A Few Hose Questions.

[Moose]

Hey, I've been smoking my hookah for only three months or so, so pardon me if I'm new to some aspects.
I tried some milk in my water, as was suggested to me. It did make the smoke smoother, though I don't think enough to worry about cleaning up all the time. Anyway, after I was done with it, I washed the vase and hose, in addition to the rest, which I usually wash afterward. When I ran some water through the hose, PLENTY of black **** came out. After four run throughs or so, the water was mostly good. I left it dangling to dry, but when I returned the next day, and tested the hose to make sure I hadn't ****ed it up (the shopkeeper told me it was washable, though I've been told that most aren't... and it was a cheap little mini hookah as well...), and I was getting little black bits. I tried blowing it out with a nice air compressor we've got, but I was still getting a bit.

So, on to the questions:
Do you think the hose was washable, to have left black bits in there?
Should I be cleaning my hose after every few uses? And if so, should I actually buy one of those brushes, or will running air from a compressor through it keep it maintained enough?
What should I do with the hose? Do you think it's fine, just needs to be cleaned out properly? (I've bought a second one that I'm using for now)

[IainUM]

no, the hose was not washable. only nammors, razans, narbs, and some km's are washable, and there is a very small list of people that have washable hoses in addition to that. best to assume any hose isn't washable unless it is known for it.

those hoses have a metal coil in them, so running water will literally kill them real quick as rust and mold will start to form.

throw away the hose and get a new one. dont risk inhaling black gunk and rust

[Moose]

Alright, that was pretty much my plan, which is why I've already bought a new hose and started using it instead. Didn't want to risk it, but I decided to pop online and ask if I was maybe wrong.

Care to answer the other question?

[ryno]

I have a washable hose and rarely to wash it. If the hose is washable, it doesnt hurt to run water through it as often as you want. If it's not washable, air compressors do a good trick at keeping flavors from ghosting. Also, don't use milk in the base.

[Moose]

Yeah, I didn't plan on doing it anymore, especially without a washable hose in case some of it bubbles up and gets in (it froths too much, another thing I didn't like about it).
Thanks for the response though, I'll actually be putting that air compressor to good use ( '-')