Shisha Getting Started & Setup

Hookah hose and mouthpiece: silicone, leather and hygiene

By Julian, Hookah expert

These days, you almost always choose a silicone hose for a hookah: it can be rinsed through with water and picks up hardly any flavour. Leather hoses look classic but cannot cope with water. With the mouthpiece, weight, grip and the right diameter matter.

16/10/2026 8 min read 1440 words

Summarize with: Claude ChatGPT

Grauer Silikonschlauch mit Alu-Mundstück und Schlauchanschluss von Laziza Samaya auf einem Holztisch, dahinter eine Shisha

In this article11 chapters

Which hookah hoses are there?
Silicone hose: dimensions and connector
How to clean a silicone hose properly
Leather hose: classic, but not washable
Which mouthpiece suits you?
Ice Bazooka: cooler smoke
Hygiene: your own mouthpiece or a hygiene mouthpiece
Connecting the hose airtight in five steps
Hoses and mouthpieces at a glance
When do you need a new hose?
Frequently asked questions

Which hookah hoses are there?

Silicone hose, traditional hose and disposable hose compared
Hose	Cleaning	Taste	Typical use
Silicone hose	Rinse through with warm water, dry hanging	Picks up hardly any smell	Standard on modern hookahs
Traditional hose made of leather, imitation leather or fabric	No water, just blow through and hang up	Picks up the aroma over time	Classic hookahs, often always the same flavour
Disposable hose made of plastic	Not intended for it, discarded after the session	Neutral as long as it is new	Bars, parties, large groups

Silicone hoses come glossy or matt. The matt soft-touch surface feels soft and dust is less noticeable on it, for example with the AO Soft-Touch silicone hose. The usual length is 150 cm. If you have several hookahs or want a new colour, you buy the hose on its own and keep the mouthpiece and connector. You will find the whole selection under Hookah hoses.

Silicone hose: dimensions and connector

A silicone hose has two partners: the hose connector goes on the hookah end, the mouthpiece on the other. The inner diameter is usually between 10 and 14 mm; for the AO Soft-Touch it is 12 mm. Hose, connector and mouthpiece must match each other. The brand alone says nothing about that, so compare the diameter.

The hose connector sits in the stem's port with a seal or with a ground joint. The most widespread is 18/8, and a connector like the INVI hose connector needs no seal with it. Because silicone is soft, the hose tends to kink right behind the connector. A hose spring over the end of the hose prevents that.

How to clean a silicone hose properly

Take off the mouthpiece and hose connector and rinse the hose through with warm water and a little washing-up liquid. Then rinse clear, blow through it hard and leave it to dry hanging until no water is left inside. You can give it a quick rinse after every session and clean it thoroughly about once a week.

Boiling or the dishwasher only if the manufacturer expressly allows it. The word silicone alone is no approval for that. How you get the glass base, stem and bowl clean in the same go is described under Cleaning a hookah.

Black AO Soft-Touch silicone hose hanging over the kitchen sink to dry after rinsing

Leather hose: classic, but not washable

The traditional hose has leather on the outside, usually imitation leather, or fabric, and often a metal coil inside. It cannot cope with water: the coil rusts and mould can form inside. After the session, you just blow through it and hang it up to dry.

A traditional hose gradually takes on the aroma of your flavours. Many people therefore always smoke it with the same flavour, classically double apple or grape. If you change often, silicone is the easier choice.

Which mouthpiece suits you?

Mouthpieces by material
Material	Weight and grip	Special feature
Aluminium	Light	Inexpensive and rustproof, included with many hose sets
Carbon	Very light	Often combined with stainless steel ends
Stainless steel	Heavy, sits solidly in the hand	Robust, does not slide off the table so easily
Glass	Heavy, fragile	Store protected from knocks
Wood	Depending on the model	Typical of traditional hookahs, do not soak for long

Usual mouthpieces are 20 to 40 cm long. An aluminium mouthpiece is light and inexpensive, a carbon mouthpiece like the one from Diamond Hookah weighs only 75 g at 36 cm. What matters is the diameter at the hose end: it must fit your hose. You get everything fully matched to each other in the Laziza Samaya hose set with a 33 cm aluminium mouthpiece, silicone hose and connector. You will find further models under Hookah mouthpieces.

Ice Bazooka: cooler smoke

The Ice Bazooka, also called an ice hose in the scene, goes onto the silicone hose instead of the normal mouthpiece. Inside it is a cooling pack that you put in the freezer for about an hour beforehand. The smoke then arrives noticeably cooler.

The Diamond Hookah Ice Bazooka is 30 cm long, weighs 150 g and can be taken apart into its individual parts for cleaning. An ice mouthpiece like the AO Ice Stick works with cooling gel and has a foam grip so that your fingers don't get cold.

Diamond Hookah Ice Bazooka in black, white, orange and red on a wooden table in evening light

Hygiene: your own mouthpiece or a hygiene mouthpiece

If you share a hookah, everyone gets their own small mouthpiece, which is placed on or in the main mouthpiece. Disposable hygiene mouthpieces are mostly plastic and come in a large bag, intended for parties, bars and large groups. Many bars hand them out with every hookah.

Reusable means less plastic waste. There are personal mouthpieces made of epoxy resin, stainless steel, glass or plastic, often with a strap to hang around your neck. You put the Darkside D-Click onto the existing mouthpiece, a silicone insert seals it, and with the strap you always have it with you.

Connecting the hose airtight in five steps

If the hookah draws very easily and produces little smoke, it is usually false air coming in through a leaky connection. If it draws heavily, there is a constriction somewhere. With these five steps, you check the hose first before you look at the bowl.

Check the connector
Look at how your hose connector sits in the stem: with a seal or with a ground joint like 18/8. A ground joint needs no seal.
Replace the seal
If the seal is cracked, hard or smells of old flavour, a new one goes on. Silicone lasts longer than rubber. Do not pull it tight by force, otherwise you will damage it.
Fit the hose without kinks
Push the silicone hose all the way onto the connector and mouthpiece as far as it will go. Lay it so that it does not kink directly behind them.
Test the hose on its own
Cold and without a bowl: draw only through the hose and mouthpiece. If that is hard going, there is a kink in the hose or condensation in a low point.
Narrow down false air
If the hose is clear, check connection by connection. If your hookah has several hose ports, the valve balls must move freely and close the unused ports.

Hoses and mouthpieces at a glance

Moze silicone hose

The Moze silicone hose is 1.5 m long, matt and comes in many colours, also as a glow variant that glows in the dark.

Coiled Laziza silicone hose with red-and-black carbon pattern – lounge, leather ottoman or walnut table

Laziza Carbon LC241-1

The Laziza carbon silicone hose has a carbon pattern; the material is silicone throughout.

Diamond Hookah Alu

The Diamond Hookah aluminium mouthpiece is around 40 cm long, light and rustproof.

Diamond Hookah Carbon

The Diamond Hookah carbon mouthpiece weighs 75 g at 36 cm in length, made of carbon and stainless steel.

Darkside D-Click

The D-Click is a personal reusable push-on mouthpiece, with a strap to hang around your neck.

When do you need a new hose?

There is no fixed deadline. Replace the hose if it still smells of old flavours after cleaning, develops cracks or the draw stays weak permanently. If you smoke daily, that can be the case after as little as three months, depending on quality. The soft-touch layer wearing off over time, on the other hand, is purely cosmetic. The Diamond Hookah hose is available individually in several colours. What else you need for the hookah is listed under What do I need to smoke hookah?

Frequently asked questions

Silicone hose or leather hose: which is better?

For everyday use, silicone is the better choice. You can rinse it through with water and it picks up hardly any flavour. A leather hose looks classic but cannot cope with water and picks up aroma over time.

Does every hose fit every hookah?

Not automatically. Silicone hoses usually have an inner diameter of 10 to 14 mm and fit common connectors and mouthpieces. Before buying, compare the diameter and the connector of your hookah.

Can the silicone hose go in the dishwasher?

Only if the manufacturer expressly allows it. Otherwise you rinse it through by hand with warm water and a little washing-up liquid, blow through it and leave it to dry hanging.

Why does my hose taste of old flavours?

Particles and aromas settle in the hose. You can usually get a silicone hose neutral again by rinsing. A traditional hose made of leather or fabric keeps the taste; only a new one helps there.

What is a hygiene mouthpiece?

A small personal mouthpiece that everyone in the group puts on or in the main mouthpiece. Disposable ones come in a plastic bag; reusable ones, to hang around your neck, are made of epoxy resin, stainless steel or plastic.