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With their vibrant colors, beautiful weight, and unique shapes — soft glass bongs make a great addition to your smokeware collection AND they are a great way to enjoy legal tobacco or cannabis products!
But, like with all great things, there are some care instructions we recommend you follow in order to keep your soft glass bong looking AND functioning its best long into the future:
You should never use very hot or boiling water to fill or clean your bong; use lukewarm or room temperature water only. Soft glass is not designed to withstand substantial temperature changes, so to ensure it remains beautiful and free of cracks, we recommend keeping that water no hotter than ‘lukewarm’ (which Google defines as “only moderately warm; tepid”).
You should rinse your bong and change the water after every session! We know, that seems like a lot of work, but hear us out: this is the best way to keep any smoky or ashy rings from forming inside AND it's also the best way to ensure you are enjoying clean smoke every time. And isn’t the goal to have a beautiful looking piece that also provides an enjoyable clean smoking experience? Every time and for a long time?
If you do wind up with an accumulation of residue inside the bong (because life happens), we advise you clean it with a commercial bong cleaner that is meant for soaking. Just fill your soft glass bong with the cleaner and let it sit for a bit while the cleaner does its work! If you have a particularly tricky piece, you can always contact us — our bricks and mortar location carries a wide variety of commercial bong cleaners and our staff have lots of tips and tricks to share with you (I guess you could say we have some experience in this field)!
Remove the flower bowl before cleaning the bong, and clean the flower bowl separately. Flower bowls are made from borosilicate glass, which can withstand temperature changes, so go ahead and use hot water if you want. Rinse your flower bowl with water, and you can fill a resealable plastic bag with a commercial bong cleaner and place the flower bowl in there. Give it a shake or a soak (depending on the type of bong cleaner used) and then… rinse clean!
After cleaning, always make sure you rinse your soft glass bong — and rinse it well! Commercial bong cleaners can contain alcohol and other toxic chemicals that would be bad for you to ingest. If you aren’t sure if you’ve rinsed it enough, rinse it a little more! And if you’re still not sure… rinse it one more time and then maybe ask yourself if you’re maybe being a bit paranoid for some related reason :)
While you’ve probably done it or know someone who has lived to tell the tale, we do not recommend you use pure isopropyl alcohol to clean your soft glass bongs or any other smokeware pieces. Pure iso is pretty toxic and there are so many reasonably priced, commercially available bong cleaners out there — we promise you can find a suitable cleaner that will get the job done and keep you safe! That being said, we always recommend you wear gloves and clean your bong in a well ventilated room whenever using any cleaning products that aren’t Lukewarm™ water.
Follow all those tips and you’ll be using your beautiful soft glass bong for years to come… but first you need to own a beautiful soft glass bong! So if you’ve always been curious about upgrading your smokeware game to a piece of functional art (or if you know someone who would appreciate a gift that came with the above ‘care instructions’), check out our amazing online selection of handmade glass bongs and waterpipes, or our full selection of handmade smokeware and accessories! You can also come and visit us in person to see what we have at our physical gallery - which features a delicious bistro with beautiful seasonal outdoor patio and cozy indoor dining, located across from Kimberley City Hall at 349 Spokane Street.