Can You Clean Your Atomizers Too Much?

[frank.gotch]

I'm kind of OCD about keeping things neat and tidy and working well, e-cigs have been no different. I've been cleaning my atomizers every night (take the dirty one out, run warm water over it, let it soak in warm water, let dry for 24 hours). Rotating between 2. I was wondernig if this is advisable or does cleaning too much actually reduce the life?

 

[Myrany]

When I used atomizers that gunked up alot I did this too except I used vodka to dissolve the gunk. Ego C attys are not easy to clean (same as eRoll I believe).

With the CE5 Redux clearo's I went to from there I basically rinsed them every time I finished a tank until I noticed that the wicks were fraying faster. Then I went to once a week or when changing flavors. I have sort of stayed there with all clearos since.

That said I tend to use rebuildable drippers more than anything these days. It is nothing to yank out the cotton. Dry burn the coil clean. Rinse off the ash. Stick in fresh cotton. Takes maybe 5 minutes and my coils last months.

 

[erikbal]

I'm kind of OCD about keeping things neat and tidy and working well, e-cigs have been no different. I've been cleaning my atomizers every night (take the dirty one out, run warm water over it, let it soak in warm water, let dry for 24 hours). Rotating between 2. I was wondernig if this is advisable or does cleaning too much actually reduce the life?

I am pretty much the same way. I just got an iclear30s on Tuesday and already changed the coil and let the one that came with it soak in vodka for a day and I just put that one back in and now have the replacement one soaking in vodka. I am going to try and rotate between these 2. As soon as vapor production drops the slightest bit I start getting .... and messing with things. I'm kind of OCD when it comes to my vaping gear. I like keeping batteries charged and not letting them get low and keep my coils clean ect ect. Sometimes I wish I didn't care as much. I spend a lot of time messing with this stuff.
It's definitely a lot more work than cigarettes are, but it's worth it in my opinion.

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk

 

[DonMac]

I used to clean my atty's with hot water, but it takes too long to dry. I now use 91% isopropyl alcohol from Walmart and they dry within minutes in addition to dissolving the e-liquid better.
With batteries it is better to have a selection rotating them, and allow each battery to fully discharge before recharging it. If you continually top off the batteries, it will reduce their ability to delivery full capacity.
I am the same way. I spend far more time messing with my vaporizers than I ever did with tobacco, but it's now a hobby in addition to tobacco replacement therapy.

 

[tj99959]

IMO yes, you can clean them to much. In fact probably 9 out of 10 atty deaths happen right after being cleaned.

What I do:

Most days I will add a few extra drops of liquid to my atty, and then blow it out from the drip tip end. This will remove most of the gunk from the wick & mesh. maybe once a month I will soak it in alcohol. The real key is never let an atty sit overnight with water in it, or completely dry. Always prime it with fresh juice. Both water & alcohol are juice soluble, so a little fresh juice blown through the atty will remove any that is still in there.
All of my atties are well over a year old.

RDA's are a little different, and the wicks will require cleaning or changing.
I use silica wicks. This wick & coil is two months old, and it has been cleaned twice so far. It's just now reaching the point that the coil would benifit from a dry burn.