Cartridge Health - Has Anyone Considered??

[potholerepairman]

Thanks Remie,cleaning the carts will happen today.Have cleaned the battery/ atty connections and filler regularly but totally slept on cleaning the carts.This from a person who will not touch the doors at a hospital.

 

[Remie]

Bobtow,

I did try swabbing them out - just not with alcohol... it's a thought! But - I don't think the swab would reach the part of the cart where the hole is, the side we draw from - and that seems to be where the saliva/spit germs would breed. It's a good idea though... maybe I'll soak them in alcohol...

Thanks!

 

[Rainbowz]

Aaacck, GAWwwkgghhhh.........

No wonder everything started tasting like ......

Thank you REMIE!!!!! They're all going into the antiseptic bath tonight.

Hoo boy. Such a learning curve.


LOL, I guess my own censorship didn't work. Anyways y'all get the point.

 

[Snarkyone]

I use some 100 or higher proof vodka or PGA (pure grain alcohol) to soak the cartomizer carts in and then let them dry completely before refilling. The same thing can be done with the 3 pc units as well. I do this to eliminate the old mixed juice flavors out of carts so they taste good again, not so much for the sanitation reasons but that's a good reason as well.

I don't worry too much about the possibility of bacteria or anything since the PG is a anti bacterial, and I am not a germaphobe that would be comfortable around others that act like Howard Hughes, lol!

 

[Rainbowz]

Snarkyone, I like your ID, lol!

All good advice. Better safe than sorry. As far as the taste, it really is hard to get the Atomic Fireball taste out of an atty, that's for sure, and hot water hasn't done it for me. I don't even know if I can get vodka (or any alcohol) in that high of a strength in Oregon, would 80 proof work?

 

[NanoVapor]

Im not worried. Soak in vodka every night if your that paranoid. Im more worried about dust mites, I heard the average mattress doubles in weight over 10 years, and thats not because it grew new springs.... thats ALOT of dust mites, just think, theyre crawling by the millions into every orifice of your body as you sleep, setting up their own countries on your scalp, taking poops on your eyeballs, being inhaled by the thousands into your lungs everytime you breath.... you cant stop them, theyre coming for you, heck, they've already got you dominated, theyre everywhere, theyre on you, inside you, around you, and ...... and pooing on you (cause certainly dust mites have to go potty right??? Id assume so!).

 

[Saitek]

Clean my hands 20 times at work? Check.(Handling money is basically 90% of my job, so pretty much every 5-10 or any time my hands are going to my mouth I sanitize.)

Clean the atty and everything else, inside out? Check.

Clean the carts? LOLWUT THAT SHOULDA BEEN AN AUTOMATIC IDEA.

Thank you for enlightening me, I can't believe I didn't think of that. I would have gagged if I saw that.

 

[Mister]

I rinse my filler (PTB) and cartridges with hot water when I'm changing the flavor in a cartridge or a PV starts tasting bad. Currently that's about two weeks per cartridge on average, with three cartridges in use. (I keep three PVs on the go, loaded with a different flavor in each.)

And that's all I do with them, just that occasional hot water rinse, along with a blow out of the atty at the same time.

I've had one of these cartridges in use for over three months now.

I haven't been sick other than one minor cold since I started vaping which is a very good winter for me.

No one touches these cartridges except me. My thinking is that if any bugs get into them they're from my body and I've already developed antibodies for them so I don't worry about it.

 

[Remie]

Saitek - I was totally grossed out, and I wash my hands a lot too (like you, comes with the territory and becomes second nature) - Why it took me a month to realize this? It SHOULD have been an automatic idea! You're right!

So - live and learn... I'm glad it finally sunk in, and now I'll be tossing them into a jar of Listerine (Crest Pro Health) or any antiseptic that is safe for humans but proven to kill germs - as soon as I'm finished with it.

I think it's logical to assume that using a re-stuffed cart for at least a day or two (if they work for you without decline in performance) is fine. I think that letting them sit (used, but cart-filler removed) for long periods of time would still set them up as a breeding ground.

JMO - and if it makes me feel better about the cleanliness and harm-reduction due to disinfecting them - I'm certainly going to have a new ritual!

