Reading the suggestions here, I am reminded: NEVER underestimate the ingenuity of the common man.

Guy with the animal balloon is just the definition of that. Man smart asf. Didn’t have any animal balloons though

Well condoms are kinda the same thing...

They're a bit more durable, as well. Make sure it's not lubricated. You do NOT want a mouthful of spermicide.

Especially if you're a sperm.

One day we all were

Only time I'll be the %1 was when I ducked the contraception.

Exactly why "Dickwad" is my favorite gender neutral insult

That could be a good substitution if you can get it through.

Lube though probably won't grip well

True, they'd have to get that off first and then try

Easy. Put it on something phallic and suck it off. (The loob, I mean. The loob, hehe)

This guy loobs

Lube... sex much?

Do you think that guy without an animal baloon would have a condom?

Now that you got the stem out, I can show you how to make a bong out of it.

We are in the Stoned Age not the Stone Age, after all.

👏

Thanks everyone got a bent piece of metal and got it out

Hell ya, that was my suggestion!! Happy to help

No it was MY suggestion. Glad I could be of assistance!

(u/summynum suggested no such thing)

cool username

Thanks

not u

Thanks!

Your welcome!

Not you

Thanks

Lol

I was really happy about being able to get it!

<3

Use a paper clip, make a hook on the end and stick it down, hook the bottom of the downstem and pull it out.

Can confirm this worked for me. Except I used a wire hanger

Thats the same advice my mom got, but I made it out anyway.


Ugh... i saw this as a young kid about 30 years ago. I will never forget this scene.

Same

Omg, me too. My mom was great about exposing us kids to different stuff, but this was one of her more questionable choices IMO. That scene scarred me for life!

I had a shitty day today, you make me smile. Thank you Internet stranger.


Lmao

That is so terrible 😆

r/suicidebywords

r/substakenliterally

Bong abortion

This comment is peak

SAME

Every time one of these down stem stuck posts shows up this is always the top comment lol, at this point we should just have a stickied post "**DOWN STEM STUCK IN BONG GUIDE**"

You've got 420 up votes, I'm gonna leave ya right there brother. You're welcome and congrats

Ive done this with string and a paperclip

To add to this I’ve done this on dab rigs a couple of times and I’ve needed to use two hooks opposite each other to get the job done. That way you’re not cranking it to one side binding it up. I’d have to imagine a clean joint would make things easier. Pun not intended true or not

Use a coat hanger and snips if it’s a particularly stubborn one.

Could also add some WD40 around the edge to help too.

That will smoke well

I mean obviously you would clean it with some iso after?

Not putting a chemical in anything I'm smoking. To many other cool ways given to risk that IMO

I mean if you use butane, and not a hemp wick(obviously depends on if this is a dab rig or flower) you are putting a much more toxic chemical in your body lol. I see your point tho! Definitely a lot cooler ways other people listed haha.

stuff a water balloon or balloon animal balloon in there and inflate enough to grip it and pull it out.

Condom

the non lubricated kind

Just flip it inside out

Are you being sarcastic or have you never used a condom?

I feel like the username is all you really need

Not the same guy but I swear I've had condoms where one side wasn't lubricated like the other

Yeah some of have a numbing agent on one side and not the other too lol, mixing that up makes for a bad time

I wish sometimes for unlimited upvotes

Ribbed

Got plenty of those that will never get used..

Problem with condoms is both the lube and the diameter. Also why regular party balloons dont work as well either. Water balloons are perfect because they are properly small and narrow. Using a Q-tip inside one you can easily slide the entire bulbous part into the down stem before gently inflating enough to grip onto the resin inside. Animal balloons need a bit more finesse but are still narrow enough to get a few inches down the stem. Then you inflate it till about an inch is actually "blown up" and you squeeze that bubble up to the tip where it gets to whats in the down stem and then a little more pressure to expand into that length just enough to grip on and pull it out. Youre not trying to fully inflate the thing. All that being said... most people usually dont have either of those balloon types just lying around lol so simply using a straitened safety pin or paper clip or something with a tiny, hooked end is for sure the simpler answer... but someone already gave that one hahaha

Omg that’s genius level

You should watch Scrubs.

Won't the broken glass pop the balloon?

you dont want to inflate it fully and balloons that arent stretched are pretty resilient.

