Clean your E-Cigarette

E-cigarettes are like any other item you might use in your daily life: as you use them, they inevitably become cluttered with dirt, grime and any other manner of things that you can imagine.

It doesn’t matter how careful you are. We’ve got some of the wisest people — at least, they think so — meticulously training themselves in the best ways to prevent their e-cigarettes from becoming dirty, yet they still end up with just as much e-liquid seeping through the battery terminal holes of their atomizers and cartomizers.

The only way to protect your e-cigarette is to know how to clean it. Let’s go over why you should regularly clean an e-cigarette and how we recommend you go about it.

Why Should You Clean Your E-Cigarette?

A clean e-cigarette is an e-cigarette with a long life. Keeping your e-cigarette clean will ensure that your vapor production stays efficient, prevent your battery from dying and prevent your e-liquids from tasting stale.

We talked about how e-liquid likes to seep through your battery’s holes, but we didn’t outline why this is bad. It can cause your battery to get wet, which in turn damages your charger and can cause it to flip from red to green for extended periods of time. This is one good way to kill your battery.

If you have an automatic battery, wet terminal connections can cause your battery to die in no time flat.

You’ll also run into problems with your atomizers and cartomizers if you don’t keep your e-cigarette clean. Excess e-liquid in your atomizer can make flavors muted and taste less vibrant than before, not to mention that it can reduce vapor production as your atomizer fails to wick the e-liquid properly before vaporizing it.

What You Need to Clean Your E-Cigarette

There’s a few ways that you can clean your e-cigarette, but what we’re about to recommend is likely the cleanest and easiest way to do so. There’s a few steps that are specific to people who like to drip with their e-cigarettes. If you’re not one of those people, just feel free to skip them.

At the bare minimum, you’ll need just one absorbent paper towel to get this done. We’ve found that having 2-3 towels handy tends to make cleaning a lot easier.

Our Method for a Clean E-Cigarette

Here’s the easiest and most efficient method for e-cigarette cleaning we’ve come across. We’ve broken ti down into easy-to-follow steps.

1. Disassemble Your E-Cigarette

Unscrew the atomizer from your e-cigarette. If you have a drip tip assembