What to Clean a Bong With

First, gather your supplies. You can buy a bong-cleaning solution with special ingredients like diatomaceous earth, but you can also get a bong really clean with everyday supplies you might already have at home (and are handy to keep around for other tasks).

Isopropyl Alcohol and Borax

Ask any experienced bong owner, and they'll recommend isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) as the go-to cleaning solution. "Iso" softens and dissolves the resin so it is released from the bong. This includes both the chunks of resin and the thin patina of resin that coats the inside of the glass or silicone.

It's also good to have a scrubbing agent. Many people suggest rock salt, but we find borax (a common household cleaner often used in laundry) to be even more effective.

Note: Do not use isopropyl on acrylic.

Bong Cleaner Solution

You can buy branded bong cleaning solutions. These are very effective and take less work, but are much higher in price and not useful for other tasks around the house.

Heat and a Wire Coathanger

If your goal is to harvest resin (or you don't have any isopropyl alcohol), you can use heat in the form of lighter or hot water to scrape the inside of your bong with a shaped coathanger. This often results in masterful wire sculpting to get a wire that is exactly the right angle to reach all those hard-to-reach angles inside your bong.

How to Clean Your Bong and Remove Resin

What makes a bong "dirty" is the built-up resin film on the inside of the bong. You can harvest that resin with a heat-and-scrape, but that is rarely necessary anymore. The most efficient method is the shake and rinse.

Shake and Rinse

Fill your bong chamber about halfway with bong cleaner or isopropyl alcohol. If you're using iso, add 1-2 tablespoons of rock salt or borax to help scrub the resin as the solvent breaks it up.

Seal the stem and top with your palms and shake thoroughly. Shake the solution so that it swishes with force over every inner section of your bong. Turn it upside down to fill the neck and shake it to clean the patina from the tube. Turn it sideways and shake back and forth to clean the stem. Shake aggressively up and down to clean any inner features like a percolator or glass sculpture. Swish it around to get every inch of the inner chamber.

Then pour out the cleaning mixture and rinse with hot (but not boiling) water.

Heat and Scrape

Whether you're harvesting resin or trying to perfectly clean a hard-to-reach area, heating the bong and scraping it with a section of wire coathanger (as mentioned above) can be effective. Heat a section of the bong with your lighter and practice bending your coathanger into various shapes to reach around corners and scrape those elusive areas.

Note: Do not use boiling hot water, as this can cause shock cracks in glass or acrylic bongs.

How Do I Clean Acrylic Bongs?

Acrylic is unique. It's harder to break by dropping but can't use isopropyl or cleaning solutions based on isopropyl. Instead, use a strong vinegar solution. The acid will help break down the resin instead.

What Are Hard Water Stains, and How Do I Clean/Prevent Them?

90% of homes in the US have hard water in the taps. This means there are extra minerals like calcium and magnesium in the water. It tends to leave a chalky white residue on everything when the water dries and can result in hard water stains in your bong, too.

Fortunately, hard water is easy to deal with. The answer is vinegar.

Vinegar breaks down those mineral deposits and rinses clean. Use a dash of borax or rock salt just like you would when cleaning resin. Rinse out the bong, and those hard water stains will clear right away.

Bong Cleaning FAQ

• What Is Bong Cleaner?
• Bong cleaner is a commercial solution designed to break down resin and clean bongs. Be sure to get one that aligns with the material of your bong: glass, silicone, or acrylic.
• How Often Should I Clean My Bong?
• Clean your bong with every few bowls or once a week, whichever is more frequent. Clean your bong every 5-10 bowls, after parties and all-nighters, or once a week.
• How Often Should I Change the Water in My Bong?
• Change your bong water every 2-3 bowls. It's easy to do and keeps your hits clean.
  

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