Glass hookahs. Functional or fad? Cleaning too

[NUBBS]

I know that the glass hookahs are functional, but holy shit are they overpriced. I remember the first cool one I saw was a Meduse, and it had quite the price tag on it. I've been looking into getting one or two of the simpler ones, but I am wondering a few things. Of course they come in some wicked cool shapes and designs, but how the hell do you clean em? I only use filtered water in my base, because the water from the tap sometimes builds up red algae. I keep all my hookahs clean, but sometimes I let it sit for a day or two because of my schedule, and in my Sahara jar I cant get in all the corners, so it does build up. 

I wanna know if anyone has any of the interesting glass hookahs, and how they keep clean?

[Bawhee]

I know denture cleaning tablets will work 99% of the time, also citric acid (lemon juice really) and you should be set, glass should clean easy. My problem with the all glass stuff is that it's just so dangerous, like I've dropped my shit once or twice, never drunk or anything either. It just happens, and with all glass it happens once and can be permanent  That's where they lose their appeal for me.

[NUBBS]

Well I know the cleaning solution, however, it doesn't just dissolve away any sediment. You have to physically use something to clean any residue or build up. 

Edited June 18, 2015 by NUBBS

[Bawhee]

Yeah but a good solution+hot water should soften everything up enough that it's fairly easy to get off with just a soft brush right?

[â€On]

My two major reasons for not getting a glass hookah are difficulty in keeping it clean and not being able to always use the bowls and hoses that I want. That, and my pipes are always sitting on the floor and 90% of the glass pipes seem to be made for tabletop purposes...the others just don't seem to offer any benefits over a standard pipe for me.

[Lazax]

I can't tell if glass hookah's  are functional or not from my experience cuz I never had one and I ain't planning on to buy one soon,but they definitely look cool lol  

[NUBBS]

Yeah but a good solution+hot water should soften everything up enough that it's fairly easy to get off with just a soft brush right?

 Again, solution isn't the solution. Some of the glass hookahs are very intricate and would make it impossible to get into some of the pockets or corners. Also, I would never use hot water in my jar. I'm sure most of the glass hookahs are actually made from borosilicate glass aka Pyrex, but I wouldn't risk a fluctuation in temperature for something with such a big price tag. Not to mention warmth breeds bacteria. 

 

My two major reasons for not getting a glass hookah are difficulty in keeping it clean and not being able to always use the bowls and hoses that I want. That, and my pipes are always sitting on the floor and 90% of the glass pipes seem to be made for tabletop purposes...the others just don't seem to offer any benefits over a standard pipe for me.

Mine usually sit on a granite cutting stone on my carpet, so I'd like to put it on my coffee table for a worry free smoke. 8)

 

[Bawhee]

If the design is too convoluted there's nothing that's gonna help you, and that's the manufacturers fault for making a hard to use product and the owners fault for buying one

 

As for temperature fluctuation causing a crack, that's unlikely unless you're going from very cold to very hot instantly or vice versa. Room temp to hot water has never been a problem for me.