Giving Your Pipe A Deep cleaning

Without regularly cleaning your briar pipes, they will become a sour tasting
experience, and will no longer provide you with the smoking pleasure you desire. To eliminate such problems, you need to embark on a regimen of regular cleaning and maintenance for your pipes.

Tools for cleaning: Tapered pipe cleaners, bristle pipe cleaners, regular or extra fluffy pipe cleaners, pipe sweetener or grain alcohol, Shank brush or cotton swab.

Before You Light-Up: Caring for your pipes start with you very first smoke. So, if you’re a beginner, make note; Before each smoke, run a pipe cleaner through the stem to remove any ash or tobacco left behind, then gently tap your pipe, holding it by the bowl, on a cork knocker. Do not use force!

As you Smoke: While you are smoking keep the flame above the tobacco, so as not to char the rim of your pipe. If the rim of your pipes begin to darken just moisten a pipe cleaner or cotton swab with saliva and rub it. This will eliminate the dark color. If a pipe starts to have a bad taste while smoking, it is probably time for a good cleaning.

After Smoking: Before we start any cleaning remember NOT to remove the stem from a pipe while it is still warm. The stem may loosen and you can end up cracking the shank or breaking the tenon. After each smoke, you should give you pipe a thorough cleaning. Let the pipe cool down completely, and then stir up any ash and residue left at the bottom of the bowl. Cover the bowl with your fingers and shake the pipe to evenly distribute the ash along the inside walls of the bowl, which will greatly speed the formation of ‘cake’, a protective layer of carbonized tobacco and ash inside your pipe. Cake is an insulator and greatly extends the life of your pipe, guarding it against burn outs. Dispose of the remaining residue, and run a bristle pipe cleaner through the stem, repeating the process until the pipe cleaners come out clean. Blow through the stem gently to dislodge any leftover ash and wipe your pipe with a soft cloth, perhaps with a dab of your favorite Pipe polish. Place the pipe back on it’s rack or stand and allow it to rest, hopefully for two to four days before it is smoked again.

Once A Month
You should give your pipes a deep cleaning. Most smokers do it on a regular basis. Experiment with how often you should do this cleaning in time you will know what works best for you.
Extra cleaning tools: Pipe Reamer & Pick.

First, carefully remove the stem of the pipe from the bowl and lay the two pieces on a paper towel. Dip a regular pipe cleaner in alcohol and run it through the stem. It will most likely come out with some black or brown residue on it. Follow this pipe cleaner with a dry one, and repeat until the pipe cleaner comes out the same color as it went in. Run a last “dry” pipe cleaner to remove any moisture and set the stem aside. Using bristle pipe cleaners, moistened with alcohol, vigorously swab out the air-hole of the pipe, alternating with dry, regular pipe cleaners. Don’t be afraid to use a lot of pipe cleaners. Pipe cleaners are cheap, new pipes aren’t. Once your dry pipe cleaner comes out the same color as it went in, run another dry one to absorb any moisture. Using a cotton swab or shank brush, clean out the tenon, the portion of the pipe where the stem attaches to the bowl. If your stem or bowl has a band, now is the time to polish it. Carefully reinsert the stem into the bowl, and wipe it with a soft cloth with a little pipe polish . Allow your pipe to rest for a couple of days before smoking it, this way the alcohol will evaporate completely. If you have cleaned most or all of your briar pipes at once, now is a good time to smoke your meerschaums.