Bong, Pipe, & Vape Maintenance

You love your bongs, vapes, and pipes. It’s practically a given with their one-of-a-kind designs that express your style and personality and those smooth hits they offer. But if you didn’t know it, you heard it here first: you have to clean that dirty bong and vape! Sure, cleaning may be a drag sometimes, but proper care is essential to maintaining the durability of your device, keeping your design sparkling, and getting the best flavor from your hits. Don’t worry, it’s not too difficult. Use our simple care guide to learn the right vape and bong maintenance.

Vape Maintenance

Even though they’re known for their durability and longevity (hello, rechargeable battery), vape pens still need regular care to help ensure their shelf life. Follow these instructions!

Store it Properly

Vape pens should be stored in a cool, dry place that’s away from sunlight and extreme temperatures. They should also be stored upright, mouthpiece facing upwards, and kept away from dust. Why store them this way? Storing vapes upright and out of the sun helps to prevent any leaks and possible damage to your pen.

Clean Your Vape

A crucial part of both bong and vape maintenance is cleaning. When they don’t get cleaned, you’re exposed to bacteria and your smoke’s taste quality goes down – no one wants that! Every vape pen may have a different design, so keep in mind that cleaning may vary.

• Remove any contents and gently disassemble the vape pen 
• Clean each component using a cotton swab, a microfiber cloth, and alcohol. To clean the tank, rinse with warm water and use isopropyl alcohol if needed. Be careful not to wet the battery or charging components. 
• Allow to air dry completely
• Reassemble! Remember not to over-tighten the components.

How do you know when it’s time to engage in vape maintenance? There are two indicators: airflow and taste. If you notice bad or blocked airflow or a stale taste mixed with the taste of your herb, it’s time to clean! Vape pens should generally be cleaned around every few weeks to a month, or every week if it’s used regularly.

Don’t Overfill

Never underfill or overfill your vape if you’re using e-liquid. Underfill and you could produce an unpleasant taste from burning; overfill and you run the risk of leaks and damage – including to your battery. P.S., e-liquid does expire!

Check Your Battery Regularly

You always want to check to ensure nothing is leaking onto your battery and there’s no dust on it as a part of regular vape maintenance, which can affect its performance. Like smartphones, it’s also recommended that you don’t let your battery drain entirely to nothing, since it may cause damage.

Pipe & Bong Maintenance

Glass bongs and glass hand pipes are durable, not indestructible. Handle your precious design with care and make sure you clean and store it properly, just like you would with your vape maintenance.

Store Safely

Things happen, especially to those of us that are more accident-prone. Prevent your bong or pipe from being the latest victim of your clumsiness by storing it in a place where it won’t be knocked over or bumped. Make sure you also keep it out of direct sunlight and extreme temperatures, which can discolor and damage your bong.

Regularly Dump and Change the Water

It’s always a good idea to change the water regularly as part of pipe and bong maintenance. Just say no to mold, mildew, and bacteria. Need even more convincing? Dumping and changing the water will give you better filtration, giving you an even better smoke experience.

Clean Your Bong

If there’s just one thing you take from this care guide, it should be just how essential that cleaning is to pipe, bong, and vape maintenance. Seriously, clean your smoke tools – we promise it’s worth it. Regular cleaning is key to maintaining their efficiency, stylish appearance, and the taste of your product. Here’s how you clean your bong and maintain your premium experience:

• Dump your dirty bong water.
• Take off any removable pieces like your downstem and glass bowl.
• Rinse with warm water to remove any remaining ash or particles.
• Pour a solution of isopropyl alcohol (preferably 99%) and coarse salt, white vinegar and baking soda, or a commercial bong cleaner into your bong. You can let the vinegar/baking soda solution sit for around 20-30 minutes for optimal results, but it’s not required.
• Cover any openings with your fingers and shake your piece for around 5 minutes. Put on a playlist if you need to!
• Rinse with warm water and let air dry.
• To clean your smaller bong pieces or your pipe, place them in a bag and follow the same instructions as you would for cleaning a bong. Fully submerge in your cleaning solution of choice and gently shake. Repeat this process again if necessary. For any hard-to-get places, you can use a straw brush or cotton swabs. Pro tip: this also works if any water stains are driving you crazy.

Like vape maintenance, you should clean your bong at least once a week to prevent build-up – more often if you use it regularly. Have a silicone water pipe? Life just got easier, because those babies are dishwasher-safe!

Use an Ash Catcher

There are also protective measures that you can take to reduce the frequency of cleaning as part of bong maintenance. Ash catchers are small glass chambers that can be attached to the joint of your downstem to prevent ash and debris from making their way into your bong. Bonus: ash catchers have added filtration, meaning smoother hits for you.

Keep Up with Your Vape Maintenance

While keeping up with bong maintenance may seem way less important than finding the attention-grabbing vape, bong, or pipe design you love, this is one thing you don’t want to skip. Vape maintenance ensures a clean smoke and the durability of your vape pen, so you can keep using your no-bubbling, hand-applied vinyl skin as long as possible. It’s a win-win for your style and smoke experience! Explore our unique selection of vapes, bongs, and cool vape accessories at StayLit Design today.