If your pipe can be disassembled, take it apart before you put it in the bag or container. If the pieces are delicate, such as thin glass parts, put each piece in a separate bag or container so they don’t knock into each other and potentially break. This cleaning method can be applied to any type of glass or metal pipe.
You can use rubbing alcohol as long as it contains at least 70% isopropyl alcohol by volume.
The salt will act as a gentle abrasive substance to help loosen the resin stuck on the inside of your pipe as it soaks in the alcohol. Kosher salt works well because the grains are bigger than standard table salt.
If your pipe is particularly dirty and has a lot of resin on the inside, feel free to shake it for longer to help loosen it. You won’t do any harm by shaking the mixture around more, but your arm might get tired! Be cautious if your pipe has any delicate pieces. For example, if it is a glass pipe with thin ornamental pieces of blown glass on it, shake the mixture very gently.
If your pipe is really dirty, you can also try letting it sit for an hour or so, then empty out the dirty alcohol and fill the bag or container with clean alcohol and more salt. Shake the mixture around again, then let the pipe sit overnight.
Be very careful not to spill any of the dirty alcohol mixture. It will be very stinky and sticky and hard to get out of something like a carpet or rug.
Running clear means that you don’t see any more pieces of resin getting flushed out of the pipe by the hot running water. If you don’t want to get the dirty alcohol and bits of resin on your hands, wear rubber or latex gloves for this part.
You can also soak a cotton swab or pipe cleaner in isopropyl alcohol before you do this to help loosen stuck-on resin.
If your pipe still looks dirty after all this, you can start over at the beginning of the process. Soak it again and scrub it out again until it is clean enough for you.
This will also ensure that any alcohol residue that didn’t get rinsed off completely evaporates.
