3 Foolproof Ways To Clean Your Bong Without Alcohol (2021 Update)

Smoking out of a clean bong is one of the best ways to enjoy the full flavor of your cannabis, there are also plenty of health concerns to make cleaning your bong a no-brainer. But unless you clean your water pipe on a regular basis the buildup of gunk and resin can be a pain to remove.

It used to be easy to buy some isopropyl alcohol to clean your bong, but that's been increasingly scarce this last year and commercial bong cleaner fluid isn’t an affordable alternative for many of us. So if you like smoking out of clean pipes and your bong is made from glass, here are some effective solutions that you can use to clean your bong without using alcohol. After all, you can’t always have alcohol around to clean your bong, so it helps to have other options on hand to try.

How To Clean Your Bong Without Alcohol

Rinse Your Bong Under The Sink

First up, we have a super basic cleaning method for you. Simply turn on the hot water faucet on your sink and make sure to fasten the down stem so you won’t have to remove it. Keep pouring hot water into the bong until it overflows. Let it sit there for about 2 to 3 minutes and while this takes quite a lot of hot water, it works amazingly when you don’t have alcohol.

Afterward, simply pour out the water, swish it around a little, and then rinse it through again. This will help to remove the tar out of the down stem while cleaning the walls of the bong as well. Follow up by cleaning off the side of the walls with some vinegar and salt. Shake the bong hard and then rinse it with hot water on the tap, allowing it to overflow out of the stem.

Be sure to avoid filling your bong with cold water afterward as it might cause thermal contraction and result in the bong cracking as the differences in heat can cause the glass to expand and contract quickly.

Disclaimer: Rinsing your bong like this will leave your sink very dirty, so get ready for cleanup afterward. Alternatively, use a mop sink from your laundry room that you won’t mind getting dirty. Either way, make sure to clean your sink thoroughly after use, especially if you use your kitchen sink.

Use Dishwasher Soap

Open the hot water on your tap and let it get to scalding hot before you rinse out the bong. Pour two tablespoons of dishwashing liquid into your bong and fill it up so that it’s not bubbling up out of control. Keep filling it up with water until the original dish soap is completely dissolved and there are no longer any bubbles. Put dishwashing tablets to soak for 10 to 15 minutes so they may get to work.

Give your water pipe a quick rinse afterward with clean water followed by a solution of baking soda and water at a ratio of 1 to 4 respectively. Shake it around so that the aggregate can help remove the last of any remaining residue. Rinse your bong again with clean warm water inside and then take a piece of towel, twist it around and push it through to clean the inside of the down stem.

This should leave you with a clean, fresh bong that’s ready for your next toke.

Use Powder Soap

Start by removing the old bong water and rinse out the down stem. Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands since you’ll be using super-hot water to clean your bong. Pour the powder soap first into the bong and down the stem as well.

Follow that up with some hot water making sure to fill up the whole bong. Shake vigorously for about 10 seconds, add a little bit more water to top it off before you leave it to soak, and break down all of the little particles and gunk on the sides.

It’ll take more time to clean a really dirty bong and the type of soap you have will also play a role in how effective it is as soap with tiny cleaning beads will be more effective than soap without.

Pro tip! Use a small bottle cleaning brush or an old toothbrush to get into the down stem and clean the bong internally to remove any stubborn gunk. Rinse it one more time after that and Bob’s your uncle!

To Wrap Up

As you can see, nothing beats good old hot water when it comes to cleaning your bong and you don’t necessarily need to use alcohol all the time. After a few good rinses, you’re going to be left with a sparkling clean bong so you can enjoy the full nootropic effects of your cannabis, unadulterated by gunk from previous tokes. Cleaning without using alcohol and soap is also useful if you would like to reuse the wax residue from your dab rig. Happy 420!