Glass 101

[RustyOldNail]

Yeah I take my coffee pretty seriously, so I keep distilled water on hand to mix with Third Wave Water pouches (when I was living on the east coast the water was clean enough and tasty enough that I just used it from the tap, I'm back in the midwest due to covid and it was killing my coffee so I had to break down and get something with the right mineral balance) so I could potentially fill with it if there are benefits, but I'm not really rocking any heady glass either so maybe I'll just try the CE. Thanks gents!

One final question--so far I've been lucky putting my cheap local headshop bubbler and DH gate through my dishwasher (I typically do at least a hot water rinse daily so they're never disgusting). This seems like a bad idea for nicer pieces and eventually living with others who may not like the idea of it (again, I'm putting in very clean pieces--its just to get things I can't reach!), so I should probably switch to simple green or iso + rock salt. Do any of you know of good plugs for the various holes in a bong/rig? I think just a set of mixed sized corks from amazon would probably do fine?

SILICONE PLUGS:
I bought one bag, then needed a 2nd bag.

Amazon.com: 40 Pc 1/16" to 3/4" High Temp Silicone Rubber Tapered Plug Kit - Powder Coating Custom Painting Supplies: Automotive

Buy 40 Pc 1/16" to 3/4" High Temp Silicone Rubber Tapered Plug Kit - Powder Coating Custom Painting Supplies: Sealants - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[cybrguy]

I picked up a bunch of rubber stoppers from a local Ace long ago. Ordering from Amazon should be fine as well. I went to Ace so I could choose the sizes I wanted.

I also got a few from https://delta3dstudios.com/

 

[gordontreeman]

Thanks all! The silicone plug set should do the trick. I'll look into some of the older posts on iso, pbw, and simple green buckets--I'm really attracted to anything that lets me just soak and do no work of my own

Edit: something I'm kind of curious about--I notice that a lot of the CE I see on amazon has citric acid in it, which could in theory be the responsible agent for keeping glass clean when I briefly read the wikipedia article on it (not a chemist myself). Just curious if this had occurred to anyone else, or if anyone had perhaps tried an organic CE (I found one with just cane sugar, distilled water, and the CE, no citric acid) to compare?

 

[cybrguy]

I think you will appreciate CE for that.

 

[Shit Snacks]

I started using distilled water recently, not for cleaning because that doesn't seem practical to me, but as the water I fill with... seems nice, though any actual effects could just be psychological lol

 

[RustyOldNail]

I started using distilled water recently, not for cleaning because that doesn't seem practical to me, but as the water I fill with... seems nice, though any actual effects could just be psychological lol

Not psychological, distilled water will not contain any contaminates that public drinking water may have. Your defenseless lungs and body will thank you, for spending a few bucks extra. The tap water in my area is touted as some of the cleanest in the US, but I still own and use a TDS water meter, to check it, and I also use a dual stage water filter as well. But my water rigs, only see DISTILLED WATER....

 

[Shit Snacks]

Not psychological, distilled water will not contain any contaminates that public drinking water may have. Your defenseless lungs and body will thank you, for spending a few bucks extra. The tap water in my area is touted as some of the cleanest in the US, but I still own and use a TDS water meter, to check it, and I also use a dual stage water filter as well. But my water rigs, only see DISTILLED WATER....

Oh yeah totally, I was at least using filtered water from the fridge before, the tap water here is super hard and full of so many mysterious minerals... But I don't see how I cannot rinse with it to clean everything lol

 

[gordontreeman]

Oh yeah totally, I was at least using filtered water from the fridge before, the tap water here is super hard and full of so many mysterious minerals... But I don't see how I cannot rinse with it to clean everything lol

I just bought some of those little squeezable lab rinse bottles, e.g. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B073J55373/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 to give a final DI rinse after otherwise cleaning w/ tap!

 

[LesPlenty]

you know of good plugs for the various holes

I use these, there are 4 in a pack,

D-NAiL® Joint Stopper

d-nail

d-nail.com

I use rainwater in my bongs with CE and citric acid(powdered form) in my dab rigs and just the citric acid in my flower vape bongs as they can sit for a day or 2 before use and citric acid does not seem to grow particles like the cranberry can.
I also use the dishwasher on my glass that is able to be taken apart for that purpose, all others get a hot water rinse via a pet shower hose followed by a swirl of iso then another hot rinse ready to go again.
I have only had to use SimpleGreen soaks a couple of times, usually after camping trips where the glass only gets changed not hot cleaned!

 

[Green Kiwi]

I have excellent results, with any bong/bubbler/watertool , with just cleaning with PBW(lot less taxing on the planet..than ISO)daily.
I just fill the piece with water, and one teaspoon of PBW at nighttime, and 'cu tmrw morning "Hunny", always clean as my...... and just give a rinse and ready to use for another day. I am ocd about cleaning's with my watertools.
Eventhough, I live in the last clean place on the planet, my personal tapwater is full of chlorine,fluoride's and pesticides, and metals, Soo , I invested in a inline(Does the whole house also toilet and shower)filtration system , and as long as I replace my filters (5 in total )every 6 months , my water is very clean and empty of what so ever minerals or chemicals.
It's an expensive (500$ every change),but very worthy solution.
And it's still cheaper and better for the planet than buying glass mineral water in bottles all the time..

 

[LesPlenty]

Just be careful leaving the PBW soaking in your glass for too long, I have heard it can etch the glass on lesser quality units.

