Most of the time, keeping your vape in good condition only requires changing your coil or replacing your pod. But if you're picking up a mod you haven't used in a while, rediscovering an old favourite tank that's full of ancient mystery e-liquid or you've simply put your favourite kit through the wars, it might require a little bit of extra attention to get it looking and feeling like new again. You might be surprised at how much difference to flavour, cloud production and overall performance deep cleaning makes!
How to clean and maintain your vape mod
We recommend the following steps to keep your mod working well. Remember that the mod is an electrical item, so don't wash it with water.
- Remove any removeable parts, such as batteries, battery doors, the tank and any covers or cases.
- If your mod uses replaceable batteries - inspect the batteries to make sure they are free from scratches or tears in the wrap. Replace damaged batteries immediately.
- Remove any visible debris like lint.
- Give the entire mod a wipe with a dry paper towel. Use a cotton bud to wipe harder to reach areas like inside the connection pin (where the tank screws in) and around the charging port.
While cleaning a mod isn't too difficult, the best way to keep it clean in the first place is to keep an eye on your tank when you're refilling to catch any leaks before they reach the mod - especially if you've just installed a new coil. It is unfortunately possible for an e-liquid leak to damage the circuitry of a mod, so you're better safe than sorry.
How to clean and maintain your vape tank
Outside of changing your coil when the flavour weakens or when the coil changes colour, it can be useful to give your tank a good deep clean every couple of weeks. We also recommend washing your vape tank if you are switching between two dramatically different vape flavours - there's nothing quite like filling up with a lovely sweet dessert flavour, only to find that mixed in with that flavour is the the ghost of the menthol flavour you were previously enjoying! Some particularly strongly flavoured e-liquids do have a tendency to "stick" to the tank, so if you just can't shake that weird undertone we do recommend a thorough clean.
- Detach your tank from the rest of the device, then disassemble your tank into as many small parts as you can. For most vape tanks, this will mean: the drip tip or mouthpiece, the top cap, glass tube, bottom cap, coil and any chimney or extension pieces. Dispose of your old coil: unfortunately, if a coil is burned out there's no way to wash it clean.
- Gently sit all of the components in a heatproof bowl or cup.
- Pour warm, not hot, water over the tank pieces. Water that is too hot can damage the tank, so either wait for boiled water to cool or fill the container half with cold water and then half with hot water.
- Let the pieces sit for five to ten minutes. This should dissolve away any e-liquid residue as well as dust or dirt.
- If there are any stubborn bits of residue on the tank, dab a little bit of standard washing up liquid on the offending mark and lather, then rinse under running water for at least two minutes to make sure all soap is completely gone.
- Drain the pieces, and then dry them thoroughly with a clean paper towel. Make sure to double check that the airflow holes are free of debris.
- Give the pin (the part that screws into the mod) a wipe to ensure there is nothing to interrupt the connection.
- Make sure everything is completely dry before reassembling the parts.
Note: if this is the first time you are disassembling a particular tank, we recommend having the manual to hand so you can easily put all the pieces back together. There's nothing worse than spending ages trying to figure out where that last tricky piece should go!
How to clean and maintain your vape pod mod
While the line between pod kits and tank kits is blurring more and more due to the boom in pods with replaceable coils, one thing pod mods still have in common is that generally the chamber that holds the e-liquid sits inside the body of the device.
- Remove the pod from the device. On most pod devices like the Juul or Caliburn you simply need to pull the pod up, but on some others like the Podin there may be a release button.
- Use a paper towel to soak up any drops of e-liquid that may have leaked onto the pod or the mod.
- Use a cotton bud to gently sweep round the connection pins to make sure they are not clogged with e-liquid or dust. Also clean the airflow points.
Other tips for cleaning your vape gear
At Vapourcore we've all had our fair share of e-liquid spills and mishaps... to save you from the same, we've compiled our top tips.
- E-liquid on your hands? While washing with warm soapy water is ideal, if you can't get to a sink we recommend using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. It cuts through the stickiness with ease.
- E-liquid spill? Surface cleaners containing vinegar will instantly remove any leftover film. In a pinch, a spoonful of white vinegar mixed with about 200ml of warm water also works well.
- Finding shortfills a pain? If you can never seem to pop those lids off without an e-liquid explosion (it's happened to us all), we recommend purchasing a bottle cap removal tool.
If you require any help or advice on vaping, vape products or e-liquids, please do not hesitate to get in contact with the Vapourcore team by emailing us at customercare@vapourcore.com