PBW & the Chemistry of Clean

Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl

DEADY GUERRERO/DIRT COBAIN/GEORGE KUSH
1DMF said:
Well to try it out I put a stock solo straight stem in an ice cream tub filled with hot water and two tea spoons of PBW. swilled it around a little and then left overnight.

The next day, all the gunk had floated off and the glass was as good as new.

No gloves were worn, no windows opened and I simply tipped the waste water down the sink and rinsed the stem.

I've now got to soak my bong in it to see how well it cleans that, but so far, very impressed.
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You can actually get away with doing it in 15-20 minutes. I do a few 5 minute soaks with hot water (and my glass is brought up to temperature slowly so I don't break stuff from thermal shock). Works fine. If you sit and watch it you can actually see the stuff breaking off. I have some glass stoppers so I just plug my glass up and fill with hot water. Might try the tub idea and get all of them cleaned at once...
 
Quetzalcoatl,
MinnBobber

MinnBobber

Well-Known Member
1DMF said:
Well to try it out I put a stock solo straight stem in an ice cream tub filled with hot water and two tea spoons of PBW. swilled it around a little and then left overnight.

The next day, all the gunk had floated off and the glass was as good as new.
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Just be aware that using too much pbw and/or leaving it soak too long can leave nasty white streaks on the glass.
IMO, LESS is better with pbw: less product and less soaking time.
For really gross deposits, two soaks with less product and less soaking time are better than one.
Just my experience.

@Ratchett sells these plugs to help clean your pieces:
PBW.jpg
 
1DMF

1DMF

Old School Cheesy Quaver
Quetzalcoatl said:
You can actually get away with doing it in 15-20 minutes.
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MinnBobber said:
IMO, LESS is better with pbw: less product and less soaking time.
Click to expand...

Interesting, because I did the 30 minute challenge last night, and it failed miserably.

I filled the kitchen sink with hot water, dissolved 2 teaspoons of PBW in it and submerged my bong for 30 minutes (Also my solo bent stem plus ascent stem and solo GonG adapter)

When I returned, the bong and other glassware was still as filthy as ever, so I dissolved another 2 teaspoons of PBW while topping up with hot water and left for another hour. Still the everything was dirty?

So I did the ice cream tub trick with the smaller items, leaving them to soak overnight - this morning they were clean with the gunk floating in the water.

So before heading to work, I filled the sink with hot water and dissolved 2 table spoons of PBW in it and have left my bong to soak all day.

So far I've not had much success with small amounts of PBW over small amounts of time.
 
MinnBobber

MinnBobber

Well-Known Member
1DMF said:
Interesting, because I did the 30 minute challenge last night, and it failed miserably.

I filled the kitchen sink with hot water, dissolved 2 teaspoons of PBW in it and submerged my bong for 30 minutes
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When possible, it's always better to fill the glass piece with the pbw solution, rather than filling a big sink with water. For a big sink filled with water, the solution is so diluted.
Plus, you probably were not able to use really hot water, correct?
With @Ratchett plugs, you can fill any piece with solution.
PBW.jpg


I fill my pieces with hottest tap water to prime the glass/ get it halfway there/ not crack the glass when hotter water is added.
I then get water really hot in the microwave, stir in the pbw, and add to the piece. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Sometimes pour out a little bit and shake piece to hit the tough spots.
Caution----PBW mix is super slippery so I wear rubber gloves for that and as a heat insulator.

I use maybe 1/4 teaspoon max to clean any piece.
I'll try to actually measure the temp of the water I use but I'm guessing 160 F ??? Hotter water gets pbw working much much better

Was your piece only vaped? No combustion nasties in it?
 
Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl

DEADY GUERRERO/DIRT COBAIN/GEORGE KUSH
1DMF said:
Interesting, because I did the 30 minute challenge last night, and it failed miserably.

I filled the kitchen sink with hot water, dissolved 2 teaspoons of PBW in it and submerged my bong for 30 minutes (Also my solo bent stem plus ascent stem and solo GonG adapter)

When I returned, the bong and other glassware was still as filthy as ever, so I dissolved another 2 teaspoons of PBW while topping up with hot water and left for another hour. Still the everything was dirty?

So I did the ice cream tub trick with the smaller items, leaving them to soak overnight - this morning they were clean with the gunk floating in the water.

So before heading to work, I filled the sink with hot water and dissolved 2 table spoons of PBW in it and have left my bong to soak all day.

So far I've not had much success with small amounts of PBW over small amounts of time.
Click to expand...
Thinking a little more it may be hard water? Eh who cares, if you're fine with overnight soaking and it's working and cleaning your glass up all the way, it's doing its job... though I do like to keep my glass on the cleaner end so there isn't an awful lot to get off...
 
Quetzalcoatl,
1DMF

1DMF

Old School Cheesy Quaver
I think I might need to invest in some of those plugs!

The water was pretty hot, scold to touch!

