Some of the pipes I work on are quite easy to clean and merely take pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. Most though need a thorough reaming and cleaning.
Thorough cleaning and reaming – 9 times out of 10 I ream the pipe with a PipNet reamer with four different sized cutting heads. I generally start with the smallest head and work my way up to a cutting head that is close to the size of the bowl. I will finish any portion left behind with a sharp pen knife. I use cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol to scrub out the shank and bowl as well as the stem. This method works well on many of the lightly smoked pipes that I clean out. The worst for tars and buildup are the pipes used for aromatics.
Retort – The second tool in the kit is a retort, a tool that includes a test tube, cork, a connector and surgical tubing. The surgical tubing is stretched over the stem or inserted in the shank (see Andrew Selking’s posts). A cotton ball is stuffed into the bowl and alcohol put in the test tube. Canned heat, an alcohol lamp or a candle is used to heat the alcohol to boiling and it is pushed through the stem, shank and bowl. When the test tube is removed from the heat source the cooled alcohol returns to the test tube. It carries with it tars and oils that have been boiled out of the pipe. I have found that I have to often repeat this process several times before I get a clear alcohol back in the cooled tube.Once I remove the cotton ball and the tubing I use pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove any remnants of tars and oils. Once the pipe dries out the retort has generally removed all but the most stubborn ghosts and leaves the pipe smelling clean.
Cotton ball and alcohol treatment – This treatment is one that I use instead of the salt and alcohol treatment that many have written about. I stuff the bowl full of cotton balls all the way to the bottom. I stick a cotton swab in the shank to plug the airway or in some cases put a rubber stopper or cork in the end of the shank. I use a rubber ear syringe to fill the bowl with alcohol. I used 99% isopropyl alcohol and fill it until the cotton is covered. As it evaporates I add more alcohol to the bowl. The alcohol generally goes into the shank as well and draws the oils and tars into the cotton balls in the bowl. I leave the pipe sitting in an old ice cube tray over night or until the cotton is darkened. Then I remove the cotton balls and repeat the process until the cotton remains white. Once the bowl is empty I use pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to clean out any remaining oil and tars in the bowl and shank.Cam16
Kosher salt and alcohol treatment – The salt and alcohol treatment is a variation on the above method.Many have spoken of split shanks and bowls cracking after this treatment and will not use it. I have never had a problem so I continue to use it on stubborn bowls and ghosts. I use a Kosher sea salt in rock salt form and fill the bowl with it. I then use the rubber ear syringe to fill the bowl with alcohol, plugging it with a cork or stopper or even a cotton swab. I let the alcohol run into the shank and then set the pipe in the ice cube tray overnight. The alcohol wicks out the oils and tars from the briar and turns the salt dark. The salt and alcohol treatment drew out more oils that were left. I empty the darkened salt from the bowl and then clean out the bowl and shank with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The key is thoroughly flush out the salt with the alcohol and pipe cleaners/cotton swabs. I let the pipe dry for three or more days before I smoke a bowl in it.
Cotton ball and white vinegar treatment – A variation on the alcohol/salt and alcohol/cotton ball treatment. Instead of using alcohol as the liquid in the bowl I use white vinegar. I have found that it works wonders to draw out the tars and oils that are left behind by the alcohol. I also use it to freshen the foulest bowl. No need to rinse the bowl afterwards as the vinegar evaporates leaving behind a faint smell. I stuff the bowl with cotton balls and then fill it using an ear syringe. I leave the pipe sitting overnight. I remove the cotton balls and clean out the bowl and shank with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs to remove any remaining oils.
Activated Charcoal and heat treatment – The final option is to fill the bowl with activated charcoal pieces (from aquarium shops or the pet area at Walmart) and set it in a metal pan in the oven on the lowest heat setting that is available. The heat softens the oils and they are drawn out into the charcoal. I usually leave it in the oven for 15-30 minutes. I then dump out the charcoal and clean the bowl and shank with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs.
For most of the pipes I work on a combination of one or two of the above methods accomplish the task. Only the most stubborn need to use all of them. Experiment with the methods
Hiker, the easiest way to minimize ghosting, is to dedicate pipes to a particular genre, Latakia, Virginias, Aromatics, etc. Once you have more pipes, and have sampled several blends, you might want to dedicate a particular pipe to a particular blend.
Some blends ghost worse than others. You can minimize ghosting by keeping cake in your pipe to a minimum, but some blends, like the ones that contain Latakia, can still ghost even with minimal cake. Cobs are excellent smoking pipes, and one reason some folks prefer them, is that they can dedicate a cob to a particular blend/blends, with minimal expense.
Hiker007
Enthusiast
Comments
Some blends ghost worse than others. You can minimize ghosting by keeping cake in your pipe to a minimum, but some blends, like the ones that contain Latakia, can still ghost even with minimal cake. Cobs are excellent smoking pipes, and one reason some folks prefer them, is that they can dedicate a cob to a particular blend/blends, with minimal expense.