Dirty bongs are flat out gnarly. They smell bad, they taste bad, and most frighteningly they are a breeding ground for bacteria. Keeping your bong clean and using a mouthpiece helps reduce your risk of infection and enhances your smoking experience. Ready to rip? Here’s why you should keep your bong clean as a whistle.
Dirty Bong Risks
If you’re not accustomed to dumping out your bong water every night, you might notice a strange film on the inside. This is a biofilm, and it’s created by millions of microorganisms, all banding together to try and claim your bong as their own. What’s worse is that biofilm formation occurs after just one day of letting your bong water sit.
These bacteria can cause illnesses, and the risk is especially higher since you are inhaling the particles directly into your lungs. It’s also important to know that biofilm is not impacted by antibiotics, and that the sole purpose of biofilm is to protect microorganisms and allow them to continue to grow.
Bong Maintenance
It’s just a fact of life: bong cleaning is a smoker’s cross to bear. Lucky for you, there are ways to space out those deep cleans.
- Dump water daily: Avoid the biofilm formation by dumping your bong water before you go to bed or after you are done smoking for the day/evening. This simple, quick task can help keep your bong clean and clear.
- Use filtered water: Unfiltered water contains high mineral content, causing your bong to be susceptible to staining. While it is safe to clean your bong with unfiltered water, make sure you rinse it with filtered.
These two easy tricks will help you avoid frequent deep cleans, especially if you are a heavy smoker.
Cleaning Your Bong
The time has come. You can’t stretch it out any longer. You need to clean your bong. A clean bong looks better, it tastes better, and it gets rid of all the nasty junk you hate looking at. Here’s a few tips:
- Rinse your bong with clean water. Once you’re done rinsing it, make sure all the water is poured out.
- Use a cleaning solution, such as isopropyl alcohol and salt or vinegar and salt. The salt helps to get in the small areas and remove any additional debris. Some shops also sell premade bong cleaner, which is excellent for resin removal and specially formulated for bong cleaning.
- Give it a shake. Cover up the top of your bong with your hand and shake your bong. If you have excess buildup, it’s wise to let the solution sit for 10 minutes to help dissolve any stubborn resin.
- Rinse it out.Once you’ve rinsed it out you’re ready to smoke! Just remember to dump the water afterward.
So, you know how to maintain and clean your bong. But how often should you clean it?
Bong Cleaning Schedule Guidelines
Frequency of use determines how often you should clean your bong. These are approximations, so if you notice your bong getting dirty sooner than the recommended time frame, go ahead and clean it.
- Daily/Heavy Users: Clean your bong every one to two days. Cleaning after each use isn’t as crucial with frequent users because it doesn’t allow the water to sit idly and breed bacteria.
- Infrequent Users: If you aren’t a daily toker, clean your bong after each use. It bears repeating: letting your bong sit with water in it gives microorganisms time to form a biofilm and rapidly reproduce.
It seems a little backward, but the less you use your bong the more important it becomes to clean after each smoke session.
No matter if you are a daily toker or once in a while smoker, keeping your bong clean is necessary. Clean bongs can elevate your high by reducing your risk for health complications and improving the taste of your smoke sesh.
