How do you clean your cartos?

[PickyJuicer]

I generally use my cartos repeatedly until I am sick of the flavor or just decide it's time for a fresh one. I'd rather not soak it in vodka because I do not ever keep alcohol in the house. I was wondering if there was a water washing method that anyone uses. Water pik maybe? Boiling? Just trying to get an idea of how to clean the gunk out

 

[xplumberx]

Boiling.. but I prefer to just trash them... If I get 3 days out of a carto I am happy with it.. I do not wait until they die.. when flavor is diminished I put in a new one ( waste of juice )... some flavors are harder on cartos than others...

 

[kiwivap]

I generally use my cartos repeatedly until I am sick of the flavor or just decide it's time for a fresh one. I'd rather not soak it in vodka because I do not ever keep alcohol in the house. I was wondering if there was a water washing method that anyone uses. Water pik maybe? Boiling? Just trying to get an idea of how to clean the gunk out

I use this method:



This works for me. There's a turkey baster method too. Now y'all should have your turkey basters handy!

 

[XfooYen]

No soaking and no boiling. I attach the open end of the carto to one of these (found at the drug store). It's a dosage syringe for babies. The carto fits snugly inside. I get a bowl of hot tap water and feed water back and forth using the plunger. When squirting water out, I place my finger on the end of the threads so the water leaves through the air holes rather than the center hole. I do this about a dozen times or until I detect no juice fragrance from the carto. After that, I blow as much excess water through the carto. To dry, I place the carto in a cool oven for a couple of hours to speed up evaporation. I usually leave the carto in the open air over night to ensure that the polyfill is completely dry. Never had a problem. When the carto gets a really tight draw after a few cleanings, I toss it.

 

[PickyJuicer]

Sounds great, thanks! I'm going to try pbusardo's method tonight although I don't think I'll have my cartos with fava beans and I'm going to look around for a syringe. I do have one, but it's a small one and the carto doesn't fit in it at all.

 

[Eric Smith]

Hmm, I soak em in Absolute Vodka, then blow them out, fill and your ready to go

 

[iPoosk]

Yep, I also use the PBusardo method but lately I've been way too lazy and just tossing them lol

 

[Strigoi]

I boil mine until there's no more smell from the stream and the water is not discolored. Then I blow them out and let them dry on a paper towel for a couple of days. If they have a stiff draw or still smell I toss them. I only used the cleaned cartos when I don't have enough of a certain liquid to warrant using a new one. I usually wait until I have 30+ saved up before I bother boiling them.

 

[Paval]

I found that method works well for me as well.

 

[PickyJuicer]

Well since I generally buy them weekly, maybe I'll let a pile accumulate and do them all at once. Sounds easier than boiling weekly, lol.

I really appreciate all the help & insight!

 

[Wahine]

You can try some diluted lemon juice or vinegar instead of alcohol

 

[Gamekeeper]

I use one of those sonic cleaner baths, twist the screw base to re-adjust air intake, and blow out. However I can never get them as new. An improvement, but not like a new fresh one.