Hookah Maintenance – Tips and Tricks

The Importance of Hookah Maintenance in 2020

Covid, social-distancing, and quarantine. These are the terms that defined 2020. All of this meant more time at home whether it be working remotely, staying in on the weekends, or family gatherings via Zoom. With all of this extra time in the house and the inability to go out and socialize probably meant more time spent with your hookah, am I right? More hours smoked in a year than ever before. Does anyone keep hookah stats? I’ll bet records were broken for the amount of shisha smoked and the number of clouds blown. All of these records amount to more wear and tear on your hookah than ever before. Hookah maintenance matters more in 2020 than it ever has before!

Hookah Pro Tips to Keep Your Pipe & Shisha Fresh

You’ve read many blogs and posts about How to Clean a Hookah including ours, I’m sure. You know how to wipe down your hookah parts. Cleaning and rinsing with hookah cleaning supplies is part of your hookah smoking routine. This post provides something different. Tips and tricks you may not have heard of before to keep your shisha pipe smoking in tip-top shape. Ways to maintain shisha tobacco freshness as well as promote premium smoking sessions. Check out tips from hookah pros from across the interwebs below.

Let the Hookah Bowl Cool

A big mistake many people make with hookah maintenance is that they try to clean the hookah and hookah bowl too quickly after a smoking session. Washing these hookah parts without giving them time to cool off can compromise them. Rinsing a hot hookah bowl with cold water will create micro-fractures in the clay or outright shatter the bowl. The microfractures, while not a total loss, will allow shisha juices to seep through the bowl the next time you smoke. This creates more mess and can cause concern when it looks like your bowl is bleeding. Always let your hookah cool before cleaning!

How to Store Hookah Shisha

For long-lasting shisha tobacco, spend some money on sealable containers. Yes, modern shisha nowadays arrives in packaging that is better than ever but it’s not perfect. Glass containers are best, preferably a canister with a rubber or silicone sealed lid. Remove extra tobacco from the bags they came in and seal them away in a dry, dark place light a closet for maximum freshness in the future.

Don’t Forget Your Hookah’s Purge Valve

Many issues with cloud output or limited smoke in a hookah session can be traced back to bad airflow. Routinely take apart the purge valve on your shisha pipe to make sure the ball bearing isn’t gunked up and sticking. Clean this hookah part often to keep air moving freely through your hookah. No air flow means no tasty shisha smoke. A commonly missed step with hookah maintenance.

Hookah Heat Management Device Maintenance

Possibly the hookah part that is most difficult to clean, the HMD. Shisha tobacco often burns to the bottom of the device and becomes seemingly impossible to remove. Your first move is to try to clear as much burnt shisha off of the HMD while it is still warm. Handle with care, an oven mitt or tongs, and gently scrape the tobacco off before using water. Once you’ve removed all that you can, let it cool. Later, soak the device in hot water and use an abrasive brush to remove any leftover tobacco leaves. The more often you clean your hookah parts, the better. Don’t let it build up!

Hookah Maintenance in the New Year

Take care of your hookah and it will take care of you. Routinely clean the shisha pipe and your hookah parts for sustained quality smoking sessions. Start the New Year off right with a clean shisha pipe using our Hookah Tips & Tricks. Find all of your hookah cleaning supplies at SouthSmoke.com to get the job done right and pick up some new hookah accessories to enjoy the New Year in style! Happy smoking!