Pipe Cleaning With Alcohol - No Salt
February 10, 2004
Pipe owners have often resorted to cleaning their bowls and shanks by
filling the pipe with noniodized salt and then soaking the salt with
alcohol. The idea is that the salt is non-soluble in grain alcohol
(more or less) and serves as a "substrate" for delivering the alcohol
to the interior walls of the pipe.
The problem is that salt can get into the pits and countours of the pipe
as it is dried out. When the bowl is reheated, there is some risk of
cracking a thin shank or bowl wall as the salt comes up to temperature.
So ... here is a simple little method I came up with to avoid the use
of salt entirely. Take a piece of surgical tubing whose diameter is
slightly larger than the pipe mortice. Tie a knot in it. Fit it into
the mortice. Be careful not to twist it too much or you will lose the seal
and leak alcohol all over the place. Fill the pipe with grain alcohol and
wait overnight. Voila'! No salt, no mess, less likely to cause cracks...
