So I have used the old isoprop alcohol and salt mixture to clean my glass for some time now, and it works great. But lately I've been curious about this Grunge Off so I went down to my headshop and picked some up. Im aware there is already a sticky regarding glass cleaning, but there was nothing that had Grunge off and alcohol compared that I could find, so I thought I would throw a thread up comparing the two. Isopropyl Alcohol Cheap, easy to find. Around 3 bucks per bottle (16.9ish oz.) Throw some salt in for an abrasive. Works well, cleaned all my pieces so far very nicely. I have yet to use it on super dirty pieces, but everything in between hasn't been an issue. Can leave a very faint smell of resin, but if it does it is hardly noticeable. Lots of shaking involved to scrub the resin off the glass, and chunks that have gotten stuck onto the sides of your piece from sitting can be difficult to get off, but never usually is a problem after a couple minutes of vigorous shaking. Grunge Off So Grunge Off is pretty badass. But, its expensive. The headshop I went to had it for 15 bucks a bottle (About 16 oz if I remember correctly), but you can get it for $21 for two bottles online. I also haven't seen it anywhere else, but I haven't checked much either. Onto the cleaning. Very simple: Put piece in a glass, pour grunge off in, leave for a while. Works really awesome, As soon as you return to it, just rinse it with warm water and everything just falls off. Its actually a pretty satisfying feeling. There wasn't even a hint of resin smell/taste from the cleaned glass. You can also REUSE it. I just poured it back into the bottle, which you're probably not supposed to do, but it wasn't very dirty. So, if your strapped for cash, the iso alcohol and salt works just fine. Ill probably still use it for most of my quick cleans, but when I want to get it sparkling if its damn dirty, then Ill whip out the Grunge. If you dont mind spending a little extra for easy and efficient cleaning, fork out the 10-15 bucks for the Grunge Off. It makes cleaning effortless. In summary: Yes, the Grunge Off is worth the extra bucks (especially if you're lazy), but if you would rather spend the money you'd save on some herb, then alcohol/salt works just fine.
HAHA maybe it is obvious information but honestly i never bothered to find out much about grunge off because i was too cheap and just went ISO. i learned somethin from this read so thanks! haha i think im gonna do what you do, just keep a bottle of grunge around for major cleans
A reusable product is much more economical. The one I use last for months at a time. It would take a case of Alcohol to do the same work. Off Glass!
Iso is also reusable and cheap. It will go amber colour after a few uses with residue building up, but it still will get the job done. I see no reason why you shouldn't recycle. At beginning of Feb I spent £17 on 5L of isopropyl alcohol (which is just short of $30) from Amazon. I clean at least once/twice a week and almost 3 months later, I still have at least 2.5L of these alcohol clean and un-used, with the other half in amber colour stored in a glass jar. I think it's safe to say that a lot of people who favour Grunge Off is simply because you can avoid the whole 'pour in with salt and shake vigorously' step with ISO. In UK, you can get Grunge Off for £20 per litre (500ml x 2), which is around $33. I am pretty sure during each cleaning session, you would lose some due to spillage. So I wonder how long Grunge Off can really last you if you are regularly cleaning (even with recycle). But I think the differences in price and quantity would still make quite an impact on your wallet in the long run.
Good comparison, but Id just like to say you can buy 5 bottles of iso for 15$.. And you can reuse it if you run it through a coffee filter
The soaking agents have the ability for you not to have to shake your expensive precious pieces. You also don't have to deal with all that mess that usually comes with an ISO cleaning session. ISO and salt just doesn't get all the nooks and crannies of my scientific glass, you just can't get ISO and the salt into all the percs. Also not all pieces can handle having salt put into them for example, Dave Goldstein's Rooster Apparatus the salt will ruin the frittered disc. I choose soaking agents to clean all my pieces because they are easily reusable and keep all your pieces safe and sparkling clean. I used Grunge Off for a long time and I loved it but recently I've found a product that I love even more called Off Glass. It runs cheaper than Grunge Off and I feel like it works better and faster.
