Help! My Hookah Is Making All The Flavors Taste The Same!

[WcWorldwide]

it's rather annoying, I just bought my first hookah (yay!) last month (pic enclosed) and after possibly (10-15) sessions it's beginning to have the same, dull fruit flavor and it's kind of nasty, I've cleaned it after every session so far (everything that is, except the hose), what would you think the problem is?

http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a337/dub...current=hoo.jpg

[modisess]

your hose. it's flavor ghosting. best thing to do is to buy a second hose or buy a new washable hose.

[WcWorldwide]

your hose. it's flavor ghosting. best thing to do is to buy a second hose or buy a new washable hose.

are they all the same size? Like, if I were to buy a washable hose online, could I fit it in my hookah?

and is the one I have washable?

[drabin]

yours isn't washable. Idk how heavy your stem is but you can try the razan or nammor. Or the MYA washable

[Zinite]

I have that same hookah... it was the first one my girlfriend bought (check out the pic in my sig). The hose is not washable. Any hose that has a metal coil on the inside is not washable. Also, any hose that is made of cardboard is not washable. The hose you have is made of both metal and cardboard.

If you buy a big washable hose online, it will not fit in to the hose port.

Your best bet is to reclean your hookah very well. Try another session, and if it still ghosts the flavor, go to a nearby head shop (with your hookah in hand) and find a hose that fits in it.

Here's how to clean the hookah all the way (better do this in the bath tub or outside):

Fill the base with an inch of water. Pour three tablespoons of baking soda in to the base, and swirl it to mix it with the water. Unscrew the down stem (the silver-looking metal tube) from the top piece. Screw the stem on to the base. (This is the messy part) Place a funnel (or make one out of foil) wear the bowl port is. Pour vinegar or lemon juice down the stem. The baking soda will mix with the lemon juice/vinegar and bubble up. When it stops bubbling, shake the hookah violently to get the bubbles in every nook and cranny. Rinse with water, then rubbing alcohol (or cheap vodka). Rinse with hot water a couple times.

Rinse the piece that you unscrewed (the down stem) with hot water and lemon juice.


Hope that makes sense... I'm in a hurry


PS - Don't listen to Drabin, he's a newb.

[drabin]

I have that same hookah... it was the first one my girlfriend bought (check out the pic in my sig). The hose is not washable. Any hose that has a metal coil on the inside is not washable. Also, any hose that is made of cardboard is not washable. The hose you have is made of both metal and cardboard.

If you buy a big washable hose online, it will not fit in to the hose port.

Your best bet is to reclean your hookah very well. Try another session, and if it still ghosts the flavor, go to a nearby head shop (with your hookah in hand) and find a hose that fits in it.

Here's how to clean the hookah all the way (better do this in the bath tub or outside):

Fill the base with an inch of water. Pour three tablespoons of baking soda in to the base, and swirl it to mix it with the water. Unscrew the down stem (the silver-looking metal tube) from the top piece. Screw the stem on to the base. (This is the messy part) Place a funnel (or make one out of foil) wear the bowl port is. Pour vinegar or lemon juice down the stem. The baking soda will mix with the lemon juice/vinegar and bubble up. When it stops bubbling, shake the hookah violently to get the bubbles in every nook and cranny. Rinse with water, then rubbing alcohol (or cheap vodka). Rinse with hot water a couple times.

Rinse the piece that you unscrewed (the down stem) with hot water and lemon juice.


Hope that makes sense... I'm in a hurry


PS - Don't listen to Drabin, he's a newb.

Don't listen to tyler... hes my bitch...
Your trying to tell me this won't fit?
http://www.hookahcompany.com/washable_hook...s_1181_prd1.htm

[Zinite]

I have that same hookah... it was the first one my girlfriend bought (check out the pic in my sig). The hose is not washable. Any hose that has a metal coil on the inside is not washable. Also, any hose that is made of cardboard is not washable. The hose you have is made of both metal and cardboard.

If you buy a big washable hose online, it will not fit in to the hose port.

Your best bet is to reclean your hookah very well. Try another session, and if it still ghosts the flavor, go to a nearby head shop (with your hookah in hand) and find a hose that fits in it.