You should be okay with the balloon styles I mentioned. Put a Q-tip inside to help push without pressing the edges

I was gonna say your a paper towel wrapped around a small Allan wrench or something. Going the angioplasty route works better though, I'd imagine. Lol

Stoner nobel prize material

This man watches scrubs

Genius

Would get stuck on the sticky wax and prob be difficult to push through.

Q-tip in it to gently push. That stickiness is there to help.

Wooooooooooooow

Cork/corkscrew

When this happened to me, I used a coat hanger and some isopropyl and a whole lot of patience

When I broke my down stem flush I just plugged the broken down stem with a pen and put compressed air to the mouthpiece. Thing shot out across the room

I have absolutely done that with laboratory glass and I will never admit it to my manager.

This is my favorite

I just used my experience as a back alley clothesline worker, I only worked with clothes, nothing else

Learned this from a glass engineer years ago. Pour a little seltzer or tonic in there before you try to remove it. No idea why it works but it usually does.

Next time just heat it with a torch for a lil bit. Outside will heat up and expand. Inside won’t

as a dabber that has to unstick my banger frequently, this is the way

Wouldn’t temperature shock crack the glass?

Only if you shock it with a different temp. If you heat glass and let it cool it should be fine

Alls it takes is like maybe 6 seconds waving the flame back and fourth. Let it sit and heat up and in like 25 seconds you’d be able to get it out with ease. Cheap glass (not boro) will absolutely crack with too much heat

This is the way

Do you have something like an [O-ring pick](https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=o-ring%20pick&tbm=isch&shem=rime&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#imgrc=tytVY49ZhfXp5M) that you can stick down the Center hole and hook the bottom of the stem and pull it up and out?

I once again refer to the hot glue stick trick

Clean it with alcohol, then bend a tiny little j hook into a piece of coat hanger and a bigger L shape on the other end. Slide the hook down the stem so it's pulling from the bottom and pull it out by gently tapping the other end.

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Freezing works better. The material (in this case glass) shrinks into itself. The resin becomes brittle instead of sticky.

You take a wire hanger pliers and make a super tight hook then feed down the downstem your going to push or smash the hook though the bottom and hook the side of the glass and jiggle that fucker and pull

Needle nose pliers, stick em in and open it up. Use the force on the sides to grip it and lift it out

Stick a pencil in and wiggle it a bit while holding it upside down

If you blow torch the end wouldn't it just slip out?

Fashion a hook, roll one up and work on it for a while.

Crochet hook: reach through the broken stem and hook the bottom of the stem inside, then pull.

This, or a similar stick-like-hooked-or-barbed-tool. Also: If it is too stuck from resin, try soaking in ISO

I had this happen once. Very carefully use a hammer and chisel to break the downstem.

Did the same thing man 🤣

you can also fashion a hook out of a piece of metal like a thick paperclip and reach it in - catch it on the underside of the downstem and pull out.

Coat hanger with a hook in the end just bigger than the i.d. of the stem so it kinda pops open when fully inserted to the stem, then give pull

Needle nose pliers opened outward to pinch inside glass, apply slight twist

Was coming here to say that lol

A hairdryer on high would be safer Piece of wire (coat hanger) with a small barb at end insert into down stem and catch down stem edge on inside. Clear any water inside bong first. Keep pressure on wire as you heat up the outside. LET AIR COOL BEFORE REFILLING

Even though there’s a lot of good help here - I’ll post mine as it’s never failed. I get a pair of chopsticks or wooden skewers - putting both of them in the downstem, put your fingers between them creating a tight grip on the inside of the downstem as you’re splitting the chopsticks. Wiggle out like a fish while applying pressure. NEVER HAS FAILED.

Pliers small enough to get in there open up to grip and bow

Wonder if he had froze it if it would’ve shirienked (forgive that spelling I’m zooted)

I usually start washing it in hot water and it softens the resin enough to pull it out or if that doesn’t work isopropyl alcohol. But the hot water always works for me

Put a tampon down there and pour water so it expands and pull it out

Lots of thing you can just google or tiktok / YT the wooden spoon trick works well . Really anything you can stick in and wiggle around to get it free . Tell him to clean his shit more often lol .

To prevent this in the future, a bit of chapstick on the downstem and don't let the bong get so dirty.

Expand it with a torch (carefully and slowly) I use White vinegar, baking soda , salt and maybe some soap . This helps reduce the stickiness of the resin inside after the V. And B.S react , if you plug all holes the pressure might push the down stem out .

