Cleaning the hookah correctly - immortal truths and new trends

Still boiling? Then we go to you!

First, let’s find out what you can and cannot use to wash your hookah. Firstly, you should not use all sorts of chemicals, which can simply remain on all the components (you understand that smoking later will not be pleasant) or damage the equipment, thanks to its “magic” composition. Use food ingredients that are approved by housewives who monitor the naturalness and safety of substances when washing dishes - this is mustard powder, salt, soda, citric acid or lemon juice, rice or buckwheat as an abrasive to clean the flask.

Secondly, get sponges of different hardness and brushes of different sizes: a long and thin one for cleaning the shaft (sometimes a hose), a larger brush for removing deposits on the walls of the flask.

What may be required to clean a hookah?

Before you start cleaning your hookah from plaque and dirt, you need to stock up on everything you need. To complete the procedure you will need:

• A special brush for cleaning a hookah or for dishes. It is desirable that it be medium in size with short stubble;
• Fishing line and rags. They are used in places where a brush cannot fit. The fishing line is threaded through rags, and then the resulting structure is pulled through narrow passages. Change the rags as they become dirty;
• Clean water - helps remove plaque from walls;
• Baking soda is a standard product used to clean dishes;
• Citric acid - it is added to a soda solution to clean problem surfaces and eliminate odors.

Lemon acid

To clean a hookah, many also use raw buckwheat or rice. Small grains remove plaque no worse than special chemicals; in addition, they eliminate the unpleasant aroma of resins deposited on the walls. The only drawback of such a detergent is the difficulty in subsequently removing grains from the body and hose.

Washing the hookah bowl

There is no clear answer to how to wash a bowl. It all depends on its material - clay, ceramics, silicone. One of the most common holivars is between adherents of washing bowls with water and dry cleaning. This primarily applies to clay bowls, since the material is porous and absorbs liquid well, including tobacco syrups. It is best to wrap the bowl in napkins after smoking to remove excess moisture, and remove the carbon deposits with a knife or iron sponge - this way it will last longer. Even if you wash a clay bowl under water, first remove the remaining resins and syrup so that it does not mix with moisture and be absorbed into the walls. There are also owners of clay bowls who prefer another element - fire. Firing in leftover coals or with a gas burner completely eliminates the smell of previous fillings and does not harm the bowl in any way.

As for ceramic, glass, and silicone bowls, they can also be washed well with water. Clay ones have quite a lot of advantages over their counterparts in terms of smoking, not washing. Therefore, most tobacconists give them greater preference and are ready to go to some trouble with cleaning.

How to prevent plaque from appearing

There is a simple way to prevent the appearance of soot. It is not a 100% guarantee, but in some cases it will help avoid serious cleaning. Before refueling the hookah, just lightly blot the tobacco leaves with a paper napkin - it will absorb excess juice. The chance that the impregnation will accidentally leak and burn is minimized.

The disadvantage of this method is that not all types of tobacco can be squeezed out. For example, impregnation of musassel ensures thick smoke and durability of the hookah. Without it, smoking properties will deteriorate significantly.

How to remove dirt from a bowl

To clean the bowl, you definitely need a hard sponge. You can use regular cookware, but it should have one rough side. You just need to carefully scrub off all the dirt from the bowl under warm water and soap. If this does not help, you can first soak the bowl in hot water and then rub it with a sponge.

Please note that under no circumstances should you clean the bowl with a tin sponge. It will only damage the clay or soft silicone. Also, do not use caustic chemicals. The best option is regular hand soap; for glazed clay, a delicate dishwashing detergent is suitable.

Useful tips

There are several simple tricks that will help maximize the life of your hookah bowl:

• Washing is necessary after each use. Due to the porosity of the material, clay models absorb odors well, so they especially need regular cleaning.
• Cover the bottom of the bowl with foil and simply throw it away after the smoking session. This will help keep the part clean without further cleaning.
• Buy a special screen for the bowl - it is sold in every hookah store. It's more professional than using foil.

If you follow all these tips and constantly care for the bowl, it will not require replacement for a long time.

