Clearomizers got cloudy AFTER I cleaned them

[The Cheshire Goat]

Hey, everyone -

I have e newbie question here. I have 3 clearomizers I just washed, and two turned cloudy afterword. All three have plastic tanks - two Aspire BDC's and a iClear 30. The two Aspire tanks were clear until I washed them, put them in vodka, then put them in nearly boiling water for a couple minutes. Took them out to dry, and the two Aspire tanks clouded up like crazy, while the iClear 30 is still crystal clear.

I know that certain liquids can cloud up plastic tanks, but these were clear until I cleaned them. Any ideas as to why? Can I still use them?

Thanks!

TCG

 

[fraychek]

The liquid coating them made the tanks appear clear. Once you washed them the clouding showed itself. Probably should switch to glass tanks if you're vaping acidic liquids like menthol, citrus or cinnamon.

 

[The Cheshire Goat]

Oh, crap... so these clearos are unusable now?

 

[atroph]

No, they are just cloudy.

I used cinnamon in one of my T3S clearos once when I first started and didn't know any better. I cleaned it out did a quick dry burn of the coil after removing the stock silica, rewicked with organic cotton, gave it a few drops on the new wick, and it hits just like new.

 

[PinkPanter]

Aspire CE5 BDC & CE5-S BDC - How to replace coil, clean and rebuild - YouTube

 

[PinkPanter]

The liquid coating them made the tanks appear clear. Once you washed them the clouding showed itself. Probably should switch to glass tanks if you're vaping acidic liquids like menthol, citrus or cinnamon.

Lucky with plastic didn't crack.

 

[Mrs C]

Boiling can cloud or crack plastic. So can certain juices. Once compromised chemicals can leech out of the damaged plastic into your juice.

Personally I wouldn't use them.

 

[DeliciousClouds]

Had the same problems with my plastic tanks. Apart from looking visually odd there is no issue. But you should consider a glass tank. Something like the Aspire Nautilus or Kanger Protank (mini) range.

 

[The Torch]

Wait a second here... You dipped plastic tanks in vodka and boiled them?? Not a good idea! Alcohol will degrade plastic surfaces and heat (boiling) plastic can crack it and cloud it as mentioned. I suspect It will also probably degrade the plastic and cause micro particles of plastic to detach and float in your e-juice (same for using alcohol on plastic).

The tanks themselves only need a good rinse with warm water as far as I have experienced. Most of the time, atomizers only need to be rinsed with water then dipped in alcohol, then dipped in water again before letting them dry for 16-24 hours and that if the taste is off or you're trying to get rid of a previous dominant juice taste you didn't like. If they still taste off or burnt after that, then it's a sign they need re-wicking (dominant tastes will go away after using the atomizer for a while, though). If they're completely dead, then you need to rebuild the coil and that's also a great time to re-wick.

Boiling is only used to get rid of possible chemicals in the cotton you use for re-wicking and many of us don't even bother with that. I personally test-boil a couple handfuls of cotton balls and if there is no sign of residue in the water, I just use it straight from the bag as over-boiling can change the nature of the cotton.

 

[klynnn]

Do not boil tanks, do you boil your dishes. Also be aware certain liquids do not work well with plastic. Certain citrus and cinnamon flavors can destroy the plastic. It will usually get cloudy then crack.