PBW is my last resort for cleaning. I use iso to swill in any bong that does not come clean with just hot water (if it does not pass the empty bong pull test of 0 smell) I have a small jar of iso that I reuse over and over again for this smell kill, just tip in, swirl and tip back into its jar, then hot water rinse the bong again and ready to go.

I use good clean Tassie rainwater so no scale build-up to use the PBW on, it has only been used once(in my kettle, town water). I will say my PBW seemed very expensive as it is a once-use-only product compared to how I use my iso.

 

[Green420]

Does anyone know if the superglued glass piece I have will come apart if I fill it with rubbing alcohol to clean it? Does anyone know of a better way to clean it that wouldn't compromise the superglue? I would just use the other pieces I ordered but they haven't arrived yet and I still want to vape out of glass.

 

[badbee]

Does anyone know if the superglued glass piece I have will come apart if I fill it with rubbing alcohol to clean it? Does anyone know of a better way to clean it that wouldn't compromise the superglue? I would just use the other pieces I ordered but they haven't arrived yet and I still want to vape out of glass.

Alcohol is the standard solvent used to remove super glue, so yes that would be a problem. You'll have to clean without using solvents. PBW (powdered brewers wash) or one of the "green" cleaners is probably your best bet.

 

[Green420]

How do I fully clean my TAG recycler? There's all sorts of gunk stuck inside, in the tube on the top, and the tube running back into the recycler. I can't fill it far enough with alcohol to make the top chamber or top tube clean.

 

[LesPlenty]

You need to get some type of plugs so you can fill the unit...I use SimpleGreen if 100% iso does not shift it.

 

[Shit Snacks]

How do I fully clean my TAG recycler? There's all sorts of gunk stuck inside, in the tube on the top, and the tube running back into the recycler. I can't fill it far enough with alcohol to make the top chamber or top tube clean.

The top one is called the uptake tube, and the other is the drain tube by the way, and there's no reason to fill up and soak, I never do that with any of my glass... Just need to use kosher salt poured from the top and the bottom, so when you shake with iso it can move around to clean and scrub the glass in those tubes. You could also buy scrubby duckies from vgoodiez so if you want to get in there manually, also hot water helps too!

 

[cybrguy]

How do I fully clean my TAG recycler? There's all sorts of gunk stuck inside, in the tube on the top, and the tube running back into the recycler. I can't fill it far enough with alcohol to make the top chamber or top tube clean.

Because I use CE I can normally get by with hot water rinsing, but when I need to do a thorough cleaning of a piece I use a plug on the joint and mouthpiece opening and use PBW in hot water and let it soak for a few hours. PBW (Powdered Brewer Wash) is a very effective cleaner made for cleaning brewing equipment.

 

[Haze Mister]

Nothing beats acetone + salt followed by hot water rinse. Fill bubbler to the brim and let sit for 2 hours and almost everything will be gone. Anything left will be solid residue on the glass and can be dislodged by removing some of the acetone, adding salt and shaking (with care), and then rinsing with hot water.
Acetone will eat into silicone so don't use plugs. No need for them.

You can re-use the same acetone many times - just pour it into a suitable airtight container. Do NOT evaporate so that you can use the reclaim.

 

[LesPlenty]

I use cranberry extract and citric acid while using a bong then a hot water rinse is all that is usually needed every other day to keep it clean. If it still has a lingering smell I use a quick iso swish followed by hot water again.
If I still see some cloudiness I like SimpleGreen (reusable many times) for soaking (at least overnight) as it is not so toxic. I have PBW in the cupboard but have not had to use it yet.

 

[FlyingLow]

I've always been reluctant to use PBW but think I am out of options... are there alternative solutions for removing water stains/cloudiness from clear glass?

 

[Hippie]

Denture cleaning tabs
+ Oxy clean to keep it fizzing away for a couple of hours (if it needs the full soak)

Edit : I use citric acid or vinegar to descale my kettle so I would try that first

 

[LesPlenty]

are there alternative solutions for removing water stains/cloudiness from clear glass?

I would try the PBW but start off with shorter times and concentration to be safe. Dark Crystal or SimpleGreen @75%-100%(what I use for deeper bong cleaning) are supposed to be pretty gentle.
Edit to add, I forgot about the denture cleaner, nice one @Hippie

 

[Cheebsy]

PBW and OXY clean are basically the same product. Oxy usually has some perfumes as well and is often much cheaper.

When an oxy soak and iso rinse doesn't remove water marks for me I also pull out the descaling solution for a final polish.

 

[Polarbearboy]

I'm at my remote little place in far northern Newfoundland. Only strength alcohol I could find around here was 70%. Even with salt and long soaking 70% just wouldn't clear the nasty deposits in my bubbler from my concentraate vaping. Only recently the nearest big post office 30 miles away began accepting Amazon.ca stuff; before that A.ca charged $27CN per item for delivery to here, so I only used it in emergencies. So I looked on A.ca for 90%, which is readily available and what I use at home in the States. A.ca had 99% iso, which I never even knew existed, so I ordered a bottle. Wow! Cleaned out my bubbler in minutes with salt but no soaking. Great stuff for cleaning glass. My complex four pillar recycling bubbler has never looked so new.

 

[Shit Snacks]

Yeah though honestly I haven't noticed much difference from the 91% I use too, since I also began ordering online 99% instead