5 simple ways to clean a dirty vape tank

How to clean your vape tank

One thing you may have experienced when using a tank, clearomizer or all-in-one device, is that when switching flavors, you can still taste that previous juice lurking in the background.

Even if you change the coil head, the flavoring from your last juice might still be lingering in your device. This is especially true for tobacco, coffee, menthol, cinnamon and other dominant flavors such as melon, grape or licorice. Imagine trying to vape a grape-flavored coffee e-liquid.

Don’t worry. In this guide, we’ll show you five of the best ways to eliminate this issue for good. Luckily most tanks these days are easy to clean, if you know the right steps to take. We’re going to cover everything from your standard rinse some more advanced methods, so let’s get started!

1. The standard rinse

This is probably the most basic and common method of cleaning your tank. First you start by taking apart your tank into as many pieces as possible. You can also carefully remove the O-rings, which is where a lot of the old flavor gets trapped. Just be careful not to lose them!

Note: If you’re using a device with replaceable coil heads, you’ll need to remove that coil head before cleaning. If the coil head is in good condition, it can be re-used, but in order to completely get rid of the previous flavor, you must install a brand new, fresh coil head.

Take your cup or bowl and fill it with water. Place it in the microwave for about two minutes. In the meantime, rinse the parts of your tank under the sink, to get the process started. Next, take out the cup or bowl from the microwave and place your disassembled tank inside of it.

Let it sit, until the water cools down, then give your tank one last rinse under the sink. Use a paper towel to gently and carefully dry your tank. Let it sit until completely dry. You can also use a blow dryer to speed up the process, but too much heat can potentially damage your o-rings.

Note: You can also use a small brush to get your vape tank squeaky clean. There is an accessory on our site for under $2 that is made specifically for cleaning vape tanks and gear. Children’s toothbrushes are also inexpensive and work great for this application.

2. The PG/VG soak… a deeper clean

If you don’t want to use regular water, you can actually soak your tank in propylene glycol. Simply fill up a bowl or cup with your unflavored PG, and let it soak. You could also use VG, but that would be a bit more difficult to clean your tank with, since it’s a much thicker liquid.

Once your tank is done soaking in PG, stand it up on a napkin and let it drip dry.This method is excellent for getting out that leftover flavor.

3. Vinegar, baking soda and ethanol (oh my!)

You can replace PG/VG with a few things that you might already have lying around the house…

• Vinegar is a highly acidic cleaning agent but must be thoroughly rinsed to prevent its smell from lingering.
• Baking soda is another good cleaning agent that can be used to get tanks sparkling again.
• Ethanol, aka grain alcohol is yet another highly effective substance for cleaning. Don’t get this confused with Isopropyl alcohol. You can find a huge bottle of this stuff at your local liquor store.

Some vapers prefer using a little bit of dish soap or lemon juice with water instead. As long as you rinse all of these substances well, they are highly effective agents for cleaning your vape.

4. The Ultrasonic cleaner… meet your new friend

If you want to get the most thorough clean possible for your vape tanks, you’ll need an ultrasonic cleaner. Typically used for cleaning jewelry and precious metals, now used by vapers worldwide to clean their atomizers. Now you have companies like Coil Master making them too!

You don’t need an ultrasonic cleaner made for vape gear, they are all the same. But if you are serious about cleaning your gear, especially if you own a lot of it, then this is the move for you.

We recommend using an ultrasonic cleaner with a timer that that goes longer than five minutes.

5. Chuckin' coils… into the trash

If you have tried all of the above and your flavor is just not popping anymore, it’s time to change that nasty coil head. If you are tired of buying them, you should probably look into rebuildables. Simply follow #1, pop in a fresh atomizer and you’re all set to go.

If you’re already using a rebuildable atomizer, don’t chuck those coils just yet. Try removing the cotton, burning the rest of the juice off and giving them a good rinse. That vape accessory (or toothbrush) will come in handy for brushing your coils. Ok now wick ’em up, it’s time to vape!

Conclusion

There are lots of great ways to clean your vape tank, depending on how clean you want it, and how much time you have. Ultrasonic cleaners work wonders, but are also time consuming. Vinegar, baking soda and dish soap work great too, but sometimes a good rinse is all you need.

Experiment with these different methods, and see which one suits you best. Let us know how they’ve worked for you, and which one you prefer.

If you have any additional tips about cleaning your vape tank, drop us a line because we enjoy reading all of your comments!