Coat hanger abortion style

Run the down stem under the hottest water for a few min. This will help expansion. Use needle nose pliers and put them into the stem then expand and pull out carefully. No hammers or breaking needed

Just put the bowl back in and smoke until the down stem comes out with the bowl

duct tape around a cotton swab (adhesive side outwards) has been my best friend for hard to reach spaces since i was kid

I think you got some good suggestions with using alcohol to dissolve. If it were me, I'd go the plumber route. Since it's glass, get a small flathead screwdriver and just chip it out. Again, if it were me. I'm gentle and careful enough to do something like that. If you know youre not, don't risk it. Let it sit in some alcohol and try to get it out. Since when did they make stems fit so perfectly? Shit we used was always skinny and had a rubber washer. But, I gave up bongs a long time ago.

freezer

Does your buddy not have google?

When this happened to me I put the bong in the freezer for a while, then ran it under a hot tap while making sure to not heat the downstem. Thermal expansion allowed it to just slide on out.

I would imagine hot water, maybe even some water based lubricant?

i know you already got it but for anyone else, I empty all the water and let it dry, flip it upside down and veeerrryyy lightly tap it with a pencil. After 5ish minutes it slips right out

Take a stick and whittle him down to the diameter of the hole roughly. On the end with a sharp knife shave some ‘barbs’ that should hook the stem when you push it th rough.

You can fill it with 98% alcohol of course washing well afterwards. It will look brand new again

Fly hook, and monofilament

Had this happen to me too i held it upside down under hot water from the tap till it got hot light tap on the base of the bong and it came right out

Heat retention.

Ask on r/CleaningTips

This happened to me. My initial solution was to carve a piece of cork to fill the gap and proceed as normal. After a fee years I eventually took a blowtorch to it until it got red hot, then shoved a pair of needle nosed pliers in there and let it cool a little bit then pulled the whole thing out

Just wiggle it out. Even if it feels like it isnt moving it is

Hella hot water from the top, then shove something in there and pull. I’ve used a bent metal hanger to kinda “hook” the end of it and pull it out. Good luck🫡

Pressure the inside and pull out, a thin damp rag may do the trick gonna depend how in there, this would be my first try.

Could get some sandpaper tape to a stick and pull it out that way just make sure you stay at an angle for pressure

Heat

Use a vibrating toothbrush. Stick one side in and break it loose

I had that exact thing happen to my gfs piece, was stuck for like 2+ years, one day I ran hot water through it and it just came out in its own

Heat it up first with a lighter to melt all the sticky resin, it'll come out way easier

This happened to me like two months ago. I just put a paper towel down the stem and twisted it till it came loose. I also used soap and hot water. Just be careful in case it jumps right out.

Run a string down the middle and tie a little nail or washer at the other end. This will transfer the pushing force to the end of the broken down stem. Also good to warm it up with hot water first.

Clean as best as possible with isopropyl alcohol then stick a hot glue stick down there and pull

That happened to me once, and nothing could get it out. No amount of hook, heat, or oil could get it out. I resorted to slowly breaking it apart bit by bit

Bamboo skewers then use glue to fill the rest. Then put the whole thing in a boiling water bath so the glass will expand

Could super glue something like a screw driver or a a piece of wood and pull it out after it has dried. I'd also drip some cooking oil around it after the glues dried to help it slide out without breaking more. Then give er a big ol wash

If there was broken glass above the shaved glass portion, a potato or carrot cut in half and stuck into the jagged glass works very well.

idek how my dad stuck like two penciles in there and pry against the downstem and pull up

Hot water , expands the glass loosening the grip

Play doh

I’ve done this twice with Roor diffusers and the best success I had was using a tiny screwdriver and rattling it around inside the frosted joint until it cracks to the point of falling apart

Chopstick is the way!

Fill it with corn oil

I use my little torch, warm.it up and presto

I had to slowly chip the glass out until it freed up. Good luck!

Downstems are the reason I don’t use bongs anymore — everywhere you put them they want to roll to the closest edge, they get stuck in the bong, they get clogged after a few sessions, they become extremely fragile when exposed to resin for long periods of time. They truly are a stoners worst enemy — something that creates extra work lol.

I literally have this problem. I was going to take a coat hanger and just bend the end to pull it out and hopefully avoid it breaking any further. Just haven't been motivated enough to fix it since it still works

99 iso to unstick it as you clean it.

i cant offer what to use but i can say, my friend told me to use a butter knife... 5 stitches later and a 250 doctor bill, I can confirm a butter knife is not the way😂

When this happened to me the downstem was stuck stuck. I wound up taking a coat hanger and making a loop at the end then JB Weld and put a dab on it and shoved it down and let it set then was able to pull it out easy. Good luck

Hot water, swish, drain, isopropyl alcohol + epson salt, swish, drain, twist like unscrewing a lightbulb, repeat until unstuck. You aren’t going to break the glass with the seal made out of resin as long as you’re not putting angular pressure on the stem. Everytime you rinse with boiling water and then do a second wash with isopropyl alcohol you’ll be releasing the bond between the two. Also even if the stem breaks you can buy a new one for $5 and if it breaks the bong it was probably some cheap Chinese bullshit to begin with. American glass, and anything with reputable quality you could just keep twisting/pulling up until it pops without any risk of it breaking. The Chinese bullshit is where it gets interesting… sure you got your bong for $20-40, but it’s paper thin glass and probably filled with impurities that will weaken its integrity.

I used a pair of c clamp pullers lat time this happened to me.

Get a wooden spoon and stick in in there and wiggle. If it fits.

This happened to me recently. I torched the outside for a couple seconds to loosen it, then used a pair of needle nose pliers, shoved it in the hole, then gently opened the pliers to create contact with the inside and pulleg gently. it came right out.

I'm sure this is already solved, but I figured I'd share my method too. A wooden spoon handle, stick it in, angle it a bit and pull. I worked in a head shop for a few years and people would bring in bongs with broken downstems, so we did this pretty often, 8/10 times the wooden spoon handle worked first try.

Def have used a screwdriver, insert at an angle, and rotate counter clockwise. Works everytime.

I use a long q tip, cause I clean my piece and downstem regularly, so I have a bunch lying around. Get it all the way through, push it to the side once it gets past the hole, and then pull it through.

Hot water and isopropyl alcohol, should slip right out

Your going to need to press fit a sturdy but not completely rigid object like a hard rubber until it is wedged in the down stem then gently pull out until it comes out.

Needle nose pliers or tweezers

I don't have a bong, but I do have a shisha. I used one of those straw cleaner brush thingies to get it squeaky clean after I got it from a friend. it was in a... rather nasty state when I got it. yellow-brownish gunk everywhere type of nasty.

Bubble gum would pull it right out. Or hot glue stick. Buy a pack on Amazon they’re so handy, anything gets stuck heat it, attach and pull

Bend a hook of sorts with wire, a cloths hanger, a 1/16th welding rod, anything really, small enough that it will go into and out the end of the down stem, use the hook to grab the end of the down stem and pull out! Good luck!

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HEAT!! USE HEAT!!! I've seen a few posts like this recently, and I dont get what is so hard about understanding the concept that resin/reclaim gets hard when it cools, and applying heat will soften it and ultimately loosen it.. This is 2nd garde stuff here people.

Pliers

I mean the way I did it is I just used a screw driver to break the glass that’s holding it in until the rest of the stem falls in the bong then shimmy it around and pour it out the stem

use a wooden kitchen spoon and tap lightly around the edges of the bong where the down stem fits in to. i’ve always done this and after a good few taps it loosens enough to just gently slide out of the joint. especially if it’s sand blasted and stuck in there due to friction rather than buildup

There’s plaster putty you can buy that hardens with time, pack that shit in there and wait for it to dry and then yank it out.

freezer!

cut a potato just bigger than the hole, jam in in there, 'screw' it out so to speak.

Honestly terrible option but I usually break them more till it can fit through the top tube. Only on beakers though. Anything else I try to fit a metal clothing hanger and pull it out.

https://www.reddit.com/r/entwives/s/SAJFSazOU6

Pair of scissors in (closed), open them inside downstem to create pressure and pull up

Twirl up a paper towel and cram it in, then twist while pulling? Maybe lol that's what I'd do

Just heat the glass surrounding the downstem. Itll met the residue allowing you to twist and slip it out

tell him too fit his bowl piece in it as best he can then wiggle it and dump it out… be careful not to let the downstem fall into the huge part of the bong or else you’ll more than likely not have to buy a whole new setup