Can You Boil a Silicone Spoon Pipe?

Properties of Silicone

Silicone is one of the few materials that is virtually indestructible. It can withstand heat, extreme cold, and all impact to its surface. One would have to either cut it with a knife or otherwise toss it into a shredder to harm it. The resiliency of silicone has made it a popular choice amongst smokers alike.

You can essentially dip your silicone pipe into heat, extreme cold, solvents, and can be rough with it during cleaning. It will not dull, scratch, crack, shrink, or expand with exposure to these elements. Silicone can last you a lifetime, and because it is so affordable, it will be your go-to. Compared to other materials, silicone is by far the most practical.

Types of Heat

Silicone can handle all types of heat. You can boil it, apply flame to it, and keep it under the sun. You still want to treat your smoking pipes with respect, however. You can realistically boil silicone pipes time and time again with no ill effects. If you left it under the sun, it would soften it up a bit. Eventually it would go back to normal.

Now if you were to keep it under a constant jet flame, you could potentially melt it. It does have a very high melting point though. Unlike glass or metal, silicone excels at dispersing heat. This allows the user to prevent himself from getting burned. The bottom line is that silicone can withstand all types of heat and retain its functionality.

Silicone vs Other Materials

Glass breaks, metal erodes, and plastic warps. None of these compares to what silicone can do, especially in the long run. Glass is beautiful, but also fragile and expensive. Metal can scratch and erode, plus metal heats up too quickly. Some materials can be too heavy or taint the flavor of your dry herbs. Plastic is weak, cheap, and plain.

Silicone has all these factors beat. It is affordable, strong, stylish, and efficient. You can easily clean it and bend it to accommodate the leverage you need for maintenance. This is impossible to do with glass. You can immediately clean out your silicone spoon pipe after use, unlike glass or metal.

Silicone Spoon Pipe Caveats

The main thing you want to watch out for is the bowl. Unlike the body of the silicone spoon pipe, the bowl is usually made of glass. The silicone simply encapsulates it and holds it in place. The glass itself cannot be handled the same way as silicone, obviously. While you can drop your silicone piece and still have your bowl intact, you should always be careful.

Even when  boiling, you will want to ensure you do not put a freezing cold glass bowl into boiling water. This could cause it to crack and shatter. The pressure fluctuation will not be absorbed and will instead cause it to break. With all that said, the silicone will be more than enough to protect the glass bowl.

Final Thoughts

Boiling a silicone spoon pipe should be simple and straightforward. You can even handle your pipe sooner than later after doing so. This is because silicone is adept at dispersing heat. While it will be warm to the touch, it will not burn or scald your fingers. Naturally, you will want to make sure it is dry first.

The boiling water itself can still burn you. In any case, you can safely boil your silicone spoon pipe anytime you need to thoroughly clean it. Spoon pipes are notorious for getting dirty. By removing the bowl, you can boil the pipe and soften it up. This will make it much easier to clean and get into those hard-to-reach spots.

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