The ultimate guide to hookah cleaning Part 1: Hookah heads

Need help cleaning your phunnel and multi-hole heads? Find out everything you need to know in this blog!

Every shisha session naturally includes cleaning afterward. The tobacco bowl is the most stressed during the session and must necessarily be cleaned after each use. The best way to do this and what you should pay attention to with different types of bowls is explained in the following article!

What types of bowls are there?

There are several types of shisha bowls, which differ in their shape, function, and material. Additionally, there is a distinction between glazed and unglazed bowls.

Phunnel

The Phunnel, also called a "One-Hole Bowl", is arguably the most popular type of shisha bowl and has overtaken the traditional "clay bowl + chimney" setup in popularity. The tobacco is packed around the hole in the middle, allowing hot air to heat the tobacco from below and above. A large selection of Phunnel bowls can be found here in the Hookain Onlineshop!

Multi-Hole Bowl

A Multi-Hole Bowl, colloquially known as a "Killer Bowl", is a tobacco bowl that, unlike the Phunnel, has multiple holes (usually five). The tobacco is placed over the holes. This allows the hot air to flow through the gaps in the tobacco during the session. This releases more flavor and nicotine, making the Multi-Hole Bowl the perfect tobacco bowl for Dark Blends and Dark Leafs! If you are wondering what a Dark Blend or Dark Leaf is and want to learn more about it, click here! A wide selection of Multi-Hole Bowls can be found here in our Hookain Onlineshop!

Not all shisha bowls are the same

The raw material a shisha bowl is made from plays a fundamental role in its cleaning. Particularly, the thermal conductivity and heat capacity are crucial. These properties determine how quickly a material heats up and how long it retains the absorbed energy. Applied to the tobacco bowl, this means the following: How long does the bowl take to reach the required temperature, and how well does it transfer the heat to the tobacco? The material and manufacturing of the bowl, among other factors such as the build of the bowl itself and the type and quality of the tobacco, play a significant role in the quality of your session.

Hookain uses a Stoneware-Clay, whose properties are more advantageous than traditional clay-ceramic mixtures and are therefore perfect for making shisha bowls. Here you can find all Hookain bowls that have been handmade with Stoneware-Clay. (Link to bowls - Filter - Material - Stoneware)

Glazed or Unglazed?

There are both glazed and unglazed tobacco bowls. The advantage of glazed bowls is that they are easier to clean and absorb much less molasses and flavor from the tobacco.

Unglazed bowls, on the other hand, absorb the molasses during a smoking session because the material expands when heated (the pores open) and contracts when cooled (the pores close). The problem is that a shisha bowl can only absorb a certain amount of molasses. Once the limit is reached, the bowl begins to "bleed" when cooling, meaning it releases the excess molasses. Not only does this look unsightly, but it also leads to significant soiling. Bleeding can be countered by boiling the bowl. If you want to learn how to do this, simply scroll down!

How do I get my shisha bowl clean?

To get your shisha bowl clean again, you should ideally rinse it with lukewarm water. Make sure to remove all tobacco and molasses residues to not jeopardize the flavor experience of future sessions. It's best to wait until the bowl has cooled down to avoid burning your fingers.

NOTE: For glazed tobacco bowls, let the bowl completely cool before cleaning it. Otherwise, you risk creating stress cracks in the glaze by shocking it with cold water. This could lead to even a glazed bowl eventually starting to "bleed" in the future.

For bowls with a rough edge on the surface, also called a "rough lip", brown spots form over time caused by the burning of the molasses in the shisha tobacco. To remove these unsightly spots, grab a sponge and rub it several times over the edge. How you can prevent the formation of these spots is explained further below!

What should I consider when cleaning?

Cleaning the shisha bowl is actually quite simple. You just need warm water and a sponge for more severe dirt. You should avoid using cleaners. If the dirt is too stubborn, simply soak the bowl in a water bath for a few minutes to loosen the impurities. In extreme cases, you can also use a brass brush used for HMD cleaning. Note that using the brush can damage the glaze and should therefore only be seen as a last resort.

Boiling the Shisha Bowl

With an unglazed tobacco bowl, you have the advantage of being able to boil it. If your bowl is "bleeding," meaning the clay has already absorbed too much molasses, boiling helps the shisha bowl release the excess molasses. In the following section, we explain step by step how to boil your unglazed bowl!

Step 1

First, clean the tobacco bowl of all major dirt and tobacco residues with cold water. For stubborn dirt, use a sponge.

Step 2

Grab a suitable pot. Make sure the pot is big enough for the bowl to be completely submerged in water.

Step 3

Now fill the pot with enough water to completely submerge the bowl.

Step 4

Bring the water to a boil and then place the shisha bowl in the water. Ideally, use tongs to avoid getting burned.

Step 5

The bowl should now bathe in the boiling water for 5-10 minutes. The water will turn from yellowish to dark brown over this period. This indicates that the process is working and you are doing everything correctly.

Step 6

After no more than 10 minutes, the molasses should have completely left the bowl. Now you can remove the bowl from the water bath and turn off the stove. Simply take the bowl out with the tongs and rinse it again with clean water. Then set the tobacco bowl up to dry.

Now that you have completely removed the impurities from your unglazed shisha bowl, you can enjoy your sessions with full flavor again! If the bowl starts to bleed again, simply repeat the boiling process.

Preventing dirt on the bowl

As with all other components of the shisha, the same rule applies to the tobacco bowl: The higher the frequency of cleaning, the lower the chance of stubborn dirt. Ideally, you should clean your bowl with water after every session. If you want to prevent molasses from burning onto the upper edge, wipe the edge clean with a kitchen towel after you've finished building the bowl. The spots actually form from tobacco residues left on the resting surface for the HMD after building the bowl and are burned into the ceramic when the HMD is heated.

Where can I get a new shisha bowl?

You can never have too many shisha bowls. If you enjoy smoking pure Virginia shisha tobacco as well as a bowl with a Dark Blend occasionally, you'd do well to get a Multi-Hole Bowl. The various designs, shapes, and colors also offer plenty of variety and make your shisha setup a real eyecatcher.

A large selection of shisha bowls can be found here in the Hookain Onlineshop. Have fun exploring the many different options!

We hope this guide has shed some light on shisha bowl cleaning. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us on Instagram or through the support function in the online shop!