How Often Do You "Deep" Clean Your Pipes?

[Branzig]

So for those of you who don't know, I am in the middle of buying my first house. Which means we are currently doing a lot of cleaning, dumping, packing, and selling....(Just FYI, Keep Eyes Peeled, I may end up putting some of my pipes up in the WTS section...)

As I am going through my stuff, I am finding a lot of pipes. Pipes I haven't seen in months. Pipes I haven't smoked in months. One in particular, a Pete system, I started to clean up with some Iso so I could give it a nice smoke. That got me thinking. I haven't smoked this pipe in forever and I know I cleaned it before putting it away. But I am cleaning it before smoking it because it is "gross." But I have 5-8 pipes that I smoke regularly and I never think about cleaning them more than maybe once every couple months.

I do run pipe cleaners through them after every smoke and let them rest, but if they aren't sour, I don't worry about the deep cleaning much. So I was just wondering, how often do you guys clean those pipes?

[droy1958]

Like you, I run a cleaner through them after each smoke. I'm basically a new smoker and gave most of the estate pipes a salt and Everclear bath before using. The only time I've repeated that is when I switched a pipe from aro to non-aro....

[Bruck]

Once. And that was a while back when I only had a few pipes. Now I've got about 30 (that I've smoked) and most of them have seen nothing more than pipe cleaners and the czech tool. Maybe another round of salt and alcohol is in order...

[Cool Breeze]

Not very often for me.
Just dry pipe cleaners after each smoke and a light scrape of the bowl with a czech tool (not enough to remove cake, just enough to remove loose tobacco).

About once every 2 months I'll dip a pipe cleaner in whatever liqour I have on hand (Scotch most of the time) and run it through them and swab out the bowls with it. That's it for me.

[Branzig]

Maybe another round of salt and alcohol is in order...

I only salt and alcohol estate pipes myself. Once I've eradicated any and all ghosts of an estate, I never S&A treat again.

I dedicate my pipes so I don't worry about ghosts past the restoration phase.



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[Tobias Lutz]

~once a year

[BryGuySC]

I salt & alcohol treat and retort estate pipes upon purchase, then maybe a deep clean every year or so (depending on how much I smoke a pipe).

[c.ortiz108]

So far, never. Should I? I seriously clean estate pipes but after that it's just running a cleaner after each smoke.

[Pipe Smoker]

I don't ever deep-clean pipes. I smoke only one pipe on any given day. At the end of the day I spend close to an hour cleaning that pipe. I clean the rim with Everclear (140 proof), then EVOO. And swab out the bit and shank with pipecleaners wetted with Everclear.

If the pipe has a vulcanite bit I polish it with Colgate toothpaste applied to a tensioned piece of flat shoelace. Then a final polish of the bit with neutral Kiwi shoe polish.

Not regularly, but as needed, I ream. And clean the outside of the pipe with EVOO.

Edit: My cleaning procedure for my metal-stem Kirsten is significantly different…

[Aguineapig]

IF they ever start to smoke poorly, then I will clean them. Other than that, it's just an occasional pipe cleaner, and wiping any loose soot etc. out of the bowl. Occasional reaming as well, again as needed.

my cobs especially see very little maintenance and still work fine (better than when new, in fact) for it.

[Branzig]

So far, never. Should I?

My policy has always been only if it smokes sour. I asked the question here because I find it interesting.


I don't ever deep-clean pipes. I smoke only one pipe on any given day. At the end of the day I spend close to an hour cleaning that pipe. I clean the rim with Everclear (140 proof) and EVOO. And swab out the bit and shank with pipecleaners wetted with Everclear.

If the pipe has a vulcanite bit I polish it with Colgate toothpaste applied to a tensioned piece of flat shoelace. Then a final polish of the bit with neutral Kiwi shoe polish.

Not regularly, but as needed, I ream. And clean the outside of the pipe with EVOO.

If you are spending an hour cleaning said pipe, IMO you do deep clean. Every night :lol:

Anytime the use of alcohol is involved, I consider that deep cleaning.

[Lostmason]

I deep clean estates,but usually just a quick scrape to remove any dottle and blow thru the stem to clear any ash in there.Maybe once a week I'll run a bristled cleaner thru them.

[Lostmason]

My policy has always been only if it smokes sour. I asked the question here because I find it interesting.



If you are spending an hour cleaning said pipe, IMO you do deep clean. Every night :lol:

Anytime the use of alcohol is involved, I consider that deep cleaning.

Does that include the scotch I'm drinking? in that case they get cleaned at least once a week (probably (a lot) More)

[Haebar]

I do deep cleaning about every 3 months for the pipes that are in my active smoking rotation (usually 10-12 pipes). To me, deep cleaning is to use some sort of alcoholic solution (everclear, vodka, rum, etc.) along with bristle pipe cleaners to clean out sludge deposits in the shank and sweeten things up a bit. Then I run regular pipe cleaners through until they come out clean. Reaming is something that I only do when it is needed, as is the case with the salt/alcohol treatment. Most of my pipes will never need the salt/alcohol treatment, which I only use for when I get estate pipes that are badly ghosted or generally nasty.

[Bruck]

...my cobs especially see very little maintenance and still work fine (better than when new, in fact) for it.

ditto. I don't think I'd deep clean a cob for fear of dissolving it :)

I don't really dig a new cob - have to suffer thru the first few bowls of corny-tasting smoke before they get good.

[Branzig]

ditto. I don't think I'd deep clean a cob for fear of dissolving it :)

I don't really dig a new cob - have to suffer thru the first few bowls of corny-tasting smoke before they get good.
Ditto.

Hate the new corn taste here

I have cleaned the stems with some alcohol before. But never the shank, mortise or bowl....I use and abuse cobs like no other lol.

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[FidelCastro]

A clean pipe is a happy pipe. I tend to always keep my pipes on the clean side as I've tasted a pipe that has been neglected and swore I'd always keep things clean.

[Chad Vegas]

Not very often for me.
Just dry pipe cleaners after each smoke and a light scrape of the bowl with a czech tool (not enough to remove cake, just enough to remove loose tobacco).

About once every 2 months I'll dip a pipe cleaner in whatever liqour I have on hand (Scotch most of the time) and run it through them and swab out the bowls with it. That's it for me.

Don't waste good Scotch! The rare times I actually clean my only pipe is with a salt & rubbing alcohol soak.

[Cool Breeze]

Don't waste good Scotch!

You're assuming I buy "good" Scotch. lol

[Cool Breeze]

I don't ever deep-clean pipes. I smoke only one pipe on any given day.

Just out of curiosity, how many bowls on average do you smoke out of the pipe per day?

[Pipe Smoker]

Usually five fills of tobacco in my daily pipe. Less if some duty interferes, but I strive to minimize such duties. :)

[Branzig]

Usually five fills of tobacco in my daily pipe. Less if some duty interferes, but I strive to minimize such duties. :)
Do you have 7 daily pipes? Or you continually smoke 1 pipe 5 times a day, every day?

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[Pipe Smoker]

Most often my pipe rotation is like this:
Day 1: Kirsten
Day 2: pipe A
Day 3: Kirsten
Day 4: pipe B
Repeat

So the conventional briars (pipes A and B) get 3 days of rest between smokes. And they rest near a door that's open year round (at least during daytime). Mild climate in San Diego. :) The pipe A and B selections tend to remain the same for several weeks.

But sometimes I smoke the metal-stem Kirsten every day, all day. I consider it to be the best-smoking pipe I own, even though it's the least expensive pipe I own (except for $5 cobs that I have on hand for friends to use).

[Branzig]

Most often my pipe rotation is like this:
Day 1: Kirsten
Day 2: pipe A
Day 3: Kirsten
Day 4: pipe B
Repeat

So the conventional briars (pipes A and B) get 3 days of rest between smokes. And they rest near a door that's open year round (at least during daytime). Mild climate in San Diego. :) The pipe A and B selections tend to remain the same for several weeks.

But sometimes I smoke the metal-stem Kirsten every day, all day. I consider it to be the best-smoking pipe I own, even though it's the least expensive pipe I own (except for $5 cobs that I have on hand for friends to use).

Interesting! Thanks for sharing your rotation.

I always find it interesting how different smokers have different standards for their pipes. My mentor taught me 24 hours rest per pipe (unless its a cob) so that is what I have always done. I also don't smoke every day either, so resting a pipe would be no issue for me one way or another.

If I left my doors open year round, my pipes would be ruined :lol: Triple digits most of July-August here and then freezing, often below 0 in January, all winter.