Here's how to clean the hookah all the way (better do this in the bath tub or outside):

Fill the base with an inch of water. Pour three tablespoons of baking soda in to the base, and swirl it to mix it with the water. Unscrew the down stem (the silver-looking metal tube) from the top piece. Screw the stem on to the base. (This is the messy part) Place a funnel (or make one out of foil) wear the bowl port is. Pour vinegar or lemon juice down the stem. The baking soda will mix with the lemon juice/vinegar and bubble up. When it stops bubbling, shake the hookah violently to get the bubbles in every nook and cranny. Rinse with water, then rubbing alcohol (or cheap vodka). Rinse with hot water a couple times.

Rinse the piece that you unscrewed (the down stem) with hot water and lemon juice.


Hope that makes sense... I'm in a hurry


PS - Don't listen to Drabin, he's a newb.

Don't listen to tyler... hes my bitch...
Your trying to tell me this won't fit?
http://www.hookahcompany.com/washable_hook...s_1181_prd1.htm

No, that will definitely fit. I said "big" washable hoses (Nammor, Razan, Grand, KM even though it isn't really washable).

[Tati]

How are you cleaning it?

[ryno]

If you want to get the flavor out of your hose, try blowing it out with an air compressor. I did that when I used hoses like that and it gets the flavor out really well.

[WcWorldwide]

How are you cleaning it?

I'm just washing it out well after usage, nothing fancy, no chems or anything

[Zinite]

How are you cleaning it?

I'm just washing it out well after usage, nothing fancy, no chems or anything

Seriously... use some baking soda, lemon juice, lime juice, alcohol rub, dish soap, or any combination of those.

[WcWorldwide]

Yea, my girlfriend and I are making the "volcano" tonight to clean it out, I'm sure it's a combination of the hose/not cleaned well

[Voski]

It is your hose. Just unplug your hose and breath through it and you will get all the flavor in your mouth. You pretty much need a new hose. It is nothing uncommon hoses need to be replaced eventually.

[Sonthert]

Chillax. The problem is that there are non-water soluble flavor components that linger, creating a transient flavor. What you need is a better solvent (or an additional one anyways), like beer. Doesn't have to be fresh. The half-a-beer somebody left on top of the TV is fine. Just plug the holes and let the beer move around in there and wash well afterwards. Don't clean the hose unless you are prepared to shell down for a new hose.

[WcWorldwide]

Chillax. The problem is that there are non-water soluble flavor components that linger, creating a transient flavor. What you need is a better solvent (or an additional one anyways), like beer. Doesn't have to be fresh. The half-a-beer somebody left on top of the TV is fine. Just plug the holes and let the beer move around in there and wash well afterwards. Don't clean the hose unless you are prepared to shell down for a new hose.

what would happen if i DID clean the hose?

[Zinite]

Chillax. The problem is that there are non-water soluble flavor components that linger, creating a transient flavor. What you need is a better solvent (or an additional one anyways), like beer. Doesn't have to be fresh. The half-a-beer somebody left on top of the TV is fine. Just plug the holes and let the beer move around in there and wash well afterwards. Don't clean the hose unless you are prepared to shell down for a new hose.

what would happen if i DID clean the hose?

It would be ruined. The inside of your hose is cardboard around a metal coil. The metal coil would rust, causing a nasty chemical taste. The cardboard would... well imagine wet cardboard and that's what you'd get.

[mustang_steve]

Bumpage for relevant info.

I've recently had luck using pipe cleaners in my hookah (the real ones, not that craft store garbage)..I twisted four of them together into one super-thick unit to fit my H-S Syrian hose's mouthpiece and scrubbed throoughly (until no more crap was able to be removed), and it improved hose performance drastically.

By the way, this hose has probably had close to 100 sessions ran through it...it's very heavily used.

I think if we could get some super-thick and very long pipe cleaners made specifically for hookah hoses, this could be a way to keep hoses lasting longer. Of course a PVC hose with stainless cored ends would be the best hose, since it's fully washable, but my method beats the hell out of buying a new hose.

I got my pack of pipe cleaners from a cigar/pipe shop for $1.60....so no complaints about being too cheap to try it...if a hose is so fouled you want to replace it, just invest the buck sixty and give it a try. Edited January 2, 2009 by mustang_steve