First time cleaning cartomizers

[RandomHero]

So tonight (night before my order arrives..hopefully) I decided to clean all of my empty cartomizers so when I get my juices I could refill them. Although I did order blanks, which was dumb because I could of got 5 more cartomizers instead. Anyways I started out taking all the mouth piece covers, and O rings, and set them in a shot glass. Then rinsed the cartos out once and blew them all out. I could still smell the flavors, so I decided to boil them. But first I put the shot glass under the sink with the O rings and mouth piece covers in it and I turn on the sink a little and put the shot glass under to let it fill up, and instead of turning the water off I cranked it, and the drain was not plugged. After fishing down the drain to get all the pieces I could I realized I lost 6 sets of mouth pieces and O rings. Which is kinda a bummer, but I will probably never filled 19 (which is how many I was cleaning) at a time anyways. Then I boiled the carts for about 10 minutes then blew them out and I could still smell the flavors, so I boiled them again for around 10 minutes, and now they don't smell at all So thats my story, figured I would share because I have nothing better to do. Any tips or tricks to clean the cartomizers better or easier?

 

[Darkiris]

I don't have any tips or tricks since I haven't tried to clean my cartomizers yet as I am so new. But thank you for sharing! Every time I read one of these I learn something new.

 

[RandomHero]

I don't have any tips or tricks since I haven't tried to clean my cartomizers yet as I am so new. But thank you for sharing! Every time I read one of these I learn something new.

No problem. I also like to read stuff this so I can see how everyone else does it their way.

 

[Belletrist]

i use boiling water and draw it up through the cartos with a syringe, emptying the gunky water into the sink--it still takes several draws to get a carto as pristine as i like them be--i'm picky--but it definitely saves having to blow them out multiple times.

 

[NightNurse]

I boiled mine, and I could still smell the old flavors, so what I did was soak/rinse them in some (cheap) vodka, blew 'em out and then let them dry overnight... voila! It worked great.

Belle, I'm having a hard time w/a visual on your syringe technique - do u use a needle? Where/how do you place the syringe?

Thank u...

 

[Belletrist]

yup, with a needle. i slide the needle between the filler and the inside wall, all the way down, the same way i do when filling. the key though is to have the carto totally submerged--that way to fill the syringe, the water has to travel through the filler.

 

[NightNurse]

yup, with a needle. i slide the needle between the filler and the inside wall, all the way down, the same way i do when filling. the key though is to have the carto totally submerged--that way to fill the syringe, the water has to travel through the filler.

Ahhhh... I get it.. thanks! Considering I have lots of syringes and needles at my disposal (ahem..) I'll have to give it a try.

 

[Belletrist]

i actually broke my last syringe not long ago. my ma ordered a bunch, and is going to ship me some but with the blizzard(s) down here it's been a bit of a wait. good thing i have plenty of filled cartos on hand.

 

[Freebird30563]

I learn something every day on here. I am usually so busy reading that I never post anything. I was wondering how to clean my cartos. Maybe I can pick up some good tips on that.

 

[Th3 FaT 0n3]

I wish someone would post a video or the boiling process, Ive tried a few different things and my carts still smell like old juice. I mean is it just put a pot of water on the stove and let it boil then drop cartos in? Let sit overnight?

 

[Belletrist]

it's not just boiling--you need to circulate the water somehow. whether it's soaking for a few seconds and blowing out, repeat till clean, or using a syringe like i do... boiling alone won't do it, you have to physically get the old juice out. boiling just seems to make doing that easier.

 

[Belletrist]

&& when i finally get new syringes (i broke my last one the other day, new ones en route) i'll post a vid of my method. it's not the fastest but it works the best for me.

 

[Th3 FaT 0n3]

Thanks bella. I have the next few days off so i will attempt to clean them again but i sat there for about and hour and a half and the damn carts still smell like pumpkin pie (which, to me, is unvapeable) and i have some new juices that need to be vaped.

Would it work if i boiled the water and dumped it through the mouthpeice then blew the water out the battery end with a turkey baster?

 

[Belletrist]

ahhh the dreaded pumpkin pie! that is the only truly awful vape i've ever experienced. i sympathize!

oh, a turkey baster should work great--i'd just keep the cart under the water, fit the end of the baster in the mouthpiece and plunge a few times. it might take a few rounds--i know i wouldn't want even the ghost of that pumpkin pie flavor left, lol, but it should work.

 

[Th3 FaT 0n3]

Awesome. Ill definitely post my findings tomorrow sometime in this thread. So i should boil it and then pour it through the cart a few times then use the baster to get the water out, then repeat? Im sorry im so inquisitive, I just dont wanna ruin perfectly good carts.

 

[Belletrist]

actually, what i would do is put your cartos in a big bowl. boil some water in a pot (plenty, cause if it takes a while, you don't want to flush them with pumpkin pie-y water, lol). pour it over the carts, till they're totally covered. using tweezers or tongs, get a good grip on one (with the cap off/ring out, obv) and fit the nozzle of the baster and (gently) squeeze the bulb a few times--with the cart still underwater--so the water is going through the cart/back out/etc, then remove the cart from the water, and use the turkey baster (empty) to blow it out (or just blow it out yourself). i'd do all the carts in that batch and then give 'em a sniff, repeat if necessary, with clean water. considering they've already been through some soaking though, one round will prob do it.

vodka works okay for cleaning them, as someone else suggested, i've just found hot water equally as effective and... free, lol.

sorry if i'm not too concise/clear atm, it's gettin late.

 

[RandomHero]

What I did was rinsed them, then blew them out. Then boiled them for 10 minutes, then blew them out, the boiled them again for 10 minutes and blew them out, and they are fine now.

 

[GrannyM]

Here's what I've found to work the best - similar to Belle's idea, but without the syringe.

1. Put some distilled water in microwave to boil. After removing any end caps from cartos, I do an initial blow out from mouth end of carto to remove any excess juice, put them in empty glass & then pour the just boiled distilled water over them, just enough to cover.

2. Let the cartos soak a bit, 5-10 minutes, swishing them around every so often.

3. Now I boil some distilled water again, pour a little in a clean glass, & then I insert (partially) the carto into a piece of flexible tubing (battery end should be at the bottom of the tube), submerge the carto in the water & proceed to pull the water through the tube - just a little at a time - you don't want to drink the stuff! - drain & repeat - ala the method in this link: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...d-new-cart-cleaning-method-shows-promise.html

4. At the end, I do the final blowout into the sink, but hang onto the carto so that it doesn't get blown out of the tube. Remove the carto, shake it off & it's ready to go.

I use about 8" length of 3/8" inside diameter tubing & the carto fits in the end perfectly.

Distilled water is cheap enough & I prefer it so as to avoid any residue from tap water. Just boiled water is also preferred - you'd be amazed at how dry the cartos end up.
This method works best for me - cleans better than any other way I've tried & doesn't disturb the batting/wicking material.

It sounds more complicated than it really is - it actually takes less time & effort than running under hot tap water & blowing out. And gets better results - at least for me.

 

[Belletrist]

yup, i've seen that--it looks like it works perfectly to me. it sounds more complex than blowing out, but really, i get rather tired of blowing carts out over and over.

 

[aubergine]

This is getting clearer and clearer... Belle, you are a riot. I've just been using running tap water, so was interested. I hadn't got the tweezer/tong bit until the end and was trying to picture inserting a syringe into a freefloating cart, in rapidly boiling water...

Thanks for the clarification!