protecting syringe markings
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You would need to be a very secure man to wear tights!In West Hollywood!
Don't know, never been there. I can tell you that you get GREAT service at Hooters in Indy when you walk in wearing tights.
OR you could just buy some quality luer locking syringes (w/o needle) that are very reasonable in cost. I've been using them for months and the paint stay on them. no messing with tape, polish or whatever. Get the blunt needles from another supplier when you order something. This place only has sharp needles and you would need a prescription (I think) to get the needle.
Syringe Only
good prices + Paypal = WIN!
20 - 3's , 10 - 6's & 5 - 12's on the way for $14.49 shipped
Just wanted to tell you that this reply made TOTAL sense to me...thanks for clearing it up!
Geo
Bad idea. This comes from dealing with not just DIY e-juice process but with pharmaceutical handling in general as well as use and care/cleaning etc of medical equipment.
Clean is important - clean is important in DYI because inhalation of bacteria, mold or viruses is about the fastest way to get an infection into your blood system short of opening up a wound and letting bacteria in there. Basically it comes down to the size of the vapor particle that might be produced can or could be small enough to get through the lungs into the blood - how nicotine gets in the blood stream and so on. Bacteria, mold and viruses can hitch rides and go right along with the vapor. The, secondly it does not even have to pass into the bloodstream to set up a nice infection, reaction in the lungs to cause some problems.
Normal good cleanliness and handling where things cannot 'grow' in your process somewhere and get carried along into the juice and into your body is important. Remember that there is no heating or other germ killing process that goes along with making e-juice or handling it (simply just using a sysringe to fill carts even if you don't DIY) you want to keep these clean.
Leaving tings like flavoring residue stilling around in a syringe without washing it out is a pretty nice growth medium for many things - bacterias and molds especially. Putting them in a plastic bag to keep the outside clean does nothing for what is in the syringe - may keep the dust off the outside but could actually cause growth of stuff that thrives in lower oxygen levels or by just keeping it extra warm in a bag - like throwing a blanket over it...
Washing syringes, bottles, utensils etc in warm soapy water after use and then rinsing under lots of warm to hot "RUNNING" water will get it about as clean without sterilizing it. Running water has a huge cleaning effect because it moves contaminates off a surface and down the drain - not just removes any soapy residue. Soapy water cleaning would not even be necessary before running water rinsing except some ingredients can 'stick' enough that the only way you are not leaving left behinds is to break them away from the surface with the soap.
So all of that makes your tools clean so you can responsibly handle your DIT production or just things you use to fill your PV with e-juice. Unfortunately, the same process that removes the old germs also removes the markings on those disposable plastic syringes. They are meant as one use only tools - expected to be thrown out after use so they don't care is markings wash away after a few times - not supposed to be washing and reusing in the setting they were originally made to be used in (ie giving a person an injection).
(Note here - if you use a syringe for filling your PV no need to wash it every use, but good idea to wash it when you use up the bottle that your drawing the e-juice from. Clean is still very good but once e-juice is made and combined etc it has its shelf live - ina syringe or in a bottle as long as the syringe was clean to start with.)
Thats where the markings so so things like tape, copying marks in indelible ink and all the other tricks of the trade. I actually got myself glass syringes (medical supply store not drug store) which has etched markings and did well in the dishwasher were great and long as you are not using them for dart practise or tossing them back and forth in the kitchen they hold up really well. Eventually the paint in the etched markings might wear off but you can fill those back in with about anything that won't wash off right away.
If you are buying disposable syringes at a drug store as the pharmacist if they would sell you the 'oral medication syringes' they give out with liquid medication for children. These are essentially the same things except they are made to be washed and reused while the child is taking the medication so they have raised plastic markings (like on plastic measuring cups) so if the ink fades the markings are still there. I actually find they seal better then they disposable syringes whose seal is not made for multiple use and will leak after a while .. then you wonder how many drops of nicotine just went out of the syringe past the plunger seal instead of through the needle. These will also be available to those of you that live in states where you cannot purchase syringes without a prescription - they are syringes for oral administration and so are not restricted like those for injection. I have looked for them in various places that sell DIY accessories online but no one carries the oral admin ones with the raised markings - just the disposable ones for injection.
But anyway - just like Chimney34 - gotta wash them Don't make yourself or others sick But because people do take care to keep stuff clean ... there go the markings.
Clean is important - clean is important in DYI because inhalation of bacteria, mold or viruses is about the fastest way to get an infection into your blood system short of opening up a wound and letting bacteria in there. Basically it comes down to the size of the vapor particle that might be produced can or could be small enough to get through the lungs into the blood - how nicotine gets in the blood stream and so on. Bacteria, mold and viruses can hitch rides and go right along with the vapor. The, secondly it does not even have to pass into the bloodstream to set up a nice infection, reaction in the lungs to cause some problems.
Normal good cleanliness and handling where things cannot 'grow' in your process somewhere and get carried along into the juice and into your body is important. Remember that there is no heating or other germ killing process that goes along with making e-juice or handling it (simply just using a sysringe to fill carts even if you don't DIY) you want to keep these clean.
Leaving tings like flavoring residue stilling around in a syringe without washing it out is a pretty nice growth medium for many things - bacterias and molds especially. Putting them in a plastic bag to keep the outside clean does nothing for what is in the syringe - may keep the dust off the outside but could actually cause growth of stuff that thrives in lower oxygen levels or by just keeping it extra warm in a bag - like throwing a blanket over it...
Washing syringes, bottles, utensils etc in warm soapy water after use and then rinsing under lots of warm to hot "RUNNING" water will get it about as clean without sterilizing it. Running water has a huge cleaning effect because it moves contaminates off a surface and down the drain - not just removes any soapy residue. Soapy water cleaning would not even be necessary before running water rinsing except some ingredients can 'stick' enough that the only way you are not leaving left behinds is to break them away from the surface with the soap.
