how to | cleaning your glass

1. It is hard to enjoy your weed or your dab if residue from an old smoke sesh is still hanging around. Built up gunk on your piece just makes a beautiful bud taste shitty and who wants that??? 

2. Showmanship. I recently built a shelf for all my glass--some of which is more art than tool--and I hate the idea of showing off dirty pieces. You might not feel as invested in a cheaper piece as you do in your faves, but you should still make it a habit to keep your shit clean so you can display with pride. 

3. Longevity of my glass. It's simple--take care of your stuff and it will be around for years. A well-cleaned bong is going to last much longer, and by eliminating gunk that down stems and other pieces can get stuck on, you're doing a small part to keep your shit safe. Seems fair to me. 

{okay ladies, now let's get in formation}

Cleaning your glass is so damn easy, I'm not sure why it took me so long to pick up on it, but if you wanna clean your bowls the Weed Kween way, you just need a few basics:

• 1-2 bottles 92% isopropyl alcohol. The number you need depends on how much glass you have to clean, and if you have a lot you may need even more. I usually use about 3/4 to 1 full bottle cleaning my entire collection. 

• ziploc baggies. I use 2--one for pipes and the other for bowls and down stems. Again, the amount you need depends on how much glass you have. 

• Q-tips. Just grab a fuckton and be done with it. I don't know how many I use but I like to have a handful around so I can clean with abandon. 

• optional, but highly recommended: essential oil of choice. I use wild orange. I'll explain below. 

• optional: pipe cleaners. I've never used these so I can't speak to them on my cleaning method BUT I can see how they'd help to get rid of the gunk my Q-tips cannot, so I would say grab 'em if you got 'em!

• optional: sea salt/really any chunky salt. Most resources recommend a salt, because the texture helps break up the shit on your bowl, but personally I rarely use it (because I usually can't find my salt shaker). If you haven't cleaned your piece in a while it might be a good idea to toss a little in to help eliminate the junk (I'll explain how below). 

Once you've got your goods, you're ready to clean your glass! Woohoo!

1. Clean all the shit out of your bowl, if you haven't already. This includes any ash or unsmoked bud. 

2. Soak in isopropyl alcohol. For bongs, you can fill it up to where you usually put water, or wherever if you have a ring of residue. For bong pieces, as well as pipes, bubblers or any small attachments, you can put in a ziploc bag and fill with alcohol until it covers your glass. Give it a good couple shakes to really get inside your piece. If you want to use salt, now is a good time to pour some in (you don't want it totally saturated but just enough to give some texture--I would say 1 to 2 tablespoons per cup of alcohol should be fine.)

3. Wait. Some people I know let their pieces sit for 10-15 min, but I personally like to do an hour or more, especially for a good deep cleaning. As a general rule of thumb, the longer it's been or the more you smoke, the longer you need to sit. 

4. Now you can scrub! Get out your Q-tips and go to work on that hard set scum. If you've let it sit long enough, most residue should come off easily with a little elbow grease; however, feel free to replace and let sit a little longer if it's not coming off. I find the bowls are the hardest on residue so I let them soak longest. Bongs are pretty hard to scrub so I just dump out the alcohol and rinse with water to do the best I can.

5. Optional, but highly recommended--essential oil soak. After I clean my pieces I'll soak them again, but this time in warm water with a few drops of essential oil. You can do this for as little as 15 minutes if you want. The goal here is to remove the smell and taste of the alcohol, which I personally find incredibly overpowering even after a dry. I love soaking my shit in lemon or wild orange oil, not just because I'm into aromatherapy, but I also think it just adds a nice touch to your newly cleaned piece. You can experiment with peppermint, lavender or whatever else, but please take care not to ingest any oils and always rinse carefully before your next sesh. The scent should linger for at least a few bowls, making your next smoke way more enjoyable! 

It's up to you how frequently you want to clean your gear; as a rule, I usually try to soak my babies once a week, typically in rotation so I still have something to smoke out of while cleaning. Another friend of mine wipes down her bong after every sesh, which is a little too much work for me, although I gotta be honest, I love how her glass looks.