Organic vs Regular Cotton
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While there may be some differences between your standard and organic products, the important part when choosing your cotton wick is that is it absolutely 100% cotton.
Anything else and you will be one unhappy vamper. Get it??
Personally I've used nothing but Q-tips since I started rebuilding. The flavor is amazing. I've never once gotten a weird taste. It's been months and I have noticed no ill side effects. I would certainly use CVS cotton balls or similar if I had them, and I probably will make the trip one day but for now... Q-tips.
Most important about cotton wick is that you really, REALLY, want it to be quite loose and fluffy in your coil. If you just take a small section of a cotton ball, wrap it tight, and stick it through... you're probably going to get a funky as hell cotton taste.
Anything else and you will be one unhappy vamper. Get it??
Personally I've used nothing but Q-tips since I started rebuilding. The flavor is amazing. I've never once gotten a weird taste. It's been months and I have noticed no ill side effects. I would certainly use CVS cotton balls or similar if I had them, and I probably will make the trip one day but for now... Q-tips.
Most important about cotton wick is that you really, REALLY, want it to be quite loose and fluffy in your coil. If you just take a small section of a cotton ball, wrap it tight, and stick it through... you're probably going to get a funky as hell cotton taste.
Organic cotton does not have the chemicals used on it while it is being grown and harvested.
I use the organic cotton balls from CVS.
But these organic cotton balls have been bleached with chemicals, they are just made from organic cotton fiber.
So, I boil them in DISILLED water for 20 minutes, drain the water and boil with new distilled water for another 20 minutes. I then place them on a SS mesh that I have placed over the top of an empty pot. This lets the air reach the cotton balls on all sides so they can fully dry. I let them sit like this for a couple of days to make sure they are totally dry all the way through.
I have tried using tap water and did not like the results (taste). I think the chemicals from treating the water and the minerals in the water are left in the cotton in large amounts. Also only handle your "cleaned" cotton with clean hands after it is boiled. The oil on your skin can effect the taste from the cotton. I always wash my hands when I handle my cotton.
I use the organic cotton balls from CVS.
But these organic cotton balls have been bleached with chemicals, they are just made from organic cotton fiber.
So, I boil them in DISILLED water for 20 minutes, drain the water and boil with new distilled water for another 20 minutes. I then place them on a SS mesh that I have placed over the top of an empty pot. This lets the air reach the cotton balls on all sides so they can fully dry. I let them sit like this for a couple of days to make sure they are totally dry all the way through.
I have tried using tap water and did not like the results (taste). I think the chemicals from treating the water and the minerals in the water are left in the cotton in large amounts. Also only handle your "cleaned" cotton with clean hands after it is boiled. The oil on your skin can effect the taste from the cotton. I always wash my hands when I handle my cotton.
This is something I was looking for the answer to, I'm glad you posted it.
Thanks, it really makes a difference in the taste I get when I vape with it.
Can someone post a pic of the cotton balls they got from CVS? I picked some up there but they have a weird texture- compared to some of the builds i've seen.
Organic farming uses pesticides. Organic cotton will still probably be bleached.
The contrast between 'chemicals' and 'natural' used by organic agriculture standards is basically meaningless - marketing fluff - and many things deemed acceptable are more toxic than their synthetic counterparts.
I still used the organic stuff for wicks. But it's a stretch to say it won't have added chemicals added, and I think it's definitely worth boiling.
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The only way to truly find some unadulterated 100% organic cotton would be to find it growing in the wild... Sad fact of modern life, many of the things we use, own, ingest are mass produced and chemically treated. It's important to do what you feel is necessary, for sure. I like to buy certain organic products and refuse to use anything else. Especially certain types of foods and soaps.
Still, the level of possible contaminants between organic cotton balls and something like sterile cotton is negligible in relation to usage and user experience. Only a lab test under specific requirements and environment by well experienced hands would yield any sort of answer.
I say, use what you want. Use what gives you the best results. The best vape. If you want to boil your cotton, great! Do it! If not, and that works for you, alright...
The more vapers that stay vaping by using things like RDAs/RBAs, the less smokers. And let's face it. After burning tobacco and inhaling 4,000+ chemicals, whether your wicks are organic or not is of little concern as long as the taste is right for you and you have peace of mind.