So all of that makes your tools clean so you can responsibly handle your DIT production or just things you use to fill your PV with e-juice. Unfortunately, the same process that removes the old germs also removes the markings on those disposable plastic syringes. They are meant as one use only tools - expected to be thrown out after use so they don't care is markings wash away after a few times - not supposed to be washing and reusing in the setting they were originally made to be used in (ie giving a person an injection).
(Note here - if you use a syringe for filling your PV no need to wash it every use, but good idea to wash it when you use up the bottle that your drawing the e-juice from. Clean is still very good but once e-juice is made and combined etc it has its shelf live - ina syringe or in a bottle as long as the syringe was clean to start with.)
Thats where the markings so so things like tape, copying marks in indelible ink and all the other tricks of the trade. I actually got myself glass syringes (medical supply store not drug store) which has etched markings and did well in the dishwasher were great and long as you are not using them for dart practise or tossing them back and forth in the kitchen they hold up really well. Eventually the paint in the etched markings might wear off but you can fill those back in with about anything that won't wash off right away.
If you are buying disposable syringes at a drug store as the pharmacist if they would sell you the 'oral medication syringes' they give out with liquid medication for children. These are essentially the same things except they are made to be washed and reused while the child is taking the medication so they have raised plastic markings (like on plastic measuring cups) so if the ink fades the markings are still there. I actually find they seal better then they disposable syringes whose seal is not made for multiple use and will leak after a while .. then you wonder how many drops of nicotine just went out of the syringe past the plunger seal instead of through the needle. These will also be available to those of you that live in states where you cannot purchase syringes without a prescription - they are syringes for oral administration and so are not restricted like those for injection. I have looked for them in various places that sell DIY accessories online but no one carries the oral admin ones with the raised markings - just the disposable ones for injection.
But anyway - just like Chimney34 - gotta wash them
Don't make yourself or others sick But because people do take care to keep stuff clean ... there go the markings.
Damn You Hoosier, You just gave away the secrete to my favorite Lutefisk juice!!!!
no, but really, tape works ok, it takes time, but it comes off, nail polish dose not work, unless you enjoy it randomly flaking off into your base (yes, if you use nail polish you will eventually see little black flecks floating in you juice, that is the ink from the syringe being held together by the polish, you can't see the flecks of nail polish without the ink). your best bet, get some glass, or a large box of plastics from amazon (I haven't made up my mind, so as of now I am using tape and replacing often...)
For those still struggling to buy syringes in bulk, the clear nail polish should not flake off if you get good quality stuff. There's a solvent in it that will key to the plastic so it can't come off, and the varnish stays hard and moves with the plastic so it doesn't crack. The cheap stuff, well...
Paint the markings with nail polish when the syringe is new and grease free, and run the brush over them only once. If you paint it back and forth the solvent will start to quickly dissolve the markings and they will blur.
An alternative is to mark up the syringe with a scalpel or similar sharp blade. After the ink has washed off (third or fourth use) just get an indelible marker and fill in the cuts that you made. It works quite well and takes one minute to do.
Another reason you may want to use these methods is that you may not necessarily want to purchase a bulk pack of some sizes. I use a one ml syringe for some flavourings when appropriate as it's much more accurate than counting that many drops, but that doesn't mean I want a whole carton of them. Same thing goes for the really big ones.
If you wash your syringe in hot water after every use, you may find that the rubber plunger starts to get dry and is difficult to insert in the tube and sticks. Just lubricate it first with a drop of PG and it will be fine. I suspect they are lubricated with PG before they are put in the packet at the factory.
Paint the markings with nail polish when the syringe is new and grease free, and run the brush over them only once. If you paint it back and forth the solvent will start to quickly dissolve the markings and they will blur.
An alternative is to mark up the syringe with a scalpel or similar sharp blade. After the ink has washed off (third or fourth use) just get an indelible marker and fill in the cuts that you made. It works quite well and takes one minute to do.
Another reason you may want to use these methods is that you may not necessarily want to purchase a bulk pack of some sizes. I use a one ml syringe for some flavourings when appropriate as it's much more accurate than counting that many drops, but that doesn't mean I want a whole carton of them. Same thing goes for the really big ones.
If you wash your syringe in hot water after every use, you may find that the rubber plunger starts to get dry and is difficult to insert in the tube and sticks. Just lubricate it first with a drop of PG and it will be fine. I suspect they are lubricated with PG before they are put in the packet at the factory.
OR you could just buy some quality luer locking syringes (w/o needle) that are very reasonable in cost. I've been using them for months and the paint stay on them. no messing with tape, polish or whatever
Syringe Only
bumping for etched markings Monoject syringes
Regarding bacteria, virus & mold/fungus in e-juices -- both PG and VG are very effective antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal agents (and they're both "preservatives"). Here's a snippet with evidence on the VG: Glycerol preservation: basis | Global Sight Network; info on PG is easy to find.
Hence, it's highly unlikely anyone is going to create a juice that would support any type of bacterial, fungal or viral growth when using VG or PG as their base. Of course, either could be diluted enough to lessen the anti-bacterial/fungal/viral properties, but they would still have a measure of "anti"....and most flavorings are alcohol or PG based so the only (commonly added) non-anti-bacterial/fungal/viral substance would be water or saline solution.
Of course, proper santitation & safety should always be the 'rule of thumb' when DIYing, but we're not dealing with substances that support the growth of bacteria, virus or molds here (which is one of the main reasons we do not have to refrigerate our juices).
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