostsofpompeii

I don't use the mint flavored Listerine. The regular flavored Listerine dissipates quite fast. If you use it the night before smoking you shouldn't detect it the following morning.

motie2

I was talking about regular flavored Listerine. One of my professors used it and first thing in the morning it was worse than halitosis.

AnantaAndroscoggin

As the new saying goes, "Better Living Through Chemistry was a cancer-filled lie."