- Ziploc bag (bigger than your pipe, obviously)
- Water
- Salt or Rock Salt (coarser grain)
- Alcohol
- Pipe cleaners
- Q-tips
- The first thing that you are going to want to do is to fill up your Ziploc bag with alcohol. Once you have filled the Ziploc bag with the required amount of water, you then need to add some salt to the Ziploc bag. Once the alcohol and salt have been added to the bag, you need to shake the bag a small amount to make sure that the salt is mixed in with the alcohol.
- Now you are going to want to pour a small amount of salt in the stem of your pipe. You must take care not to put too much salt into the pipe because you need to make sure that you are able to pour the rubbing alcohol into the pipe. You also then want to pour a small amount of salt into the bowl of the pipe as well.
- Now you are going to want to put the pipe inside the bag of alcohol and salt that you have already combined together. Once the pipe is inside the bag, you need to close the Ziploc bag. Once you are sure the Ziploc bag is tightly closed, you need to shake the bag for approximately 30 to 45 seconds. The longer you shake, the cleaner it should be (within reason).
- As a last step to clean your pipe, you are going to want to take the pipe out of the Ziploc bag and scrub the pipe with your pipe cleaners or Q-tips. You only need to do this is you see any type of residue on the pipe.
Once you have completed all of the above steps in order to clean the pipe, your pipe is now ready to be used again. It is always best to clean your pipe after every use to make sure that you are going to get the best smoke as possible out of your pipe.
Of course, it's not totally necessary. But bi-weekly or monthly cleanings will ensure that things don't get too stained that future cleanings become difficult.
Preventative Maintenance
If you want your pipe to last a long time, you are going to want to make sure to have preventative maintenance on the pipe. The best thing that you can do for your pipe is to keep it clean.
If you wait to clean your pipe until it is bad need of cleaning, it is going to be very hard to get it completely clean, if at all possible to clean. There are some cleaning products that you are going to be able to find to clean your pipes but as long as you clean your pipe after each use or before it gets heavily dirty, you are not even going to need these types of products.
source https://www.thickassglass.com/blogs/enlightenment/how-to-clean-a-glass-pipe