Stem Milk Soap Scum

[bossman]

My XL8R stems make good stem milk. I've been using the cashew milk with added pea protein because it has more fat (and because after you stop drinking milk for years it's pretty disgusting).

After simmering the stems for enough time to get the reclaim dissolved the stems are showing chalky stains on the inside even after hot water, overnight iso w/ salt, and several runs in a modest ultrasonic cleaner with soapy water.

I guess I could maybe try boiling them. I'm open to suggestions. I expected the iso to be more than up to this task yet the cashew milk residue remains.

 

[invertedisdead]

I'd try vinegar and if that doesn't do it maybe try highly alkalized water (distilled water + baking soda til it reaches saturation and adding more soda won't dissolve further)

 

[shredder]

Pbw, powdered brewery wash. Works great on glass. You can buy it at a brewery store or Amazon.

 

[blackstone]

If you have access to a dishwasher, I got a lovely tip from OF years ago and I only tried it recently for the first time.
You need to position one end of the stem some bit upright in the dishwasher which shouldn't be too hard, and you need to wedge, or position a small funnel or similar into or onto the top of the stem,
So it catches more falling cleaning solution/hot water than just the stem end would.
If the funnel doesn't fit exact you could shim it up with tube or hose pieces.

Sparkling results were observed. Thanks to OF

Avoid contact with hard or metal surfaces in case of vibration causing marks during wash?

 

[C No Ego]

Iso and rock salt works great too , or just table salt fro a smaller piece

 

[YaMon]

After cleaning I always rinse with RO water as it leaves no residue when it dries.

 

[TommyDee]

Salt and ISO for me on glass. People say it scratches. Never seen any clouding or damage. Salt will dissolve in the water which can be removed and you end up with stronger alcohol and salt aggregate. I don't want a film to hide stains, I want the stains gone.

Normally one adds alcohol to soapy water to reduce spotting.

You could add other aggregates but that may let the salt scratch the glass. It takes a bit of shaking to get the salt to work the walls clean. Maybe try capping the ends with lots of salt and ISO in the stem and throw that in the ultrasonic.

 

[BestBuds]

Salt and ISO for me on glass. People say it scratches. Never seen any clouding or damage. Salt will dissolve in the water which can be removed and you end up with stronger alcohol and salt aggregate. I don't want a film to hide stains, I want the stains gone.

Normally one adds alcohol to soapy water to reduce spotting.

You could add other aggregates but that may let the salt scratch the glass. It takes a bit of shaking to get the salt to work the walls clean. Maybe try capping the ends with lots of salt and ISO in the stem and throw that in the ultrasonic.

If I have a really gunked up herb grinder that I want to clean but I don't want to scrub it, I'll put iso and sea salt in the grinder. You work the 2 halves together and then twist it a few times like you're grinding up a fat nug. Rinse with hit water and it's like new.
That method does clean glass well even if you grind it to a powder for really hard to reach corners.

 

[bossman]

Glad to learn about the dishwasher and pbw options. I'm realizing from @TommyDee and @BestBuds comments that I've been too half assed for these milky stems assuming they'd be less trouble than the reclaim stems. I've just had them shaking in a ziplok of iso and kosher salt and I doubt much of the fat salt crystals find their way into the middle of those stems. I'll correct that first before shopping for anything.

@YaMon I still need to get my RO kit installed. I've been lazy and also didn't realize the tank ate up so much storage under the sink!

 

[YaMon]

didn't realize the tank ate up so much storage under the sink!

Mine is in the basement.

 

[Moses Baca]

I've gotten milk stains in my glass stems. Thumb over the end of the glass, add some salt and alcohol, finger over the top and shake until it's clean. Warm/hot alcohol works better than cold. Stubborn spots can take awhile but keep at it and you'll get them. Same process with hot water and a drop of dishwashing soap will get rid of any salt. Hot water rinse. It works well for me, best of luck!

 

[blackstone]

I think it might have been OF also, or someone else on here that learned me the combination formula for cleaning.
It goes something like,
Heat,
Chemical agitation,
Physical agitation,
and maybe Water?

Looking at all the replies here that makes sense, just choose your chemical and agitation methods.
And hold on tight!

 

[Ramahs]

I use salt and ISO for all my glass. And I've only used regular table salt (sixty cents a a pound at the local grocery store).

I guess I haven't had thick enough stuck-on grime to require a more coarsely ground salt like kosher salt, because table salt with a bit of ISO has worked well on all my glass.

I picked up a jar of PBW a year or two ago to try, if I ever get some really annoying residue on my glass (hard-water grime, etc.), but I haven't needed to use it yet.

 

[TommyDee]

Table salt is just a finer aggregate. Only tip for others is that the water in ISO will dissolve the salt so the water has to be saturated so course grains remain for scrubbing. I use to use sea-salt on bongs where smaller pieces would benefit from the finer medium of table salt.

 

[Ramahs]

Yeah, it really depends on that quality ISO is available to you.

I don't get 99% ISO (I can order it off Amazon, but it's kinda pricey), but I can get 91% ISO in local grocery stores around here. In the minutes that it takes to shake and clean I've never found dissolving salt to be an issue. Like, I've never felt the need to add more salt during cleaning.

If I were still combusting, I'd probably be singing a different story, as the ash sucked into the water helps coat the walls with the reclaim and makes a thicker residue in some places. But I've been very happy to not feel the need with my vape glass.

Now, I clean my glass fairly often, so if you go till you can smell your glass from three rooms away, then you may require some extra scrubbing power, lol

Also, the water where one lives can even make a difference.
There could be lots of reasons for differences in each of our experiences that we don't even realize, which are out of our control.

Is what it is