How to Properly Clean Your Vape Device
There are many different kinds of electronic vaporizers, commonly called vapes, on the market today. There are slim and stylish vape pens, bulkier vape machines, heavy duty pod machines, tanks, and more.
Aside from their obvious function of vaporizing juice for the user to inhale, one thing they all have in common is that they require regular cleaning. But cleaning and maintenance aren’t two words that are top of mind for many vape users.
These tiny devices seem so complex and self-regulating that many users might forget that all of their tiny parts require individual attention. But in our handy guide, we'll show you the ways to keep your vape clean, running smoothly, and under control.
Why Clean Your Vape Equipment?
There are two important reasons why you need to clean your e-cigarette regularly: bacteria and longevity.
First, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that something you put in your mouth ten times a day can be a breeding ground for dangerous germs that can lead to all sorts of health risks. Regularly cleaning all the parts of your e-cigarette will help mitigate or even stop the spread of viruses and bacteria.
Secondly, cleaning your e-cigarette will help it last longer. If you let batteries, screens, coils, and cartridges waste away in the residue of past use, you will have to replace them sooner and more often. Cleaning them will save you time and money.
How to Clean Your Vape Tank
It's not enough to wipe the outside of your e-cigarette with a disposable disinfecting cloth. E-cigarettes are made up of multiple small and intricate parts that can easily get dirty quickly. First, focus on your tank.
1. Empty the juice can
After you've unpacked your e-cigarette, set the tank aside and empty it of juice. Think carefully about this step. It's all about timing.
The best time to clean your vape is right after you've finished vaping fresh juice. Don't get into a spring cleaning mood while using your tank and end up dumping out a perfectly good half tank full of juice.
But you need to complete this step to properly clean your vape tank. If it's the end of a cartridge, be sure to empty out any remaining dripping e-juice .
2. Remove the coil from the tank
The next step is to get the oil out of the tank. Place the coil to the side, but not too far away. We'll get to that next.
If you don’t want to disassemble the entire e-cigarette and only want to remove the tank, coil, and battery, that’s fine too. These are the main elements you need to clean, but for a thorough job you can be assured of, disassemble the whole thing.
Tip: Take pictures along the way. E-cigarettes are not always easy to reassemble.
3. Rinse the water tank thoroughly with warm water
Run the tank under a tap set to warm. It is not good to have temperatures that are too cold or too hot shock the inside of the tank. But remove as much buildup as possible by flushing.
4. Soaking water tank
For a deep clean, soak the tank in a bowl of water. You can also throw away all the other parts, saving the coils (which we'll discuss separately) and the batteries (which should not come into contact with water under any circumstances).
Set the bowl aside for anywhere from half an hour to several hours.
5. (Optional) Use some cleaning agent
If you feel like you're being thorough, add a little bit of a cleaning agent like vinegar, baking soda, or dish soap to a non-abrasive scrubber. Gently clean the tank in this way to remove any buildup.
6. Dry thoroughly
You don't have to complicate this step - just set the tank aside and let the air do the work.
How to Clean Your Vape Coil
Think of a car. There are things you don't need but want, like a decent sound system. But there are things a car can't live without - like the alternator. Without that complex piece of technology that sparks the ignition process, you'd be nowhere.
This is a lot like the coil inside an e-cigarette. The coil is the filament inside the device that heats up and produces enough energy for the atomizer to produce vapor. It is a development from the days of the filament bulb , where it is an essential component.
You need to take care of the coils, just like you would a car's alternator. Here's how:
1. Let the coil soak in the cleaner
Gunk buildup on the coils can be severe, so place them in a cleaning solution before rinsing. Nothing too industrial - household cleaners like ethanol or vinegar should work.
2. Rinse the coil thoroughly
Once you've soaked your coils, rinse off the dirt. With a little scrubbing, you should see those coils glow brightly.
3. Make sure to clean the wick holes
This is a step that a lot of people miss. Before you set your coil aside to dry, check the wick holes. The wick is the thing inside your vape that absorbs the juice that the coil heats into vapor.
You can imagine how much juice goes through the wicking holes during the bubbling and burning process. The atomization process can be messy and scar the pores. Give them a good rinse and scrub.
4. Allow to dry fully
Blow air on the coils, pat them down, and finally, let them sit for a few hours to dry completely.
How to Clean Your Vape Battery
The last part of your vape that you want to focus on is the battery. Continuing with the car analogy, you can have a tank of gas, a well-lubricated belt, and a carburetor, but without a fully charged and working battery, you might as well be walking.
1. Make sure your hands are completely free of any soap or water
Unlike the tank and coils, it is critical that the battery be handled sensitively and separately from the rest of the battery. Before handling this component, thoroughly wipe off any water, soap, or detergent that may be on your hands.
If they interact with the wrong substances, the batteries can become damaged and lose their effectiveness. As the friendly team at London Fire Brigade warn , batteries submerged in water can short-circuit, malfunction, and even pose a fire risk.
The lesson here: keep your hands as clean as possible when handling batteries.
2. Carefully remove the battery from the Vape
Carefully remove the battery from your e-cigarette just as you would clean your hands.
It’s not just the integrity of the battery we’re worried about here. A damaged battery can sometimes short-circuit an e-cigarette. Proceed with caution if you don’t want your cleaning process to turn into a costly mistake.
3. Clean the battery connection area
You will need a cotton swab and some rubbing alcohol. Dab the cotton swab with rubbing alcohol and touch the area where the battery connects to the tank and atomizer.
Juice accumulates in these areas. You need to break it up before it messes up your battery placement.
4. Don’t forget the pores
After cleaning the connection area, now focus on the nearby air holes.
You can use anything small and needle-like, from a toothpick to a thumbtack. Vape pens don't always automatically restrict airflow, so you need to be aware of the buildup that you're causing yourself.
5. Wipe the outside of the battery with alcohol
How much rubbing alcohol you need depends on the size of the battery, which depends on the type of vape you use. The battery in a mod takes up most of the device's surface area. But in a vape pen, by contrast, the battery is slim and hidden beneath the exterior.
Use a small amount of rubbing alcohol to clean the surface of the battery and allow time for it to dry completely before reinserting it into the e-cigarette.
Why You Shouldn't Clean or Refill Vape Pods
Pods are the part of your vape that's filled with vaporized juice. They're like the gas tank of a car -- there's no reason to be without them.
Although refillable pods are popular and widely available, be careful not to go overboard when it comes to cleaning these devices. You can clean your tank, battery, and coils, and these things will last in your e-cigarette. But pods don't fall into that category.
After a certain amount of use, too much residue will build up in the pods and you won't get as good a pull. Try to avoid cleaning and refilling your vape pods unnecessarily.
Conclusion – Practice Cleaning
Don’t think of your e-cigarette as a disposable item. The fact that a device the size of a USB drive can do something as complex as vaporize synthetic juice is a marvel of engineering.
Treat it with the respect it deserves by cleaning it. This way you will get more mileage out of it and your experience with it will be more effective.
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