#tobacco #hookah tobacco #hookah accessories

__________________________

How to clean a flask from plaque from the inside

It is not difficult to wash the hookah flask and there is no great need to do it in the dishwasher (by the way, is it even possible to wash a hookah in the dishwasher - just the flask and only in gentle mode). But let’s not reinvent the wheel; ordinary soda can handle the stain.

1. Let the flask cool.
2. Pour hot water and add baking soda (if very dirty, add lemon juice).
3. Wait 10-15 minutes.
4. Wash the inside of the flask without pouring it out with a special brush.
5. Rinse with clean water.

Both soda and citric acid are a great way to wash your hookah so that there is no smell! Unlike dishwashing detergents, which will only add them.

If you don't have a suitable brush, throw a rag or sponge inside the flask. Since your hand is unlikely to fit through, you will need something long enough (a tube, a stick) to guide the cleaning cloth. A less common alternative is rice or buckwheat, which, when shaken, can also remove plaque (we haven’t tried it, but they say it helps).

Rules of care

To prevent the taste of tobacco from deteriorating the next time you smoke, after each use of the hookah it is necessary to clean and wash all its components:

• cup;
• hose;
• mine;
• flask.

The hose is washed under running water. To clean the shaft, a special brush is used, which should be purchased at the store along with the hookah. During cleaning, water should be periodically passed through it.

The flask must first be filled with warm water for a few minutes. This measure will allow you to get rid of plaque that has appeared on its bottom and inner walls. After this, the flask should be washed with citric acid, baking soda or vinegar. But under no circumstances use household chemicals.

Some problems may arise during the cleaning process of the bowl. To make this process a little easier, specialists at hookah bars in Moscow MosKalyan advise covering the inside with foil or a so-called “screen”. But you still have to wash the chilim. And it is better to do this after each use.

Hookah chimney sweeps, or how to clean the shaft and hose

The most proven way to clean a hookah shaft is to use a long brush with fine bristles. It wouldn’t hurt to also pour baking soda inside before doing this. Clean the shaft well on both sides (don’t forget about the valve holes), then simply rinse with water.

With a hose, everything is much simpler if it is silicone: pour water inside, after holding one of the ends with your finger, swirl it and pour it out. You can simply rinse thoroughly with a stream of running water. Leather hoses are treated more carefully; they are cleaned using the blowing method or dry with a brush.

Saucers, caps, pads, mouthpieces and other small hookah components can be washed without any special tricks: soak, clean (do not use household chemicals), dry before smoking again. The main thing to remember is the materials from which the components are made. So, with a clear conscience, you can wash your personal silicone and glass mouthpieces with water. If you prefer a wooden mouthpiece, it is best to simply clean it.

All this also applies to flasks, hoses and other things. Check, so to speak, whether your hookah is encrusted with precious stones, whether there are silver or gold parts somewhere, perhaps the hose is covered with velvet or silk - then the cleaning methods will be different.

We looked at generally accepted and, most importantly, effective methods. However, as many hookah lovers as there are, there are as many opinions. Many come up with their own, quite effective lifehacks and willingly share them. For example, in one of the videos about how to properly clean a hookah, guys from Kyiv use a steamer:

And there is also a great way to smoke a hookah at home and not have to wash anything afterwards: use our services in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Sochi - we will deliver the hookah to your home, provide everything you need, and upon completion we will pick it up and clean it yourself. Smoky and clean hookahs to you!

How to wash a hookah so that there is no smell left

The hookah shaft is cleaned in a similar way to cleaning rubber hoses:

1. Take a hookah mine
2. Rinse it with either water or baking soda
3. Use a brush or fishing line with a rag (that is, one, securing the rag in the middle of the fishing line, insert the fishing line from the top of the shaft to the bottom
4. Rinse the clean part
5. Dry thoroughly

When eliminating old unpleasant odors, many hookah lovers make a grave mistake. They are trying to cover up the smell of past tobacco with the “noble aromas” of chemicals. Let me remind you that this, as a rule, leads to poisoning and damage to the hookah. Then the question is: How to clean a hookah to eliminate extraneous aromas?

