One hitters — tiny pipes that, as the name gives away, allow you to quickly take one hit of marijuana — are one of the most convenient ways to enjoy small amounts of herb.
You might choose to have a one hitter in your cannabis toolkit because these pipes are super portable and discrete as hell (they don’t create much odor), because a one hitter is easy to use, and because one hitters allow you to smoke modest quantities in full, preventing wastage. Above all, perhaps, one hitters are the perfect way to get started with weed.
The only problem? After you’ve enjoyed your one hitter one too many times, the pipe will be filled with gunk. It’ll look awful, and the taste of your weed will be altered if you keep using it. Cleaning a one hitter will seem like a much more daunting task than using it — so, how do you clean a one hitter?
Types of One Hitters
One hitters can be made of metal, glass, or ceramic. Some are “totally tubular”, designed to look more or less like a cigarette complete with fake filter and everything for discreet use.
Others are artfully created with numerous curves by expert glassblowers. The bowl can be in one of two places — on the side of the one hitter, which many people find easier to use, or at its end, which makes it even more compact.
Recently there have been more high-end one-hitters that have been rising in popularity like the Silverstick for example, which is a made-in-the-USA aircraft-grade aluminum cylindrical pipe that fits cotton filters and can be ordered complete with premium wooden dugouts and leather cases.
No matter what your one hitter is made of, or where the bowl is located, you have a few different options as you decide how to clean that little pipe.
1. Use a Pipe Cleaning Solution to Restore Your One Hitter to its Former Glory
Commercially-available pipe cleaning solutions, like the Grand Master Smoke Bong Cleaner, make the job of cleaning your one hitter rather simple and quick. All you need to do to use Grand Master Smoke Bong Cleaner is to pour enough of the stuff into a container, submerge your one hitter all the way, and allow the solution to work its magic for an hour or so.
Then, give everything a nice swirl to get the resin and other gunk out, remove your one hitter from the pipe cleaning solution, and rinse it in warm water to make sure no cleaning residue remains behind.
It’s that simple — and that’s why convenience-loving folks with plenty of cash to spare will opt for commercial pipe cleaning solutions every time.
2. Clean Your One Hitter with Isopropyl Alcohol
If you’re cool with putting in a little more effort to save money, cleaning your one hitter with isopropyl alcohol is the way to go. Here’s a look at the steps to break the process down for you:
- Gather all your supplies: Isopropyl alcohol (91 percent or above), salt, a plastic bag or container, q-tips, pipe cleaners, and paper clips or bobby pins, and tap water.
- Pour enough isopropyl alcohol into your plastic bag or container (don’t use a glass container, as it may shatter your glass pipe) to submerge the one hitter. Add four or so tablespoons of salt and stir thoroughly.
- Add your one hitter to the mix, and swish it around in the bag or container to dislodge the resin buildup.
- As with commercial pipe cleaners, allow everything to soak for an hour.
- Use tools like q-tips, pipe cleaners, and bobby pins or paperclips to scrape away the most persistent dirty spots.
- Return the one hitter to the solution and allow it to soak some more.
- Rinse your one hitter thoroughly under warm (but not hot) water.
- Allow the one hitter to air dry.
- Enjoy weed in a clean one hitter again.
3. Clean Your One Hitter with Baking Soda and Vinegar
This process follows the same basic procedure as cleaning your one hitter with isopropyl alcohol, but it relies on even cheaper ingredients that you probably already have lying around your home. Though slightly less effective, you can still achieve very decent results. Cleaning your one hitter with baking soda and vinegar is perfect if you are scared of the fact that isopropyl alcohol is flammable, if you need to clean your pipe now and baking soda and vinegar is all you’ve got, or if you’re super cheap.
4. Just Scrape the Resin Away
What if you’re on the go and you want a hit now, but your one hitter has seen better days? You could opt to simply scrape the most bothersome grime away with some paperclips, a bobby pin, or even a safety pin. Remember to clean your pipe properly once you have the chance, though.
How Often Should You Clean Your One Hitter?
You really don’t have to clean your one hitter after every single use, but if you use it to consume cannabis every day, that’s also how often you should clean it. Once you get into the swing of cleaning your one hitter, it will become a routine that allows you to enjoy a better experience and that ultimately prolongs the lifespan of your one hitter, too.
Ultimately how frequently, and how well you clean your pipe, bong, or your e-rig depends on both the level of dirtiness and tainted terp flavor you are willing to tolerate and also how much you care about potentially disgusting your friends when you offer to pass your equipment around.
Personally, we think if you are buying mid-shelf or better flower you should try to clean your equipment at least once a week so that when you’re burning what you spent your money on you get the most, best experience possible. If everything you smoke, including top-shelf nugs, tastes like tar then might as well just by bottom shelf shake.
Another thing to take into account is socializing. If you’ve been passing a pipe around all night at a party you’ll definitely want to be cleaning that puppy the next day/before use again simply to avoid getting sick.
That said we’re curious what the average is. Based off our experience it would seem most stoners don’t like to clean their stuff much, but perhaps that mentality is changing as more and more exotic, premium strains are sweeping across the country.
How often do you clean your pipes, bowls, and rigs? Let us know in the comments below, we’re curious to find out!
