Do you clean directly after smoking or let it cool?

[Fight'n Hampsters]

I tend to clean my pipe right after smoking but read in another post that another gentleman does so after it cools. Never thought of that.

Which do you do? any benefits to one vs the other that you can think of?

 

[Lakebound]

I will push a pipe cleaner through an assembled pipe. But, I do wait until cooled if I want to pull stem from bowl in order to prevent damage to the mortise.

 

[Richard Burley]

I like to stick a cleaner in a warm pipe and leave it for half an hour. Seems to absorb more. After it cools, I can finish with fresh cleaners and a little alcohol. Or, more likely, procrastinate and promise myself to do it "next time."

 

[Stick]

I clean on a warm pipe.

Dottle out using the Czech tool, give a blast of wind down the pipe to remove any loose moisture or stubborn baccy, run a cleaner through turning it into a cranking handle to give it a spin and then use the damp cleaner to clean the inside of the bowl. A quick polish with a dry cloth, set her down and I'm done. I'd rather do this straight after a smoke to catch any moisture before it has the opportunity to be absorbed by the briar (or cob).

 

[Fight'n Hampsters]

Sounds like what I do.  And to clarify, I NEVER pull out the stem while warm.  If I am going to clean it more thoroughly like that I wait until cooled.

 

[KevinM]

I put a cleaner to it while it’s warm, sometimes leave the cleaner in it for a short time if it was smoking wet. If the cleaner looks grungy I might let the works cool, pull the stem, dip a bit of the cleaner into a wee drop of Jameson, and give the stummel air passage more attention.

 

[Hermit]

I don't always get to it, but I try to clean em right after smoking.
Before any gunk gets a chance to solidify.

 

[monbla256]

If by "cleaning" you mean reaming , bristle brush through the stem with pipe cleaning fluid as well as the bowl then a polish to the outside and stem, I only "clean" my pipes once a year. Rest of the time it's just a cleaner in the pipe for about 30 minutes, pull it out and put the pipe in the rack after a wipe down with my polishing cloth! KISS it I say !! :twisted: :twisted:

 

[MisterE]

When I can, I like to scrape the bowl out when it's still a little warm. The gunk in the heel is still soft and whatever cake is very easy to scrape back too. Pipe cleaner in  the stem and good to go. That does a lot to keep a pipe usable until the next big clean.

 

[Ozark Wizard]

I clean on a warm pipe.

Dottle out using the Czech tool, give a blast of wind down the pipe to remove any loose moisture or stubborn baccy, run a cleaner through turning it into a cranking handle to give it a spin and then use the damp cleaner to clean the inside of the bowl.  A quick polish with a dry cloth, set her down and I'm done.  I'd rather do this straight after a smoke to catch any moisture before it has the opportunity to be absorbed by the briar (or cob).  

This. Falcons make quick work of it too.

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

I run a pipe cleaner dipped in Bacardi 151 down the airway immediately after my smoke. Then I usually return to the pipe the next day and wipe the bowl out with a dry paper towel. Aside from this, that's all I do except when I am deep cleaning which is when I break my pipes apart for a more thorough work over.

 

[hobie1dog]

I only give it 5 minutes or so to cool down, then run cleaners through the airway.

 

[user 4351]

I'm new to pipe smoking, so it's entirely possible--even probable--I'm doing something I shouldn't. That said, my pipe was $20, so if it dies on me in some way, I won't be horribly heartbroken, and I'll learn from the experience for my next pipe.

I clean every other day or so, after smoking a few bowls each day. I let the pipe cool, then gently tap out the bowl for any excess ash before disassembling it and running a pipe cleaner through the shank. I dip a clean pipe cleaner in whiskey and run it over and through the bit, as well as the metal piece that fits between the bit and shank. I may have some of the terms confused; if so, please feel free to correct me, and to critique anything of mine you read.

Afterward I tamp a bowlful, toss the rest of the whiskey shot back, and relax for a clean puff. Then, I store the pipe in the cradle it came with, and give it another four to six bowls before another thorough cleaning.

 

[Brewdude]

Sounds like you're being thorough Penguin. More so than me!


Cheers,

RR

 

[Corncobcon]

I'll run a pipe cleaner through the pipe after smoking.  Also fold a pipe cleaner in two and rub out the bowl with it.  For a more thorough cleaning, when the pipe is cool I'll take it apart and clean it with a bristle brush and then a pipe cleaner.  I wipe the bowl with a rag and then use a my buffing wheel lightly over the whole pipe.  Then wipe down with a soft cloth.  Then I'll grab the bourbon, and pour a shot glass full.  Then I drink it! :lol:

I just thought of something else. If you have only one pipe, you should put it down after smoking for several hours or until the next day to let it air out. Get yourself a second pipe so you could smoke again right away if you so choose. Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipes are great smokers and very inexpensive to purchase.

 

[Fr_Tom]

Currently I am in a pattern where I have 10 or so pipes off the rack. Usually all or almost all will get smoked every day for the time they are off the rack. They get a cleaner as needed which is not every smoke for me. Sometimes it is hot if I think it needs one. Sometimes it is cold if that preliminary trial puff before lighting tastes like it would benefit or it seems restricted.

The one I take to work will get smoked all day, and it might get a cleaner mid-smoke around bowl 4. At the end of the week I will take them apart and run a pipe cleaner through all the stems and fold it over to clean out the shank. I have never done the pipe cleaner in the bowl that some people do. The Senior reamer drill thingy will open up the draft hole again if it is getting caked (or tarred) up. Any of them that might benefit from a reamer get one at this point. Then they go back on the rack, and I get the next 10 or so to repeat the process.

Each group of pipes I will be using will have at least one with a threaded tenon - a Grabow usually, and that will be the one that goes to work. If I HAVE to take it apart hot I can.

I use alcohol to clean estates before I smoke them, but I have never used it as part of any routine or ongoing cleaning.

 

[Zeno Marx]

I'll run a pipe cleaner through the pipe after smoking.  Also fold a pipe cleaner in two and rub out the bowl with it.  For a more thorough cleaning, when the pipe is cool I'll take it apart and clean it with a bristle brush and then a pipe cleaner.  I wipe the bowl with a rag...

Exactly my process. Every few months I might go ham on my pipes...if they're telling me I need to do so. Only then, though.

I used to take apart my pipes after every smoke and go OCD on them. Not anymore. Both out of laziness and with realizing there's no real utility in doing so. My minimalist approach now yields no worse, nor better, smoking than that by-gone, quasi-sterilizing the pipe every time. I understand the value in the ritual of cleaning post-smoke, but that's for another time.

 

[shanez]

Wait, you guys clean your pipes?

I kid, I kid.

I usually run a pipe cleaner through while it's still warm. If I can't get the cleaner through I wait until it's cool enough to safely remove the stem. Depends on the pipe. After a pipe cleaner I wipe the inside of the bowl with a damp folded paper towel and then hit the outside with a Decatur polishing cloth.

Every now and then I catch up on a Saturday and do a better job and even sanitize the stems on several pipes that I regularly use.

 

[user 2027]

Sometimes I will run a cleaner in after smoking. Usually I will let it cool down and clean it then. About once a month I will run a wet cleaner of moonshine through to give it a good cleaning. Sometime let it sit that way for a time before pulling it out and the clean with a dry cleaner.