DIY cleanup question

[Nicot]

First off I would like to thank everyone who has answered my past posts. You guys are awesome. Thanks so much.

My question is, after you have made your e-juice, how do you clean up? Do you wash in soap and water or just rinse syringes, needles, and pipetts with water? Do you use dedicated syringe or needle for each liquid or are you able to clean well enough that you don't need a different needle or syringe for each flavor or for PG, VG and NIC?

Any advice on cleanup will be helpful.
Thanks!

 

[mattiem]

I just wash mine with hot water. I keep a syringe dedicated for menthol but use the same one for all other flavorings. If I am just making a very small test batch (5mls or less) I use the same syringe for my nic. If I am making a larger batch (say 30-120) I use a larger syringe for pg, vg and nic.

 

[Nicot]

Thanks mattiem. I just didn't want my liquids to get contaminated. I haven't started DIY yet but have ordered supplies. Didn't know if I had gotten enough needles etc.

 

[Das Auto]

I think cleaning up after making juice is quite common sense. How would you clean anything that you wanted to be sanitary and re-useable? Soap, clean sponges, distilled water not mention the "sonic" cleaning devices (baby bottle cleaners).

Also, there are several threads in regards to this exact topic. If we didn't cover it thoroughly enough, please, by all means, use the Search function in the top right of your ecf screen.

 

[Alien Traveler]

I think cleaning up after making juice is quite common sense. How would you clean anything that you wanted to be sanitary and re-useable? Soap, clean sponges, distilled water not mention the "sonic" cleaning devices (baby bottle cleaners).

Also, there are several threads in regards to this exact topic. If we didn't cover it thoroughly enough, please, by all means, use the Search function in the top right of your ecf screen.

"sonic" cleaning devices for DIY? It is an overkill. Not bad, if you want it, but does not worth an investment.

 

[Nicot]

I think cleaning up after making juice is quite common sense. How would you clean anything that you wanted to be sanitary and re-useable? Soap, clean sponges, distilled water not mention the "sonic" cleaning devices (baby bottle cleaners).

Also, there are several threads in regards to this exact topic. If we didn't cover it thoroughly enough, please, by all means, use the Search function in the top right of
your ecf screen.

Thanks Das Auto,

This is how I would handle it . The reason I asked was because on a video I watched the host said that he uses different needles for each flavor marked in plastic bags. Having never done DIY I didn't know if this was the norm. I see now that it is not.

 

[Das Auto]

Lots do. Is it necessary, it could be! Getting pipettes mixed up is pretty easy to do when making multiple juices and your not careful. Just be smart and take your time. You'll be fine! Wash your work area and hands before and after! Wipe down your VG PG bottles (they get sticky).

And I only mentioned the sonic cleaning devices because some really really like theirs and swear by them. Me - too much work. But then again, washing all those bottles, pipettes and syringes turns into a lot of work too. Maybe I should look into one!! LoL

 

[Art Mustel]

Do you enjoy the cleanup part? if you hate it like I used to, get a digital scale and do your mixes by weight...directly on the bottle you are going to use to store your liquid. 0 cleanup! (Of course assuming the bottle was clean lol)...

 

[Bob Chill]

I do the standard hot water and a few flushes with diluted PGA. Dry everything and put it away. I don't mess with soap. I'll take my chances there. I'd prefer not to use soap on a regular basis on my syringes. I figure PGA takes care of just about anything.

One thing I've always wondered...since juice is made with solvents and flavors, what exactly am I washing away? It's not like raw chicken. If I leave pg/vg on my syringe, will it ever grow bacteria? I don't think it can. Flavors could contain sugars among other things that could potentially turn. I always give my flavor syringes a good flushing but I honestly don't worry all that much about my pg/vg syringes.

 

[Nicot]

Thanks again everyone.

I do own an ultrasonic device. Maybe I can just fill the tank with PGA, flick the switch and forget about it.

Really, I'm just trying to make sure I know what I'm doing by the time my supplies get here. I know me, I'll want to jump in as soon as I can.

 

[Alien Traveler]

I do not need any cleanup. OK, may be once a month or two I wash my syringe. I use the same syringe for nic, VG, PG. First - nic, them VG, then - PG with the same syringe. PG has rather good antibacterial properties, so I do not wash it out - bacteria likes water, not PG and VG. For flavorings I use drop method (my flavorings are in eye-drop bottles. So, no cleanup needed.

P.S. If I need to wash something, I just use hot water. I hate smell of soap in my vape and PG and VG are easily dissolved in water.

EDIT: some of my flavors are not with droppers, and I use single use pipettes, like these ones:

http://www.amazon.com/Plastic-Trans..._sbs_bt_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=08GDER0K4CRKPVD1JK3D

 

[VNeil]

I have a pile of syringes of different sizes. I do most measurements with a syringe.

I use a separate syringe for each compound. Not permanently marked, but if I have 7 flavors and base compounds to mix, I will use 7 syringes. Afterward I flush the syringes a half dozen times each, from a cup of warm water. Pull in fresh water and expel in the sink.Personally I am not worried about bacteria, I just don't want to cross contaminate flavors, and etc. The flavorings are very strong, and trace amounts would eventually change the flavors. Think about how many times you might pull from a 4oz bottle of flavor. Sometimes after they are individually flushed I might soak them in a pot of warm water.

I do not use soap because I would rather have trace amounts of the stuff I intended to put in my juice contaminate the next mix than soap! Like most things related to vaping, I think common sense must prevail. If there is any cross contamination, it's basically the same stuff going into each mix. Even if a little trace amount of nic is left in a syringe somehow, hey, you intended to vape a little nic! The worst that can happen is you get a mild unwanted flavor note in a mix- probably not fatal . Even with 100mg nic concentrate, which is probably the most "potentially dangerous" compound we are mixing, it would not be possible for enough to "hide" in a syringe or container that is even briefly cleaned to change the nic content significantly. Particularly syringes.

 

[Semiretired]

I clean everything with hot water when I am finished and sterilize before each use since they have been sitting around for a couple of months between mixes...

 

[Nicot]

Thanks Alien Traveler and VNeil,

Disposable droppers are in my order. The cross contamination is what I was most worried about, doesn't seem to be a real problem if I'm careful. I see now that soap is out.

 

[Nicot]

Thanks Semiretired,

I'm beginning to see how things are.