5 Bong Hacks You Need to Know Now
Fortunately for us all, the stigma regarding smoking marijuana is quickly becoming a thing of the past. With legalization for medicinal and recreational use on the rise, it is now much more culturally and legally acceptable to enjoy the effects and benefits that cannabis consumption brings.
But, as any member of the community will tell you, sometimes smoking weed isn’t always as simple and straightforward as you might like. Cotton-mouth makes conversation a challenge, pipes and bongs get dirty or clogged, and somehow lighters always seem to vanish into thin air just when you need them most.
This is a list of the five hacks you need to know most, to ease your mind while you ease your mind:
1. Make Sure To Properly Clean Your Glass
Smoking out of bongs & water pipes is easier on your lungs and lessens the intake of additional substances (e.g. paper ash from joints or tobacco from blunt wraps). That said, the build-up of resin and bacteria in smoking devices is unavoidable, which means you’ve got to do a little upkeep of your devices.
There are an abundance of methods for keeping your bong sparkling clean and your smoke smoother, cleaner, and tastier, including:
- Abolish Your Ashes
The simplest and most important of the steps is simply cleaning out the bowl itself. Ash accumulation is an inevitability, but removing that ash is simple enough. There are a variety of tools you can use, and most of them can be found around the house.
Bobby pins, bamboo skewers, and paper clips are the best place to start for scraping away unwanted detritus. Really just about any long, skinny, pokey object will serve you well. You can even clean your pipe with…wait for it…a pipe cleaner. Turns out they’re not just for arts & crafts, after all.
- Boil Your Bong
A simple water-only boil is great for sterilizing your pipe or bong inside and out. Quick and efficient, this is a must for any proper cleaning process. The boiling water will not only readily kill bacteria in the easy-to-reach areas, it will also reach the innards of your piece, effectively sanitizing the nooks and crannies as well.
The primary challenge of this method is if you’ve got an especially large piece. Finding a pot or saucepan large enough to encompass it may prove tricky.
- Soak Your Smoke
A tried-and-tested method for removing resin and easing your cleaning is to soak your glass in a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and sea salt. The alcohol naturally breaks down the residue and the sea salt is coarse enough to scrape away the remains.
Seal the mixture and your piece in a bag or plastic container for a day or two, shaking occasionally, then use brushes, scrubbers, or additional pipe cleaners to tackle whatever is left over.
There are a number of resources available in regards to how to clean a glass pipe, but these tips and tricks will get you started in the right direction.
2. Don’t Lose Your Lighter
There’s nothing worse than a clean bong, a packed bowl, a groovy playlist, and the sudden realization that you can’t find your lighter. Again. Blast. You swear it was just here. And that was your best windproof lighter, too!
Keep track of your fire source by gluing a magnet to the side. That way you can stick it to the refrigerator, the filing cabinet, or your white board so you always know where it is. Or take it one step further by affixing a matching magnet to your bong. Finished your bowl? Click that lighter right back into place for next time! (Side-note: velcro works too!)
Alternatively, if you’re a smoker-on-the-go, get yourself a retractable ID badge holder. You know the ones. They attach to your belt or belt loop and extend along a cord. Then you let go and zip, it goes back into place. Only instead of an ID, attach a lighter to the end of the cord. Now you’ve got a lighter at your hip at all times.
People may laugh, initially. But the next time they themselves lose their lighter, they’ll be thinking of your solution with respect and envy. Oh, and an added bonus of keeping your lighter handy at your side? You’ll forever be prepared if someone puts on a classic, moving song worthy of raising a flame into the air.
3. Nip Side-Effects In The Bud
There are a number of positive benefits and medicinal properties that follow marijuana use. These are, however, accompanied by a handful of sometimes inconvenient side-effects. But if you keep your stash box stashed with a couple extra amenities, you’ll prevent and diminish these side-effects with relative ease.
- Eye-Drops
The bane of every stoner is the classic-bordering-on-cliché red eyes that follows a good smoke. Get ahead of the issue by making sure you’re always ready with regular or contact lens-rewetting eye-drops to keep your vision clear and the whites of your eyes…well…white!
- Mouthwash
Second only to red eyes, the most prevalent and hampering side-effect of smoking weed is the dreaded dry mouth. As you enjoy your newfound boost in mood and mentality, you suddenly find yourself with a sticky tongue and gummed-voice. Fortunately this is an easy fix.
Mouthwash is your best friend in these instances. Buy it in travel-size to ensure keeping it on your person or in your stash box is a breeze. Take it one step further with dry mouth-specific oral rinse/spray, which is designed specifically to aid in remoisturizing your mouth. Bye-bye cottonmouth!
- Lip Balm & Mints
Treat yourself to moisturized lips and fresh breath after any smoke sesh by including lip balm and/or mints to your marijuana must-haves. That way you never need to worry about your kissing capabilities should the opportunity arise post-blaze.
4. No Grinder? No Problem!
Smoking weed is a fairly simple process. Break up your bud, pack it in a bowl or place it in a rolling paper, and light that bad boy up. You can get a good smoke with your hands alone, if need be.
But the key to a great puff is grinding. This ensures your joints don’t “canoe” (burn down one side faster than the other) and that you don’t lose prime chunks of cannabis by inadvertently sucking them into your piece.
Like all smoking utensils, however, grinders have a tendency to disappear. Forgotten, misplaced, mistakenly lent, whatever the case may be, every stoner has found themselves without a grinder at one point or another.
Fortunately, there are a number of clever, alternative tools to grind weed without a grinder, including:
- Coffee Grinder
A fairly common household object and the closest to an actual weed grinder, these can be hand-crank or electric. These can be somewhat of a challenge to clean afterwards, but are nevertheless ideal for effectively and efficiently breaking up bud — especially in large quantities.
- Scissors and Cup/Glass
Every stoner worth his smoke has witnessed the old “scissors in a cup” trick for dicing up dank. Depending on the amount you’re working with, you can use everything from a shot glass to a red plastic party cup. Drop your bud into your chosen drinking vessel and get snipping!
- Cheese Grater
Necessity is the mother of invention, and this solution is no exception. Take your bud in one hand and your (hopefully clean) grater in the other and go to town. Just make sure to watch out for your fingertips!
- Coin and Pill Bottle
Before you begin, clean your chosen coin (dimes and pennies work best) with rubbing alcohol or sanitizer to avoid the countless germs that have undoubtedly accumulated upon it over time. Once finished, grab a pill bottle from your medicine cabinet, drop your bud inside along with your now-shiny coin, attach the cap securely, and shake it like a polaroid picture!
- Mortar and Pestle
Probably the most unusual on this list, a mortar & pestle combination is nevertheless an ideal tool for grinding all manner of herbs — including those of the smoking variety! It is, in a sense, the original grinder, used since time immemorial for exactly this purpose.
Well, maybe not exactly. But close enough!
5. Smoke Smart & Smooth
There are a couple things you can do to make your smoking experience both potent and pleasant. The most obvious is to invest in quality bongs & water pipes designed to provide the very best hits.
Depending on the size and style you choose, these pieces will include various additions to enhance your smoking experience, including multiple chambers for water and even percolators, which amplify the filtration process for a cooler, fresher, richer smoke.
Take it one step further and add ice to your bong to further chill the smoke on its way to your lungs, greatly decreasing irritation and subsequent coughing. Maybe even take it a step further by sucking on a mint while you smoke. This both adds flavor to your hits and helps avoid cotton mouth. Win-win!
Bring On The Bong
There you have it. The means and methods to stay clean, healthy, and prepared for anything that might come your way when smoking marijuana. Prepare now, thank us later, and happy smoking!
