How to Clean and Maintain Your Vaporizer So It Lasts
When your vaporizer is new, it is performing at its best! You are getting a clean and optimal experience but just like anything that heats up organic materials to 100 or even over 200 Celsius every now and then it needs good care.
Whether you have a Desktop or Portable vaporizer you should clean it regularly to ensure it lasts and you will find it will save you money in the long run. You won’t have to replace the parts as often or buy new devices regularly.
It doesn’t matter what herbs you vaporize, they ALL will produce resin during the process, which can build up on the working parts and can start causing inefficiency.
Resin will not only make your vaporizer look ‘old’ or dirty but it can also clog up your screens, whips, and mouthpieces.
Here you can see the start of resin build up on a VapirRise2.0 Ultimate.
Without cleaning your device your vaporizer has to work harder, so it becomes less effective and can reduce the lifespan of your beloved vaporizer.
Preparing to Clean Your Unit
So lets look into what you can do to look after your vaporizer, so it can look after you for a long time to come.
For safety and the most IMPORTANT first steps:
STEP #1 Read your manual first, know your device inside and out because you are not only cleaning it but will be inhaling from this device so it’s important to understand it.
STEP #2 Make sure you unplug your machine every time you do any maintenance. I am pretty sure you are already aware of it… electricity and water do not go well together. So for your own safety please make sure you unplug EVERY TIME.
STEP #3 Let your vaporizer cool down, which will take about 30 to 60 minutes. You do not want to burn yourself with hot parts and if your device has glass elements… hot glass parts WILL break if you expose them to cold water and may lead to injury.
STEP #4 Next remove all organic materials by turning your unit upside down above a sink and gently shake it back and forth. This helps to loosen and remove any debris that may have fallen into the unit.
Required Cleaning Equipment
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You will need a soft cleaning cloth to wipe the outside of the unit. Giving your vaporizer a wipe down often will help keep it fresh.
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Rubbing alcohol
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Paper towel
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Q-tips
- Toothpick or something with a sharp clean point
Cleaning Your Portable Vaporizer
A portable vaporizer is a little quicker and easier to clean compared to the Desktop devices, but it is just as important to maintain them in top condition.
Each Vaporizer has different parts and sections but I will talk you through some general cleaning rules.
First take the vape apart, separating each unit neatly in front of you. Place the battery or gas operating unit well away from any liquid while you do your cleaning.
Filling Chambers
If you simply brush out the chamber after each use, while the vape is still warm, it’ll stay looking like new longer and will require less frequent cleanings.
But if it has been used more than once then most chambers are easily cleaned WITH a Q-tip or toothpick to reach these hard places. Loosen up the residue and tap it out.
If there is any sticky residue, only use a tiny bit of alcohol rub, so not to leave any behind which can damage the device later on.
Screens
Scrape your screens and soak them in cleaner if their is any build up or resin.
When the mesh screen becomes blocked, it should be removed and cleaned by rinsing under a tap. If your screen becomes damaged, it’s best to replace with a new one included. You can get spare parts online at VapeFuse.com.
Note: Screens are actually easier to clean when warmer, so cleaning them after a vape may actually improve the results.
Mouthpiece
Of course, you cannot forget the mouthpiece no matter what device you use. All that is generally required is to remove it from the filling chamber and wiped down on the outside and use a Q-tip to clean the inside. You can use alcohol rub to disinfect the piece and then run it under boiling hot water to remove any remaining rub.
Cleaning Your Desktop Vaporizer
Desktop vaporizers have more parts and sections to clean than a portable vape, so please check you tend to each part of your device to give it a good clean.
Glass or Steel Bowl
If your device has a bowl it is recommended to clean this every few vaporizing sessions preferably.
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Start by giving it a wipe down with a paper towel.
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Often it needs more attention so use some Alcohol rub to remove any resin and color.
Please note: There will always be some discoloration on the bowl that you won’t be able to clean even if you soak it. If this discoloration bothers you, you can always replace the bowl.
If you do leave it for a while some resin starts to show.
Elbow Adapter & Whip
The glass elbow adapter and the mini whip (if you use the balloon function) or the whip will get more resin build up because the hot air and vapor flows through those parts directly.
Don’t leave cleaning your parts for long because they can quickly get stained and start to deteriorate or even fuse your pieces together with resin making it impossible to separate putting your pieces at risk of breaking.
If you leave them too long, you risk them looking like this:
You can boil both the whip and glass elbow in hot water while watching it carefully for a natural cleaning method. Some vapers prefer to fill their whips and glass elbows with rubbing alcohol and slosh it through the pieces a few times, rinsing well after. Either choice works great and you can use q-tips to help clean any leftover resin easily as it well be loosened.
Screens
The screen is probably the part that needs to be replaced most often because it has the hot vapor directly flowing through it when in use and accumulates the most resin.
Screens become blocked with resin which restricts the flow of vapor through it, affecting the efficiency of the machine.
Just like portable vaporizer screens you can clean them by scraping and soaking them in cleaner if there’s any build up or resin.
If they are blocked, they should be removed and cleaned by rinsing under water.
Note: Screens are actually easier to clean when warmer so cleaning them after a vape may actually improve the results.
If the screens get damaged it’s best to replace them because they are inexpensive.
Tubes
If you have a desktop vaporizer which allows the whip function you will need to change your mini whip and or whip as the tube gets discolored in use after a while, as you can see on the picture of the mini whip above.
WARNING: With the tubing we don’t recommend using ‘rubbing alcohol’ because it does discolor it further and may leave a bad smell and taste behind.
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Clean the tubes with warm clean water.
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Change them as they discolor to keep your machine looking good and well maintained.
Balloons
If your desktop vaporizer comes with a balloon function it too becomes discolored and needs replacing.
The balloons are easy and cheap to replace so it’s good to have spares on hand when you wish to replace it.
The Mouthpiece
The glass mouthpiece is hard to clean if it gets to this level.
You can try: Boiling the piece in hot water then immediately (as soon as it’s cool enough for you to touch) use rubbing alcohol and q-tips to get any leftover, remember to always rinse well after using rubbing alcohol.
But if you have little success cleaning it and have run out of spares it’s time to buy a new replacement piece. They are inexpensive and most vaping companies will stock them.
That’s it! It really doesn’t take long to look after your vaporizer and it is worth your while to take care of it, so you can avoid having to purchase replacements.
