A vaporizer can last anywhere from a couple of days to several months, depending on many factors, such as the cleaning frequency.
Many vapers already appreciate the significance of cleaning and maintaining their vaporizers regularly. The challenge is usually determining the right way to clean these devices and possibly prolong their durability. And that’s precisely what this article shall focus on.
Below is a rundown of the five tips for cleaning and maintaining your vaporizer in 2023.
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1. Understand Your Vaporizer
Familiarizing yourself with your vaporizer is undoubtedly the most important tip for cleaning and maintaining these devices. Note that vaporizers fall into different categories based on factors like design and functionality.
The first category is dry herb vaporizers. As the name implies, a dry herb vape is used to consume dried herbal extracts. They typically need to be cleaned more frequently to guarantee a fresh vaping experience.
We also have vape cartridges (more commonly known as vape carts), which happen to be the most prevalent vaporizer type. They’re commonly used with e-liquids. E-liquids are liquid-based compounds obtained from certain plant extracts and intended for vaping. They’re also called e-juices, vape oils, or vape juices.
E-juices contain certain ingredients, such as vegetable glycerin (VG), propylene glycol (PG), nicotine, and flavorings. These substances affect your vaping experience in different ways. They also impact how frequently you need to clean your vaporizer. For instance, vegetable glycerin is considerably thick and is notorious for gunking up a vaporizer’s internal components. Therefore, you’ll need to clean your vaporizer more frequently if you consume VG-based e-juice.
The last category is wax pens designed for vaping wax concentrates.
2. Determine When to Clean Your Vaporizer
Your vaporizer type may determine how frequently you need to clean your vape gadget. But knowing when to clean the device is a different thing altogether.
Experts generally recommend cleaning a vaporizer at least once every month. Obviously, this comes down to your vaping frequency. Heavy vapers may need to clean their e-cigs as frequently as every week.
Some tell-tale signs might also clue you in on when to clean your vape device.
For instance, a burnt hit clearly indicates gunk build-up in your vaporizer’s internal components. However, note that this phenomenon may also result from other causes unrelated to a dirty vape, such as too high vaping temperature and cheap-quality e-juice.
The following are other signs that your vaporizer is ripe for cleaning;
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Blocked pathways
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Reduced vapor and/or flavor production
3. Know How to Take Your Vaporizer Apart
A vaporizer’s internal components are usually the most affected with resin build-up. Therefore, you’ll need to take the device apart to thoroughly clean it.
Despite the differences in design and functionality, all vaporizers share basic internal components. These include the vape tank, wicking material, coil, battery, and mouthpiece (also called drip tip).
A system of screws typically holds together the different vaporizer parts. So, you only need to find a suitable screwdriver to unscrew the components.
Remember to set aside each part along with its screws. This allows you to easily reassemble the device when you’re done cleaning.
You can refer to the manufacturer’s manual for more insights on how to disassemble a vaporizer. There are also plenty of YouTube tutorials to that effect.
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4. Use the Right Solutions
After taking your vaporizer apart, you’ll need to shake and tap each component carefully to dislodge any trapped plant matter.
The next step would entail cleaning any visible residues from each part using a brush or pipe cleaner. Then comes the most essential step of the cleaning process, where you’ll need to use a solution.
As you might expect, the best solutions for cleaning a vaporizer need to be alcohol-based. That shouldn’t be a big deal considering there are numerous alcohol-containing household products that you can choose.
However, not every alcoholic solution will do. Experts recommend isopropyl alcohol primarily for its ability to get rid of stubborn stains and its ease of use.
Simply dip a cotton swab or pipe cleaner in a 99% isopropyl alcohol solution and wipe down all parts of your vaporizer, from the mouthpiece to the tank. Pay particular attention to the mouthpiece and the herb chamber, as much of the gunk typically builds up in these parts.
5. Consider the Cleaning Duration
Cleaning a vaporizer is a meticulous process that requires the careful handling of each part. But it typically doesn’t consume a great deal of time.
Half an hour is a long enough time to dispense with the entire procedure.
However, certain vape devices may prove a bit challenging to clean, mainly because of the amount of resin in them.
If you realize that certain parts of your vaporizer are so encrusted that you cannot easily wipe them down, you might consider soaking them in alcohol for 20 – 30 minutes. You’ll then need to rinse them with clean water before drying using a paper towel.
The solutions used can also affect the overall cleaning duration. Common isopropyl alternatives like vinegar solutions and baking soda may take considerably longer to produce similar effects as isopropyl.
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Wrap Up
Cleaning a vaporizer is an essential strategy for prolonging its durability. Regular vape cleaning also improves your vaping experience by ensuring the device works to its maximum capacity.
We hope you can use this article as a guide on cleaning and maintaining your e-cig.