Can bacteria grow in my carto?

[taylerrrae]

I boiled my cartos a little over a month ago, then started smoking analogs more frequently and therefore stopped vaping as often. I was boiling my cartos every two weeks max, but they taste fine so I haven't thought it necessary to do to. So I've been on the same two cartos for a month, topping off and never letting them dry out. Now, I've had a sore throat for a little over a week, docs can't figure out what's wrong. I've noticed it gets worse at night when I'm vaping constantly, but analogs don't bother it at all. Not sure if something could be growing inside my carto? Anyone have any idea if the moisture could be harboring bacteria or any other reasons why vaping makes my sore throat worse?

 

[Ratchet]

Absolutely possible, if your carto has polyfil filler materials in it. After you boiled it, did you let it air dry completely for a few days? If not, could be that there's some mold that grew in the filler. Get clearomizers if you don't use them all the time, they are easier to clean. And I would throw out the carto you're using right now just to see if your throat will clear up..... Or could it be that you are maybe allergic to the PG in your juice?

 

[DCB305]

I would try a new carto just to make sure. You should be drinking plenty of water as well as vaping tends to dehydrate you. HTH

 

[Caridwen]

If you boil your cartos and they're still damp, it's possible you could get mold in the cartos. This would happen with anything damp that doesn't get a lot of air. Cartos that have e-liquid in them- probably not. PG is a bactericide.

It is more possible that cigarettes would contain bacteria than e-liquid.

Inhaling Bacteria with Cigarette Smoke: Scientific American


If your vaping a lot, it's probably dehydration. Drink lots of water or some people like Biotene

 

[taylerrrae]

I've been vaping since January and hadn't had a reaction to the PG before. You can develop allergies at any time, though, so that's a possibility to think about (I'd hate to vape just VG... Love the throat hit from PG). I did allow my cartos to air dry before filling them up... They sat on my shelf for 3 or 4 days before I filled them. I'll try using a new carto and see if it goes away, if not I'll try using pure VG.
Thanks for the speedy responses!

 

[yzer]

I don't know why old, used cartomizers would not grow bacteria or mold.

Glycerine USP provides the molecular backbone of amino acids. To a lesser degree, so does propylene glycol USP.

Passing a lot of air though a cartomizer and the proximity of the carto to your mouth would introduce the microorganisms.

I usually replace a carto after ten to fourteen fillings. They start to taste bad from darkened, heated juice lurking in the filler by then. I also figure two weeks is plenty of time for a culture to start in the filler.

Sore throat can be caused by vaping cartos that are too dry or have been burned. Also, throat dehydration could be a factor if you are not drinking quite a bit more with vaping.

The only way to make sure that your cartomizer isn't growing something is to do a media culture to see what sprouts.

 

[Caridwen]

I've been vaping since January and hadn't had a reaction to the PG before. You can develop allergies at any time, though, so that's a possibility to think about (I'd hate to vape just VG... Love the throat hit from PG). I did allow my cartos to air dry before filling them up... They sat on my shelf for 3 or 4 days before I filled them. I'll try using a new carto and see if it goes away, if not I'll try using pure VG.
Thanks for the speedy responses!

I have more of a throat irritation from really high VG. No idea why really, but I think it's because it's thicker and I have to inhale harder and it causes a little dryness/irritation.

I'd say it's probably (and this is just a guess) from dryness due to vaping or sometimes vaping with cartos that are dried out and need more e-liquid.

Less than 10% of people have an actual allergy to PG. VG may be similar because it's plant based. It could even be a flavoring in your juice that's causing it.

 

[413Dream]

Hmmm, I have not thought about that but I assume that bacteria could grow in cartos after some time. If they are boiled, that should kill them I would think. Maybe dry the cartos out in the sun?

I know I've been really careful with my drip tips and keeping them clean because they are in my mouth all the time, but had not thought about cartos.

 

[413Dream]

That sucks that you're throat is irritated though! I would hate to see someone go back to analogs because the juice is irritating Maybe you could try some pre-filled ones? I dunno why I would think that would help, but the ones I first started with were not as strong as the juices I'm using now. Vapor4Life has some really yummy pre-filled. This might be a dumb suggestion, but I think if my throat was bothered, I'd be willing to try something different like a pre-filled. Just thinking outloud......I hope it clears up and hope you feel better soon!

 

[Vchick]

Could be a number of things, but introducing water to anything can start bacteria growth ie mascarra, makeup, etc.

I will flush mine with boiling water and syringe if I'm refilling right away. Otherwise you can flush them out in the same manner using plain (not boiled) pg.

Hope you get it sorted out, I'd suggest for now using a fresh cartomizer if you have one or an atomizer and see how it goes, hth!

 

[mostlyclassics]

I use 91% isopropyl alcohol to clean cartos. It'll kill just about anything that lives, dries fairly quickly and leaves no residues.

NOTE: Don't use denatured alcohol! That stuff does leave poisonous residues.

 

[Retriever]

I would just start with new cartos to make sure. They really aren't that expensive compared to analogs and your health is more important. I never clean my cartos, I just top them off until they start losing flavor and pop on a new one. Hope you feel better soon!