Can ISO + Salt scratch glass?

I've read several people on the internets say that salt will scratch glass. Any truth to this or anyone with proof?

Salt is a mineral and has one of the lowest "Mohs" scales (Mohs is the hardness of mineral).

Salt has the equivalent hardness of a human finger nail, a "2". Glass is supposedly about a "5". A diamond is "10". The number sort of is exponential, salt isn't really 20% of a diamond strength...

You usually can't cut glass with anything harder than glass itself (diamond etc), but I wouldn't rule out the fact that continued abrasion of glass by anything won't scuff it up a bit.

Good question though - I look forward to a definitive answer from someone

my six shooter has been with me for almost 2 yrs. from my combusting days to now. its been through countless salt baths and still looks brand new today!!! i'm not gonna say it won't but i haven't seen it.

another wierd thing i do is water and salt shake after i clean with iso then another warm water wash and shake then dry. i like to use my glass right away and i found doing this gave me the cleanest taste.

I always mix the iso up with the salt before putting it in don't know if that helps but my glass still looks perfect.

Salt & ISO here as well, and have never even marked any of my glass.

I was thinking there wasn't much chance for damage, but anything will erode with time, I just wondered if anyone had first hand experience with said scratches.

I'm reading cheap glass that is not properly cured may be the reason this myth has started, as the coating scratches away.

I have very rarely found the need to introduce salt or any other abrasive to my cleaning process. As long as you clean often enough, ISO should be all you need. The point is to avoid any junk build up in the first place.

I also use Salt and ISO with a rinse of hot water afterwards. No ill effects as of yet. I just started using Grunge Off and it cleans a lot better IMO.

I agree with aesthyrian. ISO and salt wont hurt your pipe But if you do keep it clean, you wont need the salt, ISO alone will work and the taste of your preferred blend will be so much better if you just give it an iso shake once a week. If you think about it most of the cleansers grunge off, 4:20, ect ect have a salt like substance in them. im not sure about grunge off i haven't used it in years. The new 1 minute all natural 4:20 cleaner is amazing if you want to spend a few bucks, and i reuse it over and over until its so gross i have to get rid of it. I clean my pipes once a week, but when i first used the 1 min 420 it was on this disgusting combustion tube, that was caked with resin. And it was gleaming within a minute of shaking. ANSWER - no salt wont hurt, unless you pour it into any open wounds and your eyes. ;-)

whoever told u that is a dumbass, use salt it will never damage glass.

Best bet is don't let resin stick in the first place. I am in the process of testing RezBlock and will write a review soon. So far, this stuff is amazing I know its green but it works.



"RezBlock is an all-natural solution that you add to the water in your clean water pipe. RezBlock will prevent resin from sticking in all areas that the mixture is touching.

RezBlock is made from organic ingredients - all of which you can buy in a health food store (like Trader Joe's). We do not disclose the full ingredient list because it's a proprietary blend. We use fruit and vegetable extracts to make RezBlock and add salt which acts as a preservative and food coloring to make it look pretty. There are no chemicals or any other ingredients that would be unsafe for human consumption. We use the product ourselves and we would never release something that we thought had the potential to cause harm."

I don't know how I would feel about vaporbonging through gatorade.

I never have anything sticking below the water level anyway, does it keep the rest of it clean?
The description made it sound like it only keeps it clean where the mixture is touching, which is the same performance I get with water.

Its wherever water "touches" That means splashes/bubbles all count . . . look closely at the top of the Dewar joint. Notice how there is no resin buildup there? That would never happen with water. And once the vapor comes out of the water it isn't sticking to anything I can see either.

Considering THC is stuck in the "resin" I wonder if this provides more potent hits?

**Edit: Nearly forgot to answer OP; lol I have never had a problem with ISO and salt either. **

More experience has yielded knowledge. While I think less actives are sticking to glass, especially above the water line in the tube, I also believe that the fluid is loading with actives as well, thats why it goes cloudy after use. So, the idea, for me, has been to add RezBlock to my existing regimen to facilitate everything, rather than designing a cleaning method around RezBlock like the inventor suggests . . .

Drink it XD

I actually did take a taste of it, to analyze the components . . . very, very salty, which it has to be to keep the fruit extracts from fueling microbe growth

I always clean my glassware with ISO and a bit of Epsom salt. It works well cause the grains are big, and I have yet to see any scratches on my bingaling. What also works really well is coffee urn cleaner, with hot water.

i've done this for years and never had a problem, would really be surprised to hear otherwise.

I noticed on one of my pieces, that the mouth was all scratched up. I've only ever used salt and ISO so not sure why that happened...

Had to laugh.... Used to hang with a crew that enjoyed yoo-hoo in our combustion bongs. The hardcore kids, myself included, would drink the potion afterwards. We *thought* it would make you 8-12% higher.

we used to convince new tokers that they had to drink the bong water after their first session, really glad no one ever pulled that on me though.

Was gonna start a new thread but thought I'd just throw it on here. Are there any other methods of cleaning glass you guys/gals have used?

I've been experimenting with using denture cleaning tablets. Run them through right before an ISO bath and it works wonders.

I have a tube with some stubborn stains that I haven't found anything to remove them, not even some CLR (Calcium Lime Rust). I've tried everything, I would just scrub it but the ice pinches prevent me from getting a brush in there.

a base bath should work, but can damage glass over extended periods of time, high pH eats silica. but you can get away with a few hours of soaking.
do some reading before attempting this though, and use the proper safety equipment.

as for the OP's question, talk to moh.
http://www.rockrollers.com/features/hardness.html

rock salt 2
glass 4.5
4.5>2, and > means that it's not < than or = to, and therefore will not scratch.