Cleaning Screens: How to Get Your Bong Screen Fresh Again

This is what bong screens are supposed to look like: sparkling, clean, hygienic. But heaven help the loaded-up pipe lover whose screen has already been through a few rounds and no longer looks exactly fresh and appetizing. Luckily, bong screens are cheap penny items, but even those add up over time, and then there's the resource-saving angle: after all, it's a piece of "precious" metal that you quickly burn through and then toss without a second thought. With a few tricks and the right tools, though, you can get used screens back into shape fast and at least spare yourself part of the throwaway routine. At least with the higher-quality screens...

Cleaning hanging and stem screens

Hanging screens have one not-insignificant advantage over flat insert screens: the material is noticeably thicker and therefore sturdier. In practice that means less can go wrong during cleaning, and that you can bring out the heavier artillery. Coarse steel brushes or wire brushes are perfectly fine here, and you can simply scrub the gunk away. The main trick is to briefly heat the screen with a lighter. Smart people use pliers or nail scissors (ones with rubber grips, the key is a non-heat-conducting material) to hold the screen. Best of all, just set light to the oily residue in the grime and wait until the flame goes out on its own. Afterwards the buildup is nice and dry and can simply be scrubbed off. For that you use a bong screen brush or a scraper.

Steel or brass insert screens

Insert screens, as mentioned, aren't quite as robust as their hanging counterparts. If the screens are at least made of steel, you can proceed as with hanging screens and reach straight for the steel brush, just a little more carefully. With brass screens, however, more caution is called for, since the mesh of the screen tears fairly quickly. After burning off the oily residue as described above, you can turn to a trick: wrap the still-hot screen in a piece of paper (not tissues, they lint far too much), bend it back and forth in the paper 2-3 times, and at least the coarse dirt falls off almost by itself. You might need to reshape the screen a little afterwards, but nothing stands in the way of using it again.

The easiest of all: glass and ceramic screens

Only a few years ago, glass screens were the hottest thing around. Today they're completely normal. And glass screens have one decisive advantage: one quick wipe and they're fresh and ready to go again in no time. Screens made of soapstone are just as effective.