Doug
Just passing time
All of it obviously!
PBW & the Chemistry of Clean
- Thread starter t-dub
- Start date
momofthegoons
vapor accessory addict
^^^^^^
That is exactly how I clean my glass.
That is exactly how I clean my glass.
John Lewus
Well-Known Member
I worry about cleaning this way. I was boiling my water to pour into one of those glass pickle jars filled with ELB's and PBW's. One time the glass shattered. It gave me second thought to how hot of water to pour into a bong.
It's important to warm your glass up before placing any hot water in. Otherwise, you are always taking a risk that it will crack.
Systehm
Member
Okay so I purchased some PBW off of Ebay after reading through this thread about 3 days ago. I have been looking for an inexpensive, readily available cleaner that works better than ISO. I received my PBW this morning and put it to work shortly after. My MGW Straight Tube wasn't actually very dirty, it had some water stains in the upper half of the tube and a deep resin ring along the middle of the bottom half of the tube. The downstem had a decent bit of resin on it and the slide was covered in old, deep resin that ISO & salt refused to do anything about.
I gave (just) the tube 2 ten minute washes with 2-2 1/2 tbsp. of PBW each, with really hot water. I noticed the deep resin ring was barely affected, but the rest of the tube was spotless. I then put maybe 3 tsp. of PBW in the tube with hot water and let it soak for about 3 hours. At the end of the 3 hours the resin ring was almost completely faded except for a spot of resin that looked barely affected. Also, at the top of the tube instead of the hard water stains that used to be there, are now what I would best describe as "white specks" going from the mouthpiece to a quarter of the way down the tube. I tried using hot water and eventually ISO to get them off, but they won't go away. If it means anything, I made sure to dry the tube immediately with a microfiber towel as soon as I was finished rinsing away the PBW. I will try using distilled white vinegar tomorrow to get them to go away.
As to the disk slide that was coated in heavy resin, it worked wonders! I mixed 2-3 tbsp. of PBW with hot water in a plastic container and poured a little bit of PBW in the actual slide before I placed it into the container. I let it soak for as long as the tube and it came out the cleanest I've ever seen the slide! The PBW also worked fantastically on the downstem, leaving it spotless.
(I would post some pictures but my phone with a good camera broke and I am using an old flip phone for now. I will try to borrow someones phone or camera in the next day or two and provide pictures if the vinegar does not take away the white specks.)
All in all, I am EXTREMELY pleased with the PBW and despite the white specks, I will never be using ISO for anything but an after-wash to take care of anything the PBW doesn't.
Thank you T-Dub for making this thread and letting us all know about PBW!
I gave (just) the tube 2 ten minute washes with 2-2 1/2 tbsp. of PBW each, with really hot water. I noticed the deep resin ring was barely affected, but the rest of the tube was spotless. I then put maybe 3 tsp. of PBW in the tube with hot water and let it soak for about 3 hours. At the end of the 3 hours the resin ring was almost completely faded except for a spot of resin that looked barely affected. Also, at the top of the tube instead of the hard water stains that used to be there, are now what I would best describe as "white specks" going from the mouthpiece to a quarter of the way down the tube. I tried using hot water and eventually ISO to get them off, but they won't go away. If it means anything, I made sure to dry the tube immediately with a microfiber towel as soon as I was finished rinsing away the PBW. I will try using distilled white vinegar tomorrow to get them to go away.
As to the disk slide that was coated in heavy resin, it worked wonders! I mixed 2-3 tbsp. of PBW with hot water in a plastic container and poured a little bit of PBW in the actual slide before I placed it into the container. I let it soak for as long as the tube and it came out the cleanest I've ever seen the slide! The PBW also worked fantastically on the downstem, leaving it spotless.
(I would post some pictures but my phone with a good camera broke and I am using an old flip phone for now. I will try to borrow someones phone or camera in the next day or two and provide pictures if the vinegar does not take away the white specks.)
All in all, I am EXTREMELY pleased with the PBW and despite the white specks, I will never be using ISO for anything but an after-wash to take care of anything the PBW doesn't.
Thank you T-Dub for making this thread and letting us all know about PBW!
t-dub
Vapor Sloth
You're welcome. Thanks for participating in the thread . . .
Thoughts on the white specks . . . it seems PBW may be reacting with or removing elements of hard water stains. That was what I noticed with all of the picture evidence people put here, the specks look like water line or hard water stain type damage. I'm wondering if the reason I can't duplicate the problem is we have great water and my glass has no "soiling" to begin with.
Edit: If PBW can react and chemically change the deposited material, maybe removing some things in the process, this might explain what we are seeing. I wonder if using CLR before the PBW might be a good idea if you have hard water mineral buildup on your glass . . .
Systehm
Member
The white specks do look just like hard water stains in color and transparency. I realized I'm actually out of white vinegar but to my surprise I found I had CLR under my kitchen sink! I've never actually used the stuff, but I'm guessing I should be safe using it outside with rubber gloves? The CLR website recommends to mix it with water at first, and if that doesn't take the stain away to then use just CLR. Should I just skip mixing it with water? I'm going to try it out shortly and with post my results.
