How to clean a marijuana bubbler

Any kind of bubbler weed pipes or bongs will get clogged up with oils and residue over time if they are being used frequently. This gunk can begin to be a nuisance long before the device stops working entirely as it will affect the flavor of anything you smoke through it and hinder the overall functionality of the piece. No one wants to have to lose a lung to take a hit or experience a burnt marijuana residue taste instead of the terpenes in their cannabis, the best way to avoid it is to take proper care of your bubbler with regular cleanings. Here you will find an easy step by step guide on how to clean both bubbler bongs and bubbler weed pipes including a simple recipe for an all-natural cleaning solution.    

Make a cleaning solution

The first thing you will need to do no matter which style of cannabis smoking device you own is to make an effective cleaning solution. Though there are thousands of products that can be found on the market for this exact purpose, the majority use harsh chemicals that can leave their toxic residues behind. This all-natural bong cleaning solution is easy to make and just abrasive enough to scrub away the grime without damaging the glassware.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of alcohol (91% or higher)
• 4 tablespoons of sea salt

Tools

• 1 measuring cup with a spout
• 1 mixing tool

Instructions

1. Pour the alcohol into the spouted measuring cup.
2. Add four tablespoons of sea salt to the alcohol and stir the mixture well to combine the ingredients.

How to clean bubbler bongs

Generally, a slightly different method needs to be used for bubbler bongs since they won’t always fit into a small container or bag to sit in the cleaning solution. If your bong is dirty, you might need two batches of the cleaning mixture mentioned above. Unfortunately, bongs only contain liquid in the water chamber which is not where most of the residue will be, so the idea is to perform a rinse that gives similar results to a full-on soak.

Materials

• 1 stainless steel sink
• 1-2 cups of cleaning solution
• 1 spouted measuring cup
• 5-10 cotton swabs
• 1 roll of paper towels
• 1 ziplock baggie or small container (large enough to hold the stem)

Instructions

1. Set the bong in a stainless-steel sink and remove the stem.
2. Place the stem in the baggie or small container and place the stem inside.
3. Fill the container with a cleaning solution until it is completely submerged. Now set it aside.
4. Empty the water from the bong ensuring as much of the liquid as possible is gone. You can use paper towels to dab the reachable areas to help absorb it.
5. Hold the bong on a slight angle while keeping the stem hole faced upwards. What this does is create a larger portion of the chamber that can hold liquid before pouring back out.
6. Slowly pour the cleaning mixture down the mouthpiece into the bong. Add only enough that it doesn’t leak out.
7. Hold the bong in place for a few minutes to give the cleaning solution time to break up the gunk inside.
8. Stand the bong upright and swirl the liquid around a few times to reach some of the areas that have remained untouched.
9. Dump all of the cleaning mix out of the bong and down the drain. You should see black particles, and the fluid will have taken on a yellow or brown tinge.
10. Rinse the bong out well using warm water.
11. Perform steps 5-10 once more. By this point, if your bong is clean, you can move on. If it isn’t then you may want to perform one final flush.
12. Use cotton swabs to scrub out any hard to reach areas of grime that might be left behind.
13. Rinse the bong once more under warm water and set it aside to dry on a paper towel.
14. Remove the stem from its container and dump out the cleaning liquid.
15. Run the stem under warm water and rinse it out as well as you can.
16. Use the remaining cotton swabs to clean any narrowchambers including the bowl and stem base.
17. Rinse the stem once more and set it aside on paper towel to dry.
18. Use the remaining paper towels to gently pat dry the bubbler parts before using them.

How to clean bubbler pipes

Bubbler weed pipes are incredibly easy to clean and can be soaked for extended periods to remove severe sludge build ups. The biggest problem is usually finding something that will fit down the chamber. A fine wire brush is optional and the only thing we recommend trying to use. If you clean your bubbler pipe regularly than a quick rinse is all you will need.  

Materials

• 1 cup of cleaning solution
• 5 cotton swabs
• 1 baggie or small glass container
• 1 roll of paper towels.

Instructions

1. Set the weed pipe into the baggie or container.
2. Fill the container until the bubbler is completely covered.
3. Allow the pipe to soak for 20 minutes in the case of regular cleaning or up to one full hour if it’s completely clogged from aged grime.
4. Once the weed pipe has soaked, you can remove it from the liquid and discard the solution.
5. Rinse the bubbler pipe under warm water for one minute.
6. Use cotton swabs to clean the bowl and any other reachable areas.
7. Give the device one final rinse before patting it dry using paper towels.