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Depends on what you used it for. For pg/vg I just give it a good hot water rinse. For flavoring or nic I do hot water first, then pga or vodka. Take it apart, or suck up the liquid and expel...whatever works for you. I'd take it apart to dry though.
I use several different size syringes, ranging in size from 1ml to 30ml. After I use them I put them in very hot water and suck the water up and push it out 4-5 times. Other people may do it other ways but this is how I clean mine.
I picked up a good tip here for measuring with a syringe. If you want 1ml, leave a little air in the syringe (pull off bottom), then draw the liquid to the 2ml line and dispense it down to the 1ml line. It is much more accurate this way, especially when trying to get something like 4/10ml. I just push the excess back into the original bottle. I do not use the same syringe in different liquids when mixing.
I just clean mine with hot water and take them apart to dry.
I just clean mine with hot water and take them apart to dry.
I soak them in water then use a filmless cleaning solution (a good detergent, not soap) on the diassembled parts. The brushes I got when I purchased some of Walgreens Oral Syringe | Walgreens these work on 1ml to the 10ml's they came with.
(The 1ml's will distort the brush, but that's no big deal.)
If I'm feeling extra cleany I will rinse them with alcohol, but sometimes I do it so they dry faster.
(The 1ml's will distort the brush, but that's no big deal.)
If I'm feeling extra cleany I will rinse them with alcohol, but sometimes I do it so they dry faster.
Amazing tips, thanks everyone!
I was a little worried that the high concentrated flavorings would leave lingering taste unless bleached and taint my other flavors... I get a little paranoid hah. I wanna do this right cause everything is on the way right now, and I got myself a LavaTube! Finally upgrading from my eGo.
I think I will h ave to go to Walgreen and see if I can get some more then, cause I got a 5ml and a 1ml. Dunno why but didn't even think I would need more than one haha.
I was a little worried that the high concentrated flavorings would leave lingering taste unless bleached and taint my other flavors... I get a little paranoid hah. I wanna do this right cause everything is on the way right now, and I got myself a LavaTube! Finally upgrading from my eGo.
I think I will h ave to go to Walgreen and see if I can get some more then, cause I got a 5ml and a 1ml. Dunno why but didn't even think I would need more than one haha.
If you have a Tractor Supply or other animal farm feed type store nearby then you can buy all sizes of syringes for almost pennies.
I use a little vinegar or lemon juice in the water sometimes...but a pga soak will get rid of just about anything. Just be sure to wash it out asap after using with flavorings and you should be fine.
I posted a link yesterday to 100 1ml syringes for $19 w/free ship....
I hate washing up. Hate it.
But at the same time I don't want nasty gunky smelly syringes. If I was wealthy I would throw them away after use. But I am not.
So what I do is
A) Designate and label syringes for different uses
Especially anything that has ever been in contact with something mint or menthol will not be used for anything non-mint or non-menthol, no matter how uncharacteristically diligent I am about cleaning.
For plain PG, VG and PGA or DW I have one big 10ml syringe that I use, with a total monster of a needle. I should clean this one more often (I'm telling myself it doesn't really matter...).
For nicotine (though mine is only 36mg/ml) I have one designated 1ml syringe. This one never goes into anything else, and never hosts a needle (but I should clean it more often).
B) I clean the syringes, and the needles (which are way trickier IME), somewhat according to what they have been used for, and how visibly gunky they are. If they are really gunky I first rinse/squirt with warm tapwater, then do vodka. If they aren't visibly gunky I might only do vodka. If they've had some really strong flavouring on them I use some of my precious PGA.
I have been thinking of the rubbing-alcohol I have, but that is only 60% propyl alc, and I'm afraid of taste-residue (probably unnecessarily, I have after all used it to clean things I eat out of).
Since high-strength alcohol is rather expensive (and hard to get where I live), I often use a small jar (one of those miniature jam jars) or a shot glass, or both, and a slop-mug. When I am really focused and diligent about my mixing work, I rinse the syringes and needles in this small jar of alcohol. If they are really gunky or smelly I squirt out the first rinse in the slop mug, if not I re-use the alcohol again and again.
BTW, when it comes to syringes and especially needles, it is hard to say in advance what you will like working with. I didn't at all foresee that I would want needles, but I find them indispensible. Apart from the monster needle for VG (it is 20mm long and 2mm thick!), I have assorted gauges from 14 to 27.
That itty bitty 27G would be fantastic for many things, if it was only longer (I asked for something to help with getting PGA into every nook and cranny of atties to clean them, but haven't used it for that yet), paired with a 1ml or 2ml syringe it gives you fantastic drop control. And it is rather nice to use for dripping when test-vaping... But an absolute pain to keep clean.