I still may decide to culture a few (one used and cart-stuffing left in and one used with cart-stuffing taken out and discarded, both using the same PG based e-liquid) - would anyone be interested in what may or may not colonize and grow on a swabbed culture plate?
If so, I'm sure I can get a more than adequate sample, especially if I vape from it and not clean it for a couple of weeks

Thanks everyone! Seriously

I would hate to find out we're all harboring our own brands of "creeping bogolits"

 

[CES]

I've posted this elsewhere- i suggest using distilled water for a final rinse. The white stuff at the bottom of the cart could also be from tap water. We have a water distiller/deionizer at work. if the filters for the city water aren't cleaned frequently enough then we end up with a white precipitate in the heating chamber.

 

[sherlynn]

I just usually rinse mine in hot water but I had better go out (after they plow us out) to get some vodka. Don't have alcohol in the house (ex was alcoholic!!) Or maybe even listerine. Thanks for the great tip!!

 

[Thyestean]

Im not worried. Soak in vodka every night if your that paranoid. Im more worried about dust mites, I heard the average mattress doubles in weight over 10 years, and thats not because it grew new springs.... thats ALOT of dust mites, just think, theyre crawling by the millions into every orifice of your body as you sleep, setting up their own countries on your scalp, taking poops on your eyeballs, being inhaled by the thousands into your lungs everytime you breath.... you cant stop them, theyre coming for you, heck, they've already got you dominated, theyre everywhere, theyre on you, inside you, around you, and ...... and pooing on you (cause certainly dust mites have to go potty right??? Id assume so!).

_____

as to the OP. I just took a flashlight and looked at half a dozen carts I have sitting here on the desk. I use mine for a day or two and then set them aside until I feel like rinsing them out.

I don't use any filler as I drip exclusively. Out of the 6 only 2 have a slight amount of white in them and it is on the inside edge of the carts. Those 2 are the most recently used ones which means the other 4 have been sitting here longer and have nothing in them except a little liquid residue.

That being the case it makes me assume that those 2 are some of the ones that had the original filler glued in. Some of them that I have used have the glue when first opened and some don't.

But then again it is possible that having the filler material in them could hold "stuff" in that isn't held in in mine since I don't use filler.

I would say the best way to find out is to clean one out and make sure it has no white stuff in it at all and then use it the way you have been for the next week and then see what the results are.

 

[Remie]

Thye - the only reason I brought it up was because I did soak and clean them all - just once or twice early on , and the last time I even thought about it was a couple of weeks go.

Now - I'll admit that what I'm suggesting is just neurotic hyperbole - but, it gave me food for thought and a reason to start thinking about the potential breeding ground for all things "germ" - including what we transfer from out hands.

I'm in no way suggesting that everyone jump on the "omg, germs!" bandwagon... just food for thought.

The only way to confirm my theory would be to not clean a couple of them for several weeks , then swab, plate and culture them... I'd have to be sneaky about it

Think it's worth a try?

 

[crashtestjeep]

If its not the original glue, its most likely the residue left from the vaped PG/flavoring dried....every vaporized liquid leaves a residue....My friends mom owned a nightclub and had a white, almost powdery residue on the mirrors after a weekend using the fog machiines. I could be wrong, but it seems it would make sense...If you DO test it, Id be very interested in the definate answer....

 

[Thyestean]

I'd say it's definitely worth trying as the results, if nothing else, will at least give you peace of mind about it

 

[crazyfl3x]

You'll probably find this article of interest: Smoking out microbes - Nicotine - nicotine kills bacteria - Brief Article | Science News | Find Articles at BNET

 

[crazyfl3x]

Also this:

“…the researchers found that the propylene glycol itself was a potent germicide. One part of glycol in 2,000,000 parts of air would — within a few seconds — kill concentrations of air-suspended pneumococci, streptococci and other bacteria numbering millions to the cubic foot."

Full article here: Medicine: Air Germicide - TIME

 

[Remie]

Despite knowing that (about PG being germicidal) because they pump atomized PG into the air on the peds floor and ER (along with UV lights high on the walls near the ceilings) at the hospital - I didn't think of that in relation to vaping

I became focused on the "white stuff" and that my spit was sitting in the air reservoir at the bottom end of the cartridge ...

