The vodka soak, rinse and dry is the one I hear the most people using. And, for the record, most people use Everclear which must be the cheapest and highest proof, I guess. I have also heard many times to use UNFLAVORED/NON MNT denture tablets for cleaning tanks, coils, wicks. GOTTA BE UNFLAVORED tho, and the cheaper the better. Most drug/grocery stores sell denture tablets with their own brand name and they are all pretty generic. I use the denture tabs because I don't drink alcohol and keep forgetting to stop in a liquor store to get some! I am definitely no expert, but so far have not had any problems with rinsing everything off as well as possible, then dropping it all into super hot water, adding a denture tab and soaking a few hours, then rinsing and drying overnight. If you have some really strong flavors, soak that equipment separately from everything else in it's own denture cleaner bath to avoid any cross over. (I've got a little OCD about this stuff so I do two denture tab soaks after rinsing in between.) You can get 40 cheap UNFLAVORED/NON MINT denture tabs for under $2.00. I haven't cracked any tanks this way and mine are all plastic. The wicks come out nice and white, too. Those bubbly denture tabs get right in the nooks and crannies and clean out the mouthpieces really well, that's the part that bugs me the most if I think they are dirty. Probably TMI. Maybe that's an idea you haven't heard of or tried and it might help.
Malinda