UPDATE: Good news! The CLR did the trick! It took care of all the white specks. I rinsed the tube out with CLR, then gave it 1 five minute PBW wash, and then an ISO and salt after wash. Also the remainders of that resin spot are gone too. In the future I'm going to try to only use Distilled water, hopefully that will at least lessen the chance of hard water stains forming.
UPDATE: Good news! The CLR did the trick! It took care of all the white specks. I rinsed the tube out with CLR, then gave it 1 five minute PBW wash, and then an ISO and salt after wash. Also the remainders of that resin spot are gone too. In the future I'm going to try to only use Distilled water, hopefully that will at least lessen the chance of hard water stains forming.
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t-dub
Vapor Sloth
Wow what a fantastic result, thanks for sharing that back!!! I love success stories like this
Systehm
Member
Not that it's really needed but here's a before and after photo of me cleaning my MGW 14" Straight tube, downstem, and SSFG disk slide today. Was going to let it get a little more dirty and see how it tackles some thick resin on the downstem but I decided it's probably better to keep it nice and clear. Just gave it one quick PBW wash and an iso after wash. I could have used CLR again before the PBW to get rid of any minerals the bottled water and saliva leave but I decided
against it to cut down on time. It wasn't really needed this time anyway. Also wanted to mention I've had
no label decay whatsoever on my MGW label (On the tube or downstem, besides the chipping to the downstem label which happened previous to me receiving the piece). There hasn't been much direct contact to the labels by the PBW anyway, as I wanted to make sure I didn't destroy the labels.
against it to cut down on time. It wasn't really needed this time anyway. Also wanted to mention I've had
no label decay whatsoever on my MGW label (On the tube or downstem, besides the chipping to the downstem label which happened previous to me receiving the piece). There hasn't been much direct contact to the labels by the PBW anyway, as I wanted to make sure I didn't destroy the labels.
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olivianewtonjohn
Well-Known Member
I definitely want to try this. Only concern I had is what if some PBW is left behind; wouldn't it be dangerous to inhale? Reason I ask is I heard this has a soapy like composition and we all know soap sometimes doesnt like to rinse out especially if you dont physically scrub it.
John Lewus
Well-Known Member
Does PBW absorb into your skin? I don't always use gloves when rinsing off my glass and some of the PBW gets on my skin. It feels really slippery and takes awhile to wash off. I wonder if this is dangerous in any way.
chimpybits
Well-Known Member
The Safety Data Sheet for PBW was shown in t-dub's first post of this thread. It is recommended to use rubber PVC gloves.
Systehm, I've found that this stuff will destroy labels over time.
I've been using PBW for some time and am very happy with the results. I only use hot water, PBW, and distilled water for final rinse - and my glass always returns to sparkling. No need for ISO, CLR, or anything else.
notmyrealUSERname
Notmy Well-Known Member
AFTER multiple PBW soaks:
Looks good, BUT WAIT! Upon closer look with a light source:
Arrrghh! I can't get rid of these two rings, which I have no idea how they appeared (they were there before using PBW). I obviously never kept any liquid at that level so it really puzzles me.
i think a prior owner used sg or something and always filled it to those levels. i have a tube that came the same way, and i know sg was used as a soaker on the piece i bought.
i wanted to show this picture cause i think i may have found a solution to this, but i wanted to check here with the experts before i tried it. i think finish rinse aid might help with this; http://www.finishinfo.com.au/finish-rinse-aid.php
i started using this in my dishwasher and it has transformed my glassware. here is the msds sheet for it;
http://www.rb-msds.com.au/uploadedFiles/pdf/Finish Rinse Aid (Regular)-v1-D0100163.pdf
it has a ph of 2.8 - 3.2.
would anyone try this?
it seems that some people have success with pbw, but for those who don't, could finish aid be an option?
notmyrealUSERname
Notmy Well-Known Member
Less Bubble stackage would be a minor issue for me, I would totally deal with that if I got my glass 'brand new' clean.
So If you've experimented with it, I take it that it's sfe enough for me to try it. Any precautions I should take, or things to watch out for?
So If you've experimented with it, I take it that it's sfe enough for me to try it. Any precautions I should take, or things to watch out for?
Quetzalcoatl
DEADY GUERRERO/DIRT COBAIN/GEORGE KUSH
It makes your glass slippery. That's about all I mind when I clean.
t-dub
Vapor Sloth
Yes rinse agent is really, really fuckin' slippery, be careful. We use it in the dishwasher so it should be safe if used with common sense I would think, but I ditched it as an unnecessary risk for a kind of weird reward.
notmyrealUSERname
Notmy Well-Known Member
Rinse aid makes your glass slippery? My glass cups and whatnot come out of my dishwasher squeaky clean without any slipperiness. In fact, they seem pretty grippy.
My dishwasher uses steam to dry the dishes. I wonder if it would be worth it to try putting a preheated freshly cleaned wt in the dishwasher to steam dry it. Might be better than a shopvac or just letting it sit out for a day.
My dishwasher uses steam to dry the dishes. I wonder if it would be worth it to try putting a preheated freshly cleaned wt in the dishwasher to steam dry it. Might be better than a shopvac or just letting it sit out for a day.