Has anyone made a video on how to clean your atty?

[Ragman]

Just would like to make sure Im doing it the right way. Exposed atty preferred. Thanks.

[kristin]

Which model of atty? Which method of cleaning? There are so many!

I just cleaned some attys today and it seems to have worked really well. I rinsed out the attys with hot water. Then I brought about 2 cups of water to boil, added the attys and about a teaspoon of baking soda. The baking soda will fizz. I kept stirring them to keep them from melting on the bottom of the pan, for about 2-3 minutes. Then I ran them under hot water again (didn't want them to crack from cold), rinsed thoroughly and then put them on a baking sheet with a dish towel under them and baked them at 200 degrees for 10 minutes, checking them and moving them around frequently. Then let them dry further on the towel for a couple of hours. (But I was impatient - you could just let them air dry for a couple of days.) I'm using one now and the flavor & draw are great again!

[Ragman]

WOW! Thats alot of steps for cleaning an atty. Im talking about a 401 atty. So you can just submerge the whole thing?

[kristin]

Mine are 510's.

Actually it's easier done than explained. Took me all of 20 minutes to clean 7 attys at once. It's basically a quick boil in water & baking soda, rinse then drying them. I just pre-rinsed them.

I'm assuming that attys are built to handle moisture, as they burn e-liquid. I don't know if there is a real difference with 401 other than how it's assembled. All the parts should be essentially the same. Maybe someone will confirm this.

[kristin]

Most people just blow them out. That works if you're consistant, but mine were pretty blocked up - I had no draw on them and a few had flavor residue I wanted to get out. So, this would be a deep cleaning method.

[Sun Vaporer]

Kristin--for the most part, all atomizers are the same and a quick boil is not going to hurt them in any way at all. You would have to go a lot higher then 220 degrees to kill one.


Sun

[kristin]

Thanks Sun.

It seems to have worked really well for me. I've tried just rinsing under really hot water, but that didn't seem to do the trick. I was going to use vinegar in the water, but then I saw the baking soda next to it and thought "Ah ha!" since it's a great natural cleaner and deodorizer. When I saw the fizzing action, I knew that had to be good, too!

[Hellen A. Handbasket]

I recently took apart an 801 atomizer, and there were plastic parts in it. I won't use boiling water on those, ever.

I've also read that boiling water can loosen the glue that is in some models. Might want to check the model specific discussions before doing extra hot water or boiling!

When I was new, I saw this, and decided not to use water at all. Sun Vaporer posted this wayyyy back in January:

I posted yesterday to a person not to boil them only to get a PM today that he went ahead anyway and they all died--As I said before the wires that you can not see are very thin and can not withstand boiling. It makes the wire very weak, brittle and it breaks it apart--so if you are going to do it--be sure you have backups. It is not like you can run down the the suppermarket and buy "a pack of atomizers"--hopefully that day will come--Happy Vaping

I have used EverClear with great success. Clears out gunk and old flavors. I soak for 24 hours, blow out, shake down (like a thermometer) and the alcohol evaporates fast. Add PG or my regular liquid to reprime by dripping on the bridge and get the internal atomizer pot filled up and vape away. My atomizers are lasting 4 months plus since I started doing this. I just keep the Everclear in a large pill bottle with a tight cap and and reuse it a few times.

I would only use boiling water, vinegar or other methods (dry burn, yikes!) as a last resort (nothing to lose). To each their own!!

[Sun Vaporer]

Hellen--I have done a lot of experimenting since that post---See the Experimenting with Equitment section and can say that a quick boil never hurt that plastic. But going to 160 degrees instead of a full 220 degree boil is just as effective ---

Sun

[Hellen A. Handbasket]

Thanks Sun... your original post stuck in my head and when I took apart the 801, I decided never to boil.

Good to know.