Dry herb vaporizers are pieces of equipment. And like all pieces of equipment, they need to be properly maintained in order to do their job the way they were designed to. If you’ve had one for a while, or just brought one home from the vape shop and are wondering about how you keep vaporizer devices clean, fear not. We put our heads together and came up with the following guide that will remove all the mystery and trepidation from cleaning your dry herb vaporizer.
What’s the Point of Cleaning Vaporizers?
What’s the point of changing the oil in your car? You want your ride to perform up to its abilities and retain its value, so you do what you have to do and that includes regular maintenance like changing the oil.
Same with a vaporizer. Keeping it clean helps ensure that it’s A) there for you when you want it and B) that you get the most out of the herb you place in it. Considering what quality weed costs in Denver these days, anything that helps you optimize your experience is worth doing.
But maybe you’re still not convinced. If that’s the case here are a few things that could go wrong if you fail to clean your vaporizer on a regular basis.
- Foul vapes – If you let debris and residue accumulate in the oven it’s going to have a detrimental effect on the quality of the vapor being produced. Not only is it likely to take on foul air, but you’ll also lose touch with the flavor of your buds because you’ll likely be mixing detritus from different strains.
- Diminished oven capacity – Allowing debris to accumulate in the oven is not only going to produce foul-tasting clouds of vapor, but those clouds will also be smaller because you won’t be able to fit as much in the oven due to all the gunk that’s built up inside.
- Inefficient performance – All the gunk and junk in the oven can cause inefficient performance where your weed does not get completely or evenly vaporized. That’s the result of residue getting stuck to the walls of the oven where it interferes with heat distribution.
- A compromised experience – The sum total of all the side effects of a dirty vaporizer is a less than optimal experience. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Below we’ll get into how to keep your dry herb vaporizer a lean, clean vaping machine.
Cleaning Your Dry Herb Vaporizer
Cleaning your dry herb vaporizer is easier than you think. Start with…
The Mouthpiece
The mouthpiece isn’t like the oven in that it’s not going to get caked with weed particles. But it can become coated with oils and other residues from the herb, which can create a funky taste that negatively affects your vaping experience. To keep it clean we’d recommend soaking it in a bowl of isopropyl alcohol for an hour or so, and then using a Q-tip dipped in isopropyl alcohol (or even white vinegar) to reach inside and remove any oily junk.
The Chamber
The herb chamber creates vapor when the hot walls of the chamber contact the herb. If the walls of the herb chamber become gunked up with residue the herb is going to have less and less contact with the walls and the vaporization process will become increasingly ineffective and inefficient. So after every use make sure you open the chamber and remove any debris so that next time you enjoy a nice clean, good tasting vaping experience.
The Battery Chamber
It’s not common but vapor can sometimes permeate the battery chamber leaving behind residue that, if allowed to accumulate, can interfere with the battery’s performance. So after each vape session remove the battery and wipe it down, and wipe down the battery chamber too. You probably won’t find much residue in there but better safe than sorry.
The Importance of the Dry Burn
After you clean the vaporizer, make sure you do a dry burn before you use it again. This just means turning it on while the oven is empty and allowing it to get hot. This will help burn off any residue you might have missed during the cleaning. You should do a dry burn after each vaping session as well. If there is any weed debris in the oven the dry burn will help burn most of it off. As a result, it won’t get junked up as fast, and cleaning it will be easier when the time comes.
The Bottom Line
You may have thought that cleaning your dry herb vaporizer was going to be a huge ordeal. Now you know that’s not the case. That’s the good news. The bad news is this: now that you know how easy it is to clean a vaporizer there’s no longer any viable excuse for putting it off. Doh!
Dry herb vaporizers are a great way to enjoy your favorite herb strains without having to inhale smoke all the time. If you live in Denver and you search for a “vape shop near me” or “vape shop in Denver” you’ll see 710Pipes in the search results. We actually have two locations: one on Evans Ave, the other on 104th Ave in Northglenn. So stop by and have a look at our full line of vaping products.