trouble cleaning glass

[stevebeast]

I bought a used glass waterpipe on ioffer, when it came it had some kind of gunk on it (not resin) just kiind of cludy you dont notice it too much when its wet. i been trying to get it clean for 3 weeks now! I know it didnt used to be there bcse i found the original page on etsy from the artist and the pictures are of it dry and it definatly isnt there. i tried iso and salt, vinegar, windex, cascade, and it has had no effect. only other thing i can think of is boiling it but i dont have a pot big enough to fit the entire thing into and if i did i wouldnt feel safe with it bubbling around in there. any other ideas? i didnt think glass could stain

 

[herbgirl]

if it's cloudy, it may well be mineral scale if it's only on the parts that contact water.
if so, a long vinegar soak and good scrub should take care of that.

I'd watch it with the cascade, it may etch the glass
if you do end up boiling it, you could put an old cloth on the bottom of the pot to cushion the piece.
good luck!

 

[stevebeast]

i soaked it in vinegar for a week. its just like a strip across the bottom. never had a problem with cascade before, but maybe its already "etched" it does look like the glass just lost its shine in that spot, you cant really see it when its wet.
hmm definatly not a good idea to buy used glass....

 

[AgentofChaos]

I highly recommend Grunge Off. Let your glass soak in that for a few hours, rinse it well, and marvel at how clean your glass is! You can find it on eBay for a decent price.


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[gettin lifted]

go get some glass cleaner at a headshop. i find the powders you dump into the base of the bong then add water to that is the best option. it should bubble all the way up and through the percs and remove everything without scrubbing. if this doesnt work then the glass is etched.

 

[herbgirl]

vinegar is nice but usually needs some elbow grease for mineral deposits - no matter how long you soak it just seems to need to be scrubbed.

i have a bubbler with a permanent haze on the inside from years of use. You just can't reach inside of it to clean it so it remains. I always assumed that it was a combo of minerals and trichs.

i'm usually a homemade remedy type kinda girl, but I would probably say some purpose designed cleaner would give you the best shot if nothing else is working.

 

[Nycdeisel]

Grunge Off(the exact kind posted above^, the Super Soaker) really works the best. I have also tried Simple Green and the basic methods too. A good vinegar soak is the best for hard water stains,like herbgirl said.

I find the soak a pain in the ass, how do you 'scrub' yours? Maybe shake with salt, or with rice(depending on the piece, remember that rice expands once its moist, so it could get stuck in holes in glass)?

The best overall cleaner is GO SS though, nothing works better or faster.

 

[hereatlast]

I'd echo the above recommendations again, the manufactured glass-cleaners seem to be the ultimate problem solvers but I've had success soaking with ISO as well.

Sorry about your experience but FWIW, I don't think the following is a fair statement:

hmm definatly not a good idea to buy used glass....

Many others and I myself have had good experiences with used glass...some places are better than others online, that's for sure.

 

[OO]

hmm definatly not a good idea to buy used glass....

i disagree from a functionality standpoint.

 

[SmokingElectricity]

i got lazy about cleaning the bongs i still use. i just toss them into the dishwasher once a week. they come out sparkling clean. some detergents work better than others. i use sun light powder packs. can't be bothered with soaking my equipment anymore.

 

[Carbon]

I have some hard water deposits in one of my pipes and could never get them off. I bought a nylon brush for it, though, and I'm going to try and scrub it all up as much as I can and use some concentrated cleaner. Alcohol/salt and vinegar did nothing.

 

[Nycdeisel]

You need to first have it soak in plain distilled vinegar for a while(overnight is good) and THEN try scrubbing.