The Dangers of Dirty Glassware

Stale, stagnant water sitting in a bong bowl is a breeding ground for bacteria, fungus, viruses and yeast. Smoking a bowl “filtered” through the equivalent of pond scum can transport all sorts of nasty pathogens into your mouth and lungs. Some contaminants can cause mild dizziness or fatigue, and others could expose you to extremely serious illnesses including Hepatitis A, pneumonia and strep throat.

To do the cleaning job right, you’ll need a few simple supplies. The key cleaning components to have on hand are isopropyl alcohol, airtight plastic food containers, cotton balls, abrasive salt, and hot or distilled water (you can buy distilled water from a nearby store or an estore). Chances are, you can clean your bong right now without having to make a trip to the store at all.

The important thing to remember about cleaning your bong (and other smoking equipment) is to do it regularly if you don’t want to be having to buy bongs online Australia, or wherever you are, more frequently than you would like to because your current one is unusable. It doesn’t take long for microbes to latch on to stagnant water and start reproducing. Ideally, you’ll want to completely clean your bong after the last time you use it each day. This can take a little bit of effort, since you have to let the bowl and accessory parts soak for a while before rinsing them off and putting everything back together. If it’s a project you’d feel more prepared to tackle when you’re fresh, cleaning the bong first thing in the morning is a good backup plan.

Because of COVID-19, everyone has become a lot more germ conscious. Hopefully, this positive trend has already extended into the world of cannabis equipment and supply maintenance. However, habits are hard to change, and truth be told, many folks have spent years with zero concern about old bong water. Yet, there’s no time like the present to turn over a new “leaf.” For more guidance on the proper way to clean a bong, check out the accompanying resource.

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