In my opinion, the most effective way to eliminate unwanted odors is to clean the hookah with citric acid. Pour the lemon juice solution immediately after treatment with soda concentrate. The product delivers a double blow: it kills odors and destroys harmful bacteria.

Third way

Soaking the device in warm water is one of the most gentle cleaning methods. To bring it to reality, you need to place the bowl in a vessel with warm water so that it is completely immersed in liquid for 40-50 minutes. After this, remove the separated dirt with a soft cloth.

Sometimes there is a need to take a soap solution. But it is also necessary only in some cases when water cannot cope with them, for example:

• clogging of pores with coal or syrup;
• solid clogging of holes with tobacco.

In such situations, you can use a harsh brush or sponge.

Important! A harsh sponge cannot be replaced with a tin brush ; these are completely different things.

General cleansing of the cup

In addition to cleaning the bowl after each smoking, once every one and a half to two weeks, in conditions of frequent use, the vessel needs a more serious rinsing. These include:

• burning the bowl;
• boiling;
• soaking in warm water;
• cleansing with rice or buckwheat;
• use of special means.

Important! The most important signal for such actions, a kind of “reanimation of bowls,” is a change in the taste of tobacco when smoking a hookah.

Method one

Burning the cup involves heating it.

It is necessary to place the bowl on the stove, strictly with the leg up . The temperature should be such that the syrup boils. After this, it will begin to burn out, standing out. This is highly effective, removing unwanted substances almost 100%.

Important! This method cannot be used indoors , as it is accompanied by the release of smoke and a specific odor, which is a significant disadvantage of this method. Therefore, using a barbecue would be a good option.

How to properly rinse a bowl after smoking

It is recommended to clean the bowl after each use of the hookah . To clean a vessel, there is a correct procedure that allows you to do it as best as possible:

1. The first step is to throw away the tobacco and wipe the surface with a dry cloth to remove any remaining small particles. The device must already be cooled down . For clay or thick-walled bowls, initial rinsing under direct running water is allowed. Important! Glass and glazed products will not withstand such a procedure, bursting under pressure .
2. Then you should wipe the bowl with a damp cloth, even if the bowl is clay and has previously been exposed to water.

How often and why to change a hookah bowl

Responsible for heating the tobacco, the bowl transmits and reveals its taste in its entirety. This is why the hookah bowl needs to be replaced periodically. Over time, it becomes damaged or simply becomes unusable , despite regular cleaning. Whether it is a year or just two months, the vessel can be replaced at different frequencies.

The main sign of replacing a device is damage to its integrity . This does not mean that when the first crack appears, you should take a new thing. Sometimes, after its occurrence, the vessel can still serve without letting in extraneous odors and tastes. When there are several cracks and a change in the quality of smoking is noticed, it is worth purchasing a new accessory.

Even if the bowl has been serving for many months and performs well in use, it sometimes needs to be changed. In this case, an alarming sign is unremovable fumes. It may not change the smoking experience, but the vessel can no longer be used.

On average, the bowl lasts from 3 to 6 months.

Thus, the hookah bowl is an important component of the device. By providing proper care, you can not only maintain the quality of smoking, but also extend the period of preservation of the vessel itself.

Cleaning the hose without water

Method one: punishment, or give him a good whipping. Holding both ends of the hose in your hand, confidently, but without fanaticism, hit it a couple of times on the sofa to knock off the adhering debris from its walls. Blow out the hose from both ends while keeping your finger in the air flow. Blow until the flying debris can no longer be felt by your finger. If desired, you can repeat the procedure. If you have read this far, then it’s better to go and buy a new hose, because this one is no longer durable

Second method: from blowing to suction Take an air compressor (for example, the kind they use at gas stations to inflate tires) or a powerful vacuum cleaner and blow or suck air through the hose, which will remove non-adherent particles. To be sure, blow out the hose several times on both sides. Plus, this way you can dry the hose after washing it. Again, if you do this every time before a smoking session, then it's time to throw the hose in the trash and get a new one.