So I Got My Bambino, A Razan Hose, And A Phunnel Bowl...maintenance?

[bigasif]

Hey guys,
Alright as the title says, my order has finally come in from John (NO CUSTOMS!!! YES, I'M CANADIAN) ...it came earlier this week, but I had it delivered to a friend's place since I just moved to another city recently, and come back here on weekends, so I'll be picking up my stuff from him over the weekend. (I'll be sure to take pics once I open the box )

Anyways, I ordered a MYA Bambino, a Razan Hose, a Tangiers Small Phunnel Bowl, and a bunch of shisha. Up until now, I've been using a cheap no-name (egyptian?) hookah that I picked up from an international exhibition, and it has served me fairly well, although I didn't take great care of it, since I was always planning on purchasing something better (the Bambino will do for now ). So the hose I have with the cheap hookah seems to have started very very recently to get a bit of rust, as I did run water through it once or twice. The stem also seems to have a bit of build-up and/or rust, but I can't really tell what it is, all I know is that even when I use the stem cleaning brush, I still see some kind of residue or something on the inside that doesn't seem to go away.

With my new toys, I don't want anything to really get ruined. I'd like to keep everything in as good condition as possible and would love for it all to last me a fair amount of time. What do you guys suggest on taking care of this stuff?

What I'm looking for is basically advice on what to use to clean the hookah stem, the base, the razan hose, and the phunnel (and anything else?). Also, how often I should clean each and if there's any other special measures or considerations I should take. I will be using it for a wide variety of flavors, and of course would really prefer if there wasn't much, if any, aftertaste from previous flavors when I use it.

Any advice at all would be awesome, and thanks in advance (Thanks a lot to you too John! I'll be sure to put down a review as soon as I get my stuff from my friend )

Cheers!

[joytron]

Everything: water+soap

Razan: warm water


wash it every time you use


EDIT: post up some pics, thats my go to setup. Edited May 16, 2009 by joytron

[shaffaaf27]

is that redidue white spots?

[bigasif]

Everything: water+soap

Razan: warm water


wash it every time you use


EDIT: post up some pics, thats my go to setup.

I heard a lot of people talk about lemon juice, baking soda, etc...

Would the water+soap be sufficient? And the razan...am I throwing soap in there too, or is warm water after every use fine? And I'm guessing you mean wash everything after every use right?

And you're using a similar set up as your go-to eh? Mind snapping a few pics? I'll definitely be putting up pics when I go pick it up from my buddy's place and set it up. What color bambino did you go with?

is that redidue white spots?

Not as far as I can tell...but it's really dark in the stem, and I didn't bother grabbing a flashlight...but just seems like some kind of darkish residue...either from the shisha, or like I said, possibly rust? Do whitespots signify something special?

Cheers, and any more info is always appreciated!

[joytron]

Its a purple bambino with a green qt vase for extra stability.

yeah everyone has there own way of cleaning. For me lemon juice and baking soda is kinda a mess for such a small hookah. I just put some soap in the vase and fill my sink with soapy water and toss the stem in and let them sit for a while, then do a quick brushing on the stem. For the phunnel just rinse it off with water. If its really dirty i use a dobie and scrub it down. The hose i just use plain warm water and rinse it out but dont do that very often. Some people clean after they smoke but im lazy so i just do it before i set everything up, unless i wont be smoking for a while in which case i dont want everything sitting in its own filth.


The stuff coming out of the stem is probably just juice from the shisha that has dripped down if you are using a bowl other than the phunnel.

[Canon]

water for everything. only wash the hose when you need to. keep the hose out of the heat as much as possible, the glue is cheap and will come apart eventually. you use water and vodka or beer with the base and stem if it needs it. i find with myas using water to clean it does a good job. dishwashing soap does a good job with the base, just make sure you rinse it out well.

i dont like using soap and water on the hose because im afraid that the hose will absorb the soap.

[momatik]

Razan: warm water

I would only use cold water because I think warm water would break it apart quicker.

[bigasif]

*SNIP SNIP*
Its a purple bambino with a green qt vase for extra stability.

yeah everyone has there own way of cleaning. For me lemon juice and baking soda is kinda a mess for such a small hookah. I just put some soap in the vase and fill my sink with soapy water and toss the stem in and let them sit for a while, then do a quick brushing on the stem. For the phunnel just rinse it off with water. If its really dirty i use a dobie and scrub it down. The hose i just use plain warm water and rinse it out but dont do that very often. Some people clean after they smoke but im lazy so i just do it before i set everything up, unless i wont be smoking for a while in which case i dont want everything sitting in its own filth.


The stuff coming out of the stem is probably just juice from the shisha that has dripped down if you are using a bowl other than the phunnel.

Nice set up...I was thinking about picking up a QT base as a backup or something too, but I really prefer the look of the bambino base...but I guess the extra stability is a definite plus with the QT base. And yeah your method of cleaning sounds pretty quick and simple and sounds like something I can work with. I just don't want to ruin this hookah and would love for it to last me for a while. And you don't wash your hose often eh? Do you notice the previous flavors when you smoke without washing it? And if you wash it right before you use it, doesn't the water thats inside the hose come into your mouth or anything? I would've thought it would need some time to dry before use...

And yeah, I thought it was just juice from the shisha (I've only used non-phunnel bowls so far), so the juice does drip down sometimes, but nothing too noticeable. But even after scrubbing with a brush and washing it, I still see the stuff in there, and it really seems like it may be rust...though I may be wrong.

water for everything. only wash the hose when you need to. keep the hose out of the heat as much as possible, the glue is cheap and will come apart eventually. you use water and vodka or beer with the base and stem if it needs it. i find with myas using water to clean it does a good job. dishwashing soap does a good job with the base, just make sure you rinse it out well.

i dont like using soap and water on the hose because im afraid that the hose will absorb the soap.

Interesting, didn't know about the glue coming apart..I guess I will definitely try and keep it away from the heat as much as possible. And alright, I guess I won't use an soap on the hose...just water. Do you suggest washing the hookah and hose after every use?



Thanks again guys!

[joytron]

i would wash the hookah after every use. I would wash the hose when you feel you need it and yeah give it some time to dry. The first couple pulls i can taste the previous flavor and then the current one takes over.