I'll still use more conscientious cart-hygiene than I had been, just because I believe it's just good common sense (to me personally) - but I won't be obsessive or wacko about it

Thanks!!

Oh, and I have a close personal relationship with my dust mites - I name them and take them everywhere with me

 

[Raven1]

I just usually rinse mine in hot water

Same here, or if they're older, I'll rinse them out with dish detergent first. But since reading this, I'm going to start pulling off the tips as well and cleaning those out too coz now OP has got me paranoid (better safe than sorry!).

 

[Haytoni]

I'm just past the one month mark smoke-free and loving it. I'm fully into the "vaping routine" and the other day, while trying once again to wrestle with a bad tasting 510 atomizer, it occurred to me...

Have I missed incorporating something important into my routine?

Since cartridge filler is cheap, and it's become very quick and easy for me to re-stuff my carts, I keep about 6 or 8 carts stuffed but not filled with e-liquid in my vaping box.

When I'm finished using a cartridge, I pull out and discard the used filler material and throw the empty cart into one of the compartments in my box. I grab a new one, fill it and go. I'll keep refilling a cartridge for a day or so most of the time. Sometimes more, sometimes less depending on if it's a "perfect cart", wicking well, etc.

When I refill carts, I grab the empty ones and just re-stuff them.

I was having a "hard draw" problem with my atomizer and ran a mental check-list of what, beside the atty itself might cause it.

I pulled an empty (previously used) cartridge from my box and examined it.

I was shocked at what I discovered.

Upon examination with a bright light and magnifying glass, at the bottom of the cartridge I saw a layer of "white stuff". ??? I stuck my trusty opened paper clip in and scraped at it thinking it was probably bits or particles of filler material left behind.

I started looking inside the other cartridges. Same thing. What is it? It really started me thinking...

I have extensive medical laboratory and healthcare training and experience and I'm usually very aware and careful. It's rote and knee-jerk to me. I wash my hands, I sanitize my kitchen and bathrooms... I treat my home the way I do the workplace. Why didn't this occur to me sooner?

The inside of my cartridge is a potential petri dish, a breeding ground for all kinds of microbes. Could the white-ish coating I saw at the bottom of the cartridge be colonies of various bacteria? Perhaps some strain of mold? I was so grossed out and a little ashamed of myself for not taking any of this into consideration from the start!

I put the tips of those cartridges in my mouth, pacify myself by holding it between my teeth a lot, inhale frequently from it... my tongue touches it, I exhale a bit into it if I "puff" quickly on it... I am transferring my saliva and the normal microbial flora to the cartridges. There are many bacterial strains that are aerobic (require oxygen) which could easily thrive inside a cartridge.

I grabbed all of my cartridges (and the silicon caps) and threw them into a Listerine bath. I swished, shook, and swirled them often to make sure the antiseptic liquid would penetrate and reach all the inside surfaces and left them soaking for about an hour.

After soaking them all in the mouthwash, I rinsed them thoroughly in very hot water, put them in a wire-mesh strainer, covered the strainer with a clean towel (so they wouldn't fly out) and dried them with my blow-drier.

I examined them again under a bright light and magnifying glass. The white film was gone.

I had washed some carts out occasionally in the beginning - I just didn't incorporate cartridge cleaning into my routine.

After re-stuffing the now disinfected and clean cartridges, I noticed better air flow. Had the questionable white-stuff been impeding air flow and contributing to the "hard draw" issue? Perhaps, but it really doesn't matter. What matters now to me is that I keep my cartridges clean and disinfected.

I should have swabbed one and cultured it. Or, maybe I really don't want to know what might have been growing inside it

This has probably been brought up here before, I just didn't see it...

So... Food for thought

Has anyone else thought about this? Do you clean your cartridges on a regular basis? If so, what's your method?


Remie

I have been on the PV for a little over a month, and also clean the carts, however, never stopped to think about it, just figured it should be done periodically. Waiting for some batting material, until then wash out the wicking material and dry, seems to be working, have cleaned one atty, although it wasn't that bad, did it just to see if I could.