Historians are discovering that Shakespeare may have enjoyed getting high. While exploring one of the poet’s old gardens, scientists found four pipes they think he used for smoking cannabis.
Unfortunately for Shakespeare, he never had access to some of the new and exciting methods for consuming cannabis. Methods like dabbing, that allow you to experience a high like never before.
Nevertheless, while dabs are powerful, if you want to catch the best buzz possible, you have to keep your rig squeaky clean. Read on to find out how to clean a dab rig, the right way.
Regular Rig Cleanings Are Best
Understanding how to clean a dab rig starts by understanding that long-term buildup is a bad thing. One of the biggest mistakes new dab heads make is waiting to clean their rig. No matter what type of dab rig you use to smoke concentrates, you need to clean your piece regularly.
The longer you wait to clean your dab rig, the harder it’ll be for you to get it looking like new again. Not only will your clean dab rig look nicer when you clean it, but it’ll also help each hit taste better. Finally, keeping your rig clean helps extend the life of your equipment.
Now that you know why it’s important to regularly clean your dab rig, let’s jump into the tools you’ll need.
Cleaning Supplies You’ll Need
Have you ever cleaned a glass bong before? If yes, you’ll notice that there are a few similarities between cleaning a bong and cleaning your dab rig.
If you’ve never cleaned any type of marijuana equipment before, no worries. The process is a lot easier than you might think.
Here are the essential tools you’ll need to clean your dab rig:
- Isopropyl alcohol
- Coarse salt
- Resealable plastic bag
- Pipe cleaner
- Cotton swab or Q-tip
- Paper clip
After finding a safe spot to clean, you’re ready to get to work.
How to Clean Dab Nails
The biggest difference in the cleaning approaches depends on the type of nail you use for your rig. Before we dive into the rig cleaning process, let’s review how to clean nails.
Here’s a shortlist of the different types of nails you might have:
- Titanium nail
- Quartz nail
- Ceramic nail
If you have a titanium nail, make sure you never use isopropyl alcohol on it. Titanium nails are porous, and the alcohol could seep in and cause damage. Instead, you’ll want to clean your titanium nail by heating it, and manually scraping off the buildup with a dab tool.
When cleaning quartz or ceramic nails, avoid scrapping them with dab tools, since this can cause damage. Instead, you’ll want to soak the nails in isopropyl alcohol and gently wipe the resin away with a q-tip or cotton swab.
Tips for New Dabbers
If you’re new to the world of dabbing, it’s possible you haven’t experimented with different types of nails. For instance, you might still be using the glass nail you’re rig originally came with. While glass nails can be effective, we find using a quartz banger provides the best flavors when using concentrates.
How to Clean a Dab Rig
Once your dab rig’s nail is clean, you’re ready to start cleaning the rig itself. The first step you’ll want to take to clean your dab rig is to safely scrape off as much resin as you can.
Using a paperclip, take your time as you begin removing the reclaim manually. The more build-up you can remove manually, the easier the rest of the cleaning process will be.
After scraping off as much of the reclaim as you can, you’re ready to soak your dab rig. Simply fill the rig up with hot water, and let it sit for a few minutes.
The hot water will help loosen up the remaining resin. After a few minutes dump the water out and see if you can remove any more resin with the paperclip now that it’s loosened up.
When you’re done removing the resin manually, you’re ready to put your resealable zipper bag to use. You’ll need to start by filling up the bag with isopropyl alcohol. Next, put the entire dab rig inside the bag so that it’s fully submerged in isopropyl alcohol.
Before sealing the bag, you’ll need to add your coarse salt to the mix. You only need about one to two tablespoons of salt to be effective.
Make sure that you place the salt throughout different parts of the dab rig. Spreading the salt out will help it reach as much of the buildup as possible.
Shake Things Up
After getting your salt in place, you can reseal the bag. Once your certain there aren’t any leaks, you’re ready to begin shaking your rig.
Being careful not to drop your rig, shake the bag as intensely you can. By shaking the bag vigorously, the salt and alcohol will work together to begin dislodging resin from those hard-to-reach places.
Tips for Extra Dirty Rigs
Has it been a long time since you cleaned your dab rig? For particularly dirty rigs, let them soak in the alcohol mix for one to two days. During the soaking period, frequently shake the rig inside the bag.
When it appears that all of the resin is loose, you’re ready to remove your rig from the bag. Carefully take your dab rig out of the zipper bag, and rinse it off with water. If there’s still any reclaim stuck inside the rig, you’ll need to repeat the cleaning process.
Taste the Flavor
Now you know how to clean a dab rig, so each dab will be full of delicious flavor! Were you surprised to learn how easy cleaning your rig can be? After smoking out of your freshly cleaned rig, you’ll never want to go back to letting resin build up in your piece.
For more ways to have the best experiences possible, we’ve got you covered. Go ahead and read another one of our articles.