MinnBobber said:
Was your piece only vaped? No combustion nasties in it?
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Vaped only - I don't combust anymore :tup:

MinnBobber said:
Caution----PBW mix is super slippery so I wear rubber gloves for that and as a heat insulator.
Click to expand...
Sure is, had a butter fingers moment this morning which got the ole heart pounding - the glassware is only a week old!
 
MinnBobber

MinnBobber

Well-Known Member
1DMF said:
I think I might need to invest in some of those plugs!
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Just an fyi,
@Ratchett's store is temp down as PayPal froze it for selling such nasty vape accessories :(

He's working on alternatives but for now I think it's sending him a check or money order...
You can PM him here for more info.

The plugs work great with pbw solution
 
Enchantre

Enchantre

Oil Painter
Short dwell time would be like... 5 minutes.

Agitate.

Soaking can leave white haze on your glass that won't come off. Keep it short.
 
mvapes

mvapes

Scratchin' Glass!
Accessory Maker
I stopped using PBW a long time ago. Once I started working with glass and getting to know blowers and cold workers I was told to stay away from PBW on high end pieces

I switched to Alconox! It was originally recommended to me by Mothership for a stain on the internals of my klein. After seeing what it can do, I will NEVER use anything else again. PBW was created originally to clean bar glass!

Alconox is a laboratory grade glass cleaner. Not saying anything negative about PBW, just saying that it couldn't shine alconox's shoes with our glass.

http://www.alconox.com/
 
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Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl

DEADY GUERRERO/DIRT COBAIN/GEORGE KUSH
mvapes said:
I stopped using PBW a long time ago. Once I started working with glass and getting to know blowers and cold workers I was told to stay away from PBW on high pieces

I switched to Alconox! It was originally recommended to me by Mothership for a stain on the internals of my klein. After seeing what it can do, I will NEVER use anything else again. PBW was created originally to clean bar glass!

Alconox is a laboratory grade glass cleaner. Not saying anything negative about PBW, just saying that it couldn't shine alconox's shoes with our glass.

http://www.alconox.com/
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Can't just say that without posting the MSDS ;)

http://www.alconox.com/resources/StandardDocuments/MSDS/msds_alconox_english_ghs.pdf
 
1DMF

1DMF

Old School Cheesy Quaver
Damn thing is still dirty, even after soaking all day!

Though I think there was an air bubble around the dirty part where it was lying on its side.

I need to find a flexible, long handled, cleaning brush that I can use to 'scrub' the inside with!
 
mvapes

mvapes

Scratchin' Glass!
Accessory Maker
If I have a piece that's beyond nasty, where I know simple cleaning ain't gonna do shit I do a quick rinse with either denatured alcohol or acetone. Both of which smell like ball sweat. Just saying, be ready...lol

Once it comes out of there I go straight to the alconox. If I have something caught inside or a stubborn mark on my internals I use a magnet and abrasive pellets to assist in scrubbing.
 
I

IamBenito

Formerly me2
MinnBobber said:
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Caution----PBW mix is super slippery so I wear rubber gloves for that and as a heat insulator.
Click to expand...

that fun slippery feeling is the first layers of skin melting........
 
IamBenito,
1DMF

1DMF

Old School Cheesy Quaver
Having obtained some plugs, cleaning with PBW has been a doddle.

1. Put plug in downstem
2. Put tea spoon of PBW in bong
3. Fill with hot water
4. Put plug in mouthpiece
5. Hold plugs & shake well
6. Leave to soak overnight
7. Remove plugs & rinse following day

My bong is now sparkling like new :)
 
Shrike

Shrike

Flower Potted, Maxed, & Rio'd.
Be careful with Step 6...

Leaving PBW in some glass pieces to soak overnight "may" leave a ring that is not easy to get off. Many of us prefer a number of shorter soakings/shakings to get stubborn stains off. YMMV...:nod::tup:
 
Bongologist

Bongologist

JoJo Woodworks
Accessory Maker
Pbw came in yesterday and I did quick washes of my daily pieces and an overnight soak on two old bongs and HOLY SHIT, this stuff is amazing. My oldest glass had caked on resin that had sat for years and it's sparkling, though I can see some lines from cleaning it in the past. I am most impressed with a couple dhgate pieces that had some specks that I didn't think would come off. I had done ISO, mineral spirits, boiling water, and nothing did it, but five minutes in pbw and its clear as can be. I think when the pbw runs out I'll try alconox but I'm very happy with the pbw results. Also, in very brief testing, pbw seems to keep the glass cleaner longer through use. Im not noticing the foggy buildup on my glass so soon after cleaning like I've seen in the past using iso.
 
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t-dub

t-dub

Vapor Sloth
1DMF said:
Same here, I got some PBW on my wrist the other day and it seriously flared up my eczema, so although I love the cleaning power, gonna see if Alconox is less of an irritant.
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PBW is pretty safe on skin so I would be surprised if another cleaner of different chemistry could be much gentler and still be as effective. Time will tell, however, maybe someone should start a thread on Alconox after they get some.
 
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