2 questions. Bowl and cleaner.

If a bong comes with an ash catcher, would you recommend a "bowl" to put your herb in (which I would think rests in the ash catcher opening), or would you just rest your herb in the ash catcher opening by itself?

Also is there some kind of cleanser to clean out a bono and ash catcher? The inside of the ash catcher is like black and crusted and I don't see how any pipe cleaner/brush could fit inside the opening to clean it.

When you said bowl, and cleaner. I really thought this was going to be a post on how to best clean a toilet bowl.

got a pic?

to clean those hard to reach spots empty your pipe/bong/ whatever of any water, pour in a good amount of table salt, 1/2 cup or more. then pour in a cup of rubbing alcohol. close off openings with electrical tape, (it comes off clean), then shake the crap out of your bong for three or four minutes, the alcohol softens and loosens the tar and junk, and the salt acts as a mild abrasive to really clean well. you can put smaller pipes in a ziplock and add salt and alcohol then shake to clean. rinse well in warm to hot water and let dry. the reason behind the alcohol is because the salt does not dissolve in alcohol but would quickly dissolve in water, hence the good rinse. one other thing, if you save the alcohol after use, you can use it for quite some time, even though it will be black and nasty looking.
Also you will most likely want a bowl and glass screen for your bong, I would!

Thanks for the in depth steps on how to clean it.

Just to give you an idea of said bong & ash catcher in question, and just how dirty they are, I've included some pics.

P.S. What is a glass screen, and what is it used for? Please provide a link. I don't want to Google the wrong thing and walk away even more confused. Thanks!!!!

Salt, acetone and hot water. That shit will look brand new. I used to use alcohol but acetone works way better.

Just youtube it...

Gr8ness said:

If a bong comes with an ash catcher, would you recommend a "bowl" to put your herb in (which I would think rests in the ash catcher opening), or would you just rest your herb in the ash catcher opening by itself?

Also is there some kind of cleanser to clean out a bono and ash catcher? The inside of the ash catcher is like black and crusted and I don't see how any pipe cleaner/brush could fit inside the opening to clean it.

Click to expand...

Soak it in isopropyl alcohol (90%) for a day or two. Dissolves the gunk away

They are called glass stars, they set right down in the bowl hole. It helps your weed not to get sucked threw when the glass blower accidentally made the hole too big

Gr8ness said:

Thanks for the in depth steps on how to clean it.

Just to give you an idea of said bong & ash catcher in question, and just how dirty they are, I've included some pics.

P.S. What is a glass screen, and what is it used for? Please provide a link. I don't want to Google the wrong thing and walk away even more confused. Thanks!!!!

Click to expand...

Parsley85 said:

When you said bowl, and cleaner. I really thought this was going to be a post on how to best clean a toilet bowl.

Click to expand...

and/or another pissing match about flushing

Your ash catcher is a bowl, no need to get a different bowl unless you don't like the bowl from the ash catcher. A different bowl could fit your downstem if you want a different bowl while your ash catcher is soaking in alcohol. The glass stars, daisies, or caltrops are filters for smoking hash and kief so it doesn't go down your bowl before it gets burnt. Here is a web site that has some info:

http://vialsondemand.wordpress.com/2012/05/17/glass-screens-vs-pipe-screens-which-is-my-better-option/

I clean my glass parts and bongs with alcohol and rock salt. Alcohol will melt an acrylic bong. Only rinse with cold water, I rinsed with hot water once, and my bong cracked.

Triplec said:

Salt, acetone and hot water. That shit will look brand new. I used to use alcohol but acetone works way better.

Click to expand...

This is what my girlfriend uses, and has for years. She keeps her paraphernalia meticulously clean like this. She keeps a large ziploc of the mixture under the sink.

-spek

spek9 said:

This is what my girlfriend uses, and has for years. She keeps her paraphernalia meticulously clean like this. She keeps a large ziploc of the mixture under the sink.

-spek

Click to expand...

It's seriously like the magic eraser for glass pipes and bongs. I was amazed how clean it got it compared to using alcohol.