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Still, the level of possible contaminants between organic cotton balls and something like sterile cotton is negligible in relation to usage and user experience. Only a lab test under specific requirements and environment by well experienced hands would yield any sort of answer.
I say, use what you want. Use what gives you the best results. The best vape. If you want to boil your cotton, great! Do it! If not, and that works for you, alright...
The more vapers that stay vaping by using things like RDAs/RBAs, the less smokers. And let's face it. After burning tobacco and inhaling 4,000+ chemicals, whether your wicks are organic or not is of little concern as long as the taste is right for you and you have peace of mind.
Vape on
See the attached link and you will see why I use organic cotton.
http://www.ota.com/organic/environment/cotton_environment.html
http://www.ota.com/organic/environment/cotton_environment.html
Interesting read, for sure... but you must remember that QC for things like sterile gauze, Q-tips, and other products meant for professional medical and/or domestic use is quite a bit higher and stricter than say, a $3.00 cotton shirt at Wally World on clearance.
While disturbing as pesticides and BT are, I feel like the study is aimed at bulk cotton used in other various and different applications, namely clothing, toiletries, and cleaning supplies. Maybe someone could cite a source for closure.
I personally use Organic cotton for all of my builds, but this is just a matter of preference. When I first started trying cotton wicks, I used whatever I could, and it worked like a charm. I didn't switch to Organic because of taste/wicking performance - I switched because I thought that it'd just be better, all things considered, to use an Organic product.
Oh, and as Enoch mentioned earlier - if you're just starting cotton wicks - be careful not to twist the cotton too tight! My method involves "patting" the cotton down into the wick shape, rather than twisting. Twisted cotton has too much surface tension, and you won't get good saturation.
Oh, and as Enoch mentioned earlier - if you're just starting cotton wicks - be careful not to twist the cotton too tight! My method involves "patting" the cotton down into the wick shape, rather than twisting. Twisted cotton has too much surface tension, and you won't get good saturation.
What is 'regular cotton' ?
"Organic cotton" refers to the natural cotton.
Non-organic cotton refers to SYNTHETIC cotton.
(Technically it would still be 'organic' from a chemistry point of view, but the contemporary meaning of organic is 'natural' and not synthetic).
Cotton is used mainly for it's physical characteristics: soft, fuzzy, absorbent; synthetic cottonlike products can be sold as 'cotton'.
For the vaping application however, the chemical composition of the material becomes a serious concern because some of this stuff is likely to get inhaled.
While a lot of that is true, you'll note the things it carefully avoids saying, such as "We don't use pesticides" or even "Our use of pesticides is demonstrated to be less harmful to people / the environment" (bare measures of toxicity are meaningless in this context. If your pesticide is less toxic, you probably use more of it). Organic farming practices are normally more carbon intensive and use more land - often more water too - per unit of produce. This all drives up ancillary costs, like the chemicals used in water purification, or the fuel used to transport things around.
And that's the kind of thing that leads me to call it marketing fluff. Sustainable agriculture is a great thing, and organics and sustainable can overlap... but you can't just take it as read that one entails the other.
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I agree we do not know what is done to the organic cotton fiber after it is harvested. I worked in a pharmaceutical plant my entire working career so I understand QC and I am sure this organic cotton is not handled as the drugs I worked around. I have in the last week gotten some sterile rolled cotton and I am going to give it a try. The only thing about it is that it does not say it is organic cotton????
There is a lot of cotton farming in the area I live in(eastern NC) and I know of none being raised by organic means. They even spray chemicals on the cotton plants to make the leaves fall off and the cotton bolls open up so it can be harvested with automatic cotton pickers.
A lot of people use the waste from the cotton jenning process where they remove the hulls, seeds, etc for mulch around their tomato plants . I DO NOT use this as it is loaded with chemicals that can get in the tomatoes I am told.
I too would love to see a test done on the organic cotton we can buy and see what is in it. It may not be totally safe, but I feel it is better than the non organic cotton.
The organic cotton balls I purchase from CVS Pharmacy states on the bag that: "grown exclusively on organic farms" and "CVS/pharmacy uses only virgin staple fiber in our organic cotton balls, and independent certifiers ensure the highest standards of organic practices are upheld".
I am not sure what is in this cotton, as I did not grow and process it. I just feel it is the best I can use if I am going to use cotton for my wicks.
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