But at the same time I don't want nasty gunky smelly syringes. If I was wealthy I would throw them away after use. But I am not.
So what I do is
A) Designate and label syringes for different uses
Especially anything that has ever been in contact with something mint or menthol will not be used for anything non-mint or non-menthol, no matter how uncharacteristically diligent I am about cleaning.
For plain PG, VG and PGA or DW I have one big 10ml syringe that I use, with a total monster of a needle. I should clean this one more often (I'm telling myself it doesn't really matter...).
For nicotine (though mine is only 36mg/ml) I have one designated 1ml syringe. This one never goes into anything else, and never hosts a needle (but I should clean it more often).
B) I clean the syringes, and the needles (which are way trickier IME), somewhat according to what they have been used for, and how visibly gunky they are. If they are really gunky I first rinse/squirt with warm tapwater, then do vodka. If they aren't visibly gunky I might only do vodka. If they've had some really strong flavouring on them I use some of my precious PGA.
I have been thinking of the rubbing-alcohol I have, but that is only 60% propyl alc, and I'm afraid of taste-residue (probably unnecessarily, I have after all used it to clean things I eat out of).
Since high-strength alcohol is rather expensive (and hard to get where I live), I often use a small jar (one of those miniature jam jars) or a shot glass, or both, and a slop-mug. When I am really focused and diligent about my mixing work, I rinse the syringes and needles in this small jar of alcohol. If they are really gunky or smelly I squirt out the first rinse in the slop mug, if not I re-use the alcohol again and again.
BTW, when it comes to syringes and especially needles, it is hard to say in advance what you will like working with. I didn't at all foresee that I would want needles, but I find them indispensible. Apart from the monster needle for VG (it is 20mm long and 2mm thick!), I have assorted gauges from 14 to 27.
That itty bitty 27G would be fantastic for many things, if it was only longer (I asked for something to help with getting PGA into every nook and cranny of atties to clean them, but haven't used it for that yet), paired with a 1ml or 2ml syringe it gives you fantastic drop control. And it is rather nice to use for dripping when test-vaping... But an absolute pain to keep clean.
Sounds exactly like what I am gonna want to do. I was wondering if you could essentially reuse pga at least a couple of times... cause otherwise DIY would get real expensive real fast for me as well hah. I suppose from the sounds of it, it ain't all that important for most tasks though if you simply rinse right away. But I can see some real thick liquids being a pain.
A touch of vinegar sounds like a sensible solution too... but would you mind posting that link? I can't seem to figure out how to find your past posts hah. That might be something worth picking up!
Actually I do... that is a great idea, ill have to pop over there before I get my juice and see what they got. Thanks!
I use vodka for cleaning (sorry, I said pga didn't I?)...the cheap grocery store kind. I only use pga for vaping, and rarely at that. Here's the link to that thread (it's right here in this forum)...should be toward the end.
edit: to find anyone's posts, click on their name above their avatar and a pop up comes up with the option to view their posts, send pm, view profile, etc
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I use a seperate syringe for each flavor and just clean them by sucking up some water . The flavor doesnt need to be removed since its only going to see that flavor . FOr PG/VG and nic i also use 2 different syringes . One for PG/VG and another for nic then just wash them out by sucking up water and shooting it out a few times .
WOW ok, I gotta know if it vapes well..? Or do people not really have a problem with PG/VG solutions as long as they are 99.9%?
Cause that is CHEAP!
To clean just pull apart, soap and water wash, rinse, let dry. If you can't pull apart just pull some water in there a few times and squirt it out, let dry.
Myself and many others use that PG all the time, great price. For VG there are several good sources, one of those is Essential Depot who sells on Ebay and has FREE shipping .. right now they have a sale for $31.64 for 1 gal of VG. I use their VG everyday and it's great. Here's the link to their VG on Ebay (they also have PG too):
1 Gallon Pure Vegetable Glycerin USP in 4 Qt. Bottles | eBay
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I buy Essential Depots vg and pg as well, but you can buy direct from their website cheaper if you're willing to buy 2 gals. I buy a gal of pg and a gal of vg for less than $50 total with free ship...quality is superb and they ship fast.
Here's a nice little special that Essential Depot is having on their own website right now. It's for 1 gal of their VG plus 1 gal of their PG for $47.99 with FREE shipping. They dont have this combo sale with free shipping available very often, so this is a really great price! Here's the link:
1 Gallon Veg Glycerin + 1 Gallon Propylene Glycol - FREE SHIPPING
1 Gallon Veg Glycerin + 1 Gallon Propylene Glycol - FREE SHIPPING
I'm sure it'll end eventually (their product is excellent and prices great even so imo) but it's been on sale since before Thanksgiving when I first bought mine.
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