Use this cost 0.96c for small $2 for big at Wal-mart get the pure acetone. Just pour a shot or 2 in and shake it up, cleans it off immediately. A got a big bottle and it can clean a real dirty piece about 10-15 times. Just make sure you rinse it out really well, acetone has a strong smell so you just smell it after and you will tell if any residue is leftover. You can use painters acetone too but it's cheaper to use nail polish remover. And you don't even need salt.
Surely those substances are dangerous? With the smell and everything. I'd becareful on the stuff that I pour down a device which I constantly inhale from.
Meh use whatever works best for you, If you're uncomfortable with acetone don't use it. I prefer it because it's cheap and nothing works better. I work with acetone everyday in painting so I know it is "dangerous", but that is why I refrain from drinking it and just use it to clean my pieces.
Meh, I stick with the 75% or 99% iso with some salt and shake it up. Without the alcohol, I just get some boil some water and swish it around with some salt. The resin gets gummed up from the hot water, making it easier to blow out with a garden hose...I guess that's my main point. Gotta have a garden hose
Those of you swearing by Iso and saying that it works as well as Grunge Off are out of your minds. I clean my pieces daily - my main piece - even after 3 years of daily use still looks like the day it was bought, and it is entirely thanks to Grunge Off. Before discovering this stuff, I would use the 90% Iso. At the time, my main piece was a glass sherlock-style bubbler. Each day, cleaning it would be a 30-40 minute chore, as even after steeping in Iso for awhile, I still found it necessary to get after it with pipe cleaners to really get all the bits off. Despite this daily work there was a thick 'crust' on the flat bottom of my water chamber that I chalked up to pitted imperfections in the glass, as no amount of boiling, or Iso/salt, CLR, acetone, or anything else I could throw at it would make any difference. One day, the guys at the glass shop next to my preferred dispensary convinced me to try a bottle. I was reluctant, but I took one, soaked my bubbler overnight in it, and not only did I NOT have to bust out the pipe cleaners or q-tips as every bit of resin had simply melted away, but that 'permanent' layer on the bottom of my water chamber sloughed off like dead skin. I was sold instantly and have never gone back. Nowadays, my main piece is a Zob water pipe with a shower head diffuser, coupled with Hi-Si honey comb drain bowls (I have about 10 bowls as I like to use a clean one every time). I keep a small, shallow glass jar full of Grunge Off for putting used bowls after a quick rinse, and another bottle for cleaning the pipe. I can rinse the pipe out with water, fill it with Grunge Off, let it sit for 10-20 minutes while I handle some other shit, empty the Grunge Off back into the bottle, rinse with hot water, and the Zob comes out straight surgical. It requires 0 elbow grease, and almost no time (of course if you're disgusting and haven't cleaned your piece in a year as one poster above suggests, you will likely need to let it soak overnight). Currently, I am running at a little over of year or mileage with this same bottle of Grunge Off, and frankly, if $15 (or even $30) a year for cleaning supplies is outside your budget, then you probably shouldn't be spending money on weed in the first place. So - long story short, for those of you coming to this post on the fence about whether or not you should upgrade your kit from Iso to Grunge Off, I'm here to tell you that you absolutely should, and you will neither regret it, nor ever go back. Palabra
dunno what your doing wrong with the ISO, its two things, you eifer work for Grunge Off or you purchased shite ISO. I uses 99% ISO with a few tablespoons of salt and put in my pieces and shake for 15-30 seconds. BONG CLEAN. For the slightly mroe stubborn stains when i havnt cleaned a piece for up to a week i will warm the ISO up. ISO ftw, dont waste your money on these bong cleaners, 90% of them simiply do not work. Chef.
Acetone is a really powerful solvent so it'd be a cost-effective choice, albeit one that requires extreme caution. Keep the solvent away from sources of heat and/or electricity at all times and rinse your bong several times after the acetone wash.
What 15$ for a bottle of "bong" cleaner 4$ for ISO. Everyone saying it doesn't work is doing it wrong not that its rocket science...lol people are nuts My piece all look brand new I wash them like dishes when I'm done smoking. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum