How to Clean Your Vape?

By Eina Panayotova

Some of the information in the following blog is based on external, third party sources and is for educational/informational purposes only. Such content is not intended to be representative of the products sold on this website.

When vaping, it’s important to keep your device clean for the best results. Residue can build up over time, affecting not only the taste but the performance of your vape. Vegetable glycerine – one of the primary ingredients in e-liquids – can make the coil a little dirty and sticky, meaning that less vapour is produced, and making the vapour taste slightly burnt as well.
 

Think about the different e-liquids you enjoy. If you’re going from one strong juice to another – from mint to coffee, for example – you won’t want the taste from the first e-liquid to remain in your vape.
 

Cleaning your vape might feel daunting at first, with so many different devices out there and so many different components, but it doesn’t need to be so complicated. Once you’ve read our simple guide, you should be good to go.
 

How to Clean Your Vape Pen

The process for cleaning a vape pen will vary depending on whether your pen has a detachable tank or comes as a one-piece – these types of vape pens are usually found in vape starter kits.

1. Before you begin cleaning a vape pen, it’s best to remove the battery – if you can do so – as a water-damaged battery is far from ideal. Then, you should take apart your pen (as long as it’s not an all-in-one model). We’ll tell you all about those at the end of this section.
   
   
2. First, deal with the mouthpiece. Use a cotton bud that’s been dabbed in rubbing alcohol or a similar product, and scrub both the inside and outside of the mouthpiece, before placing it on a cloth to dry.
   
   
3. Then, you need to clean the cartridge. Again, cotton buds or swabs are best, so just dab them in rubbing alcohol and scrub the outside, making sure that no residue is left. At this point, you can use a paper towel or a dry cotton bud to dry the vape pen. However, if your cartridge is clogged, you’ll have an extra step to deal with first.
   
   
4. When cleaning the battery, you need to handle it with the utmost care. Fortunately, it won’t need a lot of cleaning. In fact, you can generally get away with cleaning the battery gently with a cotton bud, making sure that there’s no residue around the connector. Whatever you do, don’t rinse or soak the battery.

If you have an all-in-one vape pen, it’s best to avoid running the device under a tap, or even rinsing it at all. Instead, your best bet is to use a cotton bud. Simply soak the bud in distilled water or propylene glycol and wipe the inside of your vape pen carefully. Then, you can do the same with another cotton bud – a dry one, this time. Alternatively, there are a number of vape cleaning kits on the market. You may want to invest in a vape cleaning kit to keep your device looking great and in good condition.
 

How to Clean Your Vape Tank

What about cleaning a vape tank? Helping to keep your device performing well and potentially improving the taste as well, cleaning a vape tank isn’t all that different to cleaning a pen. Residue from your e-liquids can build up over time, clogging up your device and wreaking havoc with the airflow, giving you an altogether less pleasant experience. Evidently, cleaning the tank is a must.

1. Before you begin, it’s important to make sure there’s no e-liquid left in the tank – it’s worth holding the tank under warm running water for a minute or so.
   
   
2. Once it’s rinsed, you can dry the tank before leaving it out for 10 minutes to get rid of any remaining moisture. Plus, you may want to take a cotton bud and use it to get rid of any water that’s left in the tank.
   
   
3. If you’d rather go for a real deep clean, simply get a bowl of warm water and leave the tank in there to soak, rather than just holding the device under running water. You might decide to add a couple of drops of washing up liquid too.
   
   
4. Afterwards, hold the tank under running water to get any suds off before drying thoroughly – you can follow the steps we’ve outlined for drying above.

How to Clean Your Vape Coil

Cleaning vape coils isn’t quite as simple as cleaning the pen and tank, but it’s still worth doing. When it comes to replaceable coils, it’s generally better to replace them than clean them, as you won’t get too much more life out of them anyway. If you still want to, however, here’s the process:

1. Soak the coil in ethanol or vinegar for a couple of hours at minimum, before rinsing it under the tap.
   
   
2. Then, rinse the coils with distilled water.
   
   
3. Next, blow air onto the open side of the coil, getting water to the wicking holes, before leaving the device to dry until the water evaporates.

With rebuildable coils the process is slightly different and it’s important to clean them! First, remove the wicks from the coils, as you don’t want to burn them. It might be sufficient to lightly dry burn your coils a few times, before letting them cool down and adding the wick again.

However, for a deeper clean, there are a few extra steps to follow. After removing the wicks and dry burning the coils, just remove the atomiser from the mod and place it under running water. Gently brush the coils with either a specialised tool or a toothbrush, before rinsing again and giving the coils one last dry burn.
 

How Often Should You Clean Your Vape?

It’s best to clean your vape on a regular basis, even if you’re not a particularly frequent vaper. Once a week is probably a good place to start, but you might need to clean your vape more often depending on usage.

If you’re vaping and notice residue on your device, or you feel like the taste is a little different to what you’re used to, it’s probably worth giving your vape a clean to keep it in great condition. Remember – you can always buy a vape cleaning kit to really ensure you’re giving your device the care and attention it needs!

Hopefully, you should now have a better idea of what cleaning your vape entails. If you have switched from cigarettes to a heated tobacco system, instead of vaping, you can find more information on how to clean your IQOS device at our FAQ right here.

We advise that you always check with the manufacturer for your vaping product on the correct cleaning steps.