Clean juice makes a big difference but atomizers hate me, too and no matter what cleaning method I use, I seem to make it worse. If I can manage to make them work better after a cleaning, it will maybe last 1/2 day, which is better than nothing, I guess. I've had better luck with mine lately by just blowing them out. I don't even rinse them with water anymore. I'm in the process of testing a pack of cartomizers right now and if I can get even 3 or 4 days out of one, I'm already better off because 5 cartos cost about the same as one atomizer. Futzing with atties isn't worth the time for me anymore. I hate them, they hate me, it's all good. lol