you guys are doing it wrong, sounds kinda stupid but using warm water makes it so much smoother, give it a try. warm water has a much lower viscosity than cold water meaning when you pull the bong, it makes more bubbles in the water, more bubbles means more smoke making contact with water which helps filter and cool the smoke even more. itโs a little weird at first but you can definitely tell the difference.
with this, the concern lies more with the outer layer being porous, not hazardous to inhale. if a small piece of ice dislodges from the outer layer, itโs more than likely going to melt into regular water by the time it even reaches your mouth. but with porous ice, you do have to worry about the terps sticking to that instead of going into your lungs. washing the ice or letting it melt gives a temp buffer between hot smoke and cold ice, making things less likely to stick.
same goes for putting it in soda: it goes flat when you put straight ice into it because the rapid temperature change is enough to disturb the bubbles, and the porous ice may even absorb some of the CO2, making it flat. but having a buffer between the ice and the drink allows it to cool slightly slower while preventing the CO2 from sticking or absorbing into the ice.
another fun fact: drinking soda slowly in very small sips increases the likelihood of the CO2 absorbing into your bloodstream and being exhaled, but when you drink it in larger quantities, it causes your stomach to inflate and triggers belching. if you canโt or just donโt burp, the gas may cause significant stomach cramping until it is pushed out the other way as flatulence. TLDR: soda can make you fart more if you drink it too fast. drink slow so your tummy doesnโt hurt
Thatโs why I fill it with crushed ice seal the top off, turn the bong upside down to get the ice to cool down the water and the bong neck, after a few seconds I can flip it back over and the crushed ice will be small enough for everything to migrate past the ice catchers, I let this mixture sit a bit longer to get my bongs base and the water down to 32 degrees then I do my ice prep as usual (the bong neck still should be pretty chilled) itโs a ritual but trust