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Toking Jedi

I've been having a bit of trouble with my pipe lately, because it's getting a bit clogged with old tar and particulate matter. Does anyone know of any kind of method by which I could soak the pipe in some kind of solution and have the tar simply dissolve away?

What would it be? Would vinegar or some other acidic thing, like orange or lemon juice, work? Or would I have to let it sit in detergent-laden water for a bit before getting a pipe cleaner (ha! never quite made that connection in kindergarden arts and crafts...) and getting the tricky parts?

Any advice would be appreciated.

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Richi

Rubbing Alcohol or Acetone if you can find any.

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Buzzby

Rubbing alcohol and pipe cleaners work very well. Soak in alcohol and finish with pipe cleaners. Flush with hot water. Acetone is the best solvent but might be overkill. Acetone is highly volatile, extremely flammable, and the fumes kill brain cells.

I use boiling water and dishwasher detergent to clean the whip of my vaporizer. This is very effective but you'd have to handle your pipe with tongs because of the boiling water. With the whip it's simple. You suck up some of the solution and blow it out again. Repeat until the whip is clean. Flush with hot water.

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sterbo

Rubbing or denatured alcohol works perfectly.

Stay away from acetone. It's extremely toxic (and unnecessary anyway).

You can get pipe cleaners that range from rather soft in their action to those that are rather Brillo like for the rough stuff. Any Tobacconist will carry a good assortment...

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Broliette

Here you go Jedi; some other good ideas in these.

http://www.marijuana.com/420/lounge/...owl-resin.html

http://www.marijuana.com/420/lounge/...ean-glass.html

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Richi

I have found that acetone works much better. Perhaps overkill for some, especially if you cannot find where to buy it, I wouldn't even know because I've never looked for it. I can obtain free, pure acetone, which if left in open air will evaporate more fully than even rubbing alcohol would anyway, so this is why I use it.

sterbo

Sure. So will Muriatic Acid.

Alcohol works very effectively, is no danger to you if it gets on your skin and the volatiles evaporate quickly.
Acetone is a solvent of such makeup that most people who have a choice would wear barrier gloves when handling it along with a respirator. If no respirator is available then one would want to go out of their way not to breathe the gases.

I've been building hands on and managing high end construction projects for over 4 decades, both in the Marine and Land based industry.
While the effects of acetone's transmission thru the skin effecting us on a cellular level is less dramatic initially I can tell you that over time, as one become desensitized, the adverse effects are not pleasant.

Regardless, my point is that alcohol is cheap, readily available, works great and is virtually non-toxic.
Why bother to use something else (in this case, acetone) that will definitely have deleterious effects of one degree or another if not handled properly?
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Buzzby

You can buy it anywhere you buy paint. It's varnish thinner.

Alcohol cleans perfectly. It just takes a few seconds longer. And it's not dangerous to use.

Richi

Is this pure acetone? The same goes for rubbing alcohol, it's usually a mixture of several alcohols.

Buzzby

Yes. Any non-volatile residues would screw up the varnish.

Rubbing alcohol contains isopropyl alcohol (70% - 91%) and water.