Did you know that just a couple minutes of maintenance can add several years to your hookah's life? That's right - just a few steps can ensure hundreds of extra bowls out of your faithful pipe(s). With these five low-cost steps you can guarantee a longer, fuller life for your hookah.
Coating ball bearings - As the smoke travels around the ball bearing in your autoseal system, it leaves a shisha residue that, over time, can build up and corrode the bearing. This can cause the bearing to stick in its place, or stubbornly refuse to allow to pass. After washing your hookah, before reassembling it, you can coat the bearings with vegetable or olive oil to keep them gunk-free and easy-moving.
Store dry and empty - In-between uses, empty and dry your hookah before storing it. Water left in the base between uses will slowly evaporate, surrounding your hookah with greater-than-average moisture. The moisture inside and around the hookah will contribute to the oxidation of the metal, which will ultimately shorten your hookah's life.
Teflon taping threads - If you have a threaded hookah, or one where parts screw together, you may find that over time, the threads will wear down from use. Wrapping a layer or two of teflon tape around the threads (and replacing it as needed) will protect the threads and ensure that your hookah (un)screws together smoothly and securely each time. This will also help prevent cross-threading, a problem that can potentially permanently freeze the two threaded parts together.
Use brushes when cleaning - While a quick rinse with water is sufficient to remove most flavors between uses, relying on rinses alone won't prevent the buildup of shisha residue in the shaft, and in the base. Use cleaning brushes to remove waterlines from the inside of a hookah base and to make sure unseen residues on the inside of the glass are removed. Use brushes to clean the threads of the bowl stem and down stem if these parts unscrew from your hookah; shisha residue buildup in between threads can permanently freeze the threaded part to your hookah.
Mind who handles your hookah - The most common cause behind broken bases is a well-intentioned friend hefting a hookah by the shaft to move it - only to have the base fall from the shaft and shatter on the floor. Especially during parties, plan in advance an out-of-the way spot to place the hookah to minimize traffic around it, and volunteer to move it for smokers who'd like to enjoy the hookah in another location.
