>>2567664Pipe cleaners and alcohol.
I use both bristled and plain pipe cleaners and 91% isopropyl alcohol. Works like a charm You can get iso91 at any drugstore or even Walmart for $3. Dip the pipe cleaners in the alcohol and run it through the nasty airway of your mouthpiece and pipe shank. The trash WILL come out. Alternate between wet and dry cleaners. When a wet pipe cleaners comes out clean, you are done. Let it dry out for a few hours and then get smoking.
As for the bowls, you want the caked-on ash to be no thicker than the thickness of a dime. Some people even go back down to bare wood. There are reamers you can use, but you can use a knife blade too. Back in the day, the round-ended knife blade of the old Trim Trio keychain tool was just about ideal for the job-perfect shape, perfect length. You can use a regular pocketknife too, just don’t let the tip of the knife blade gouge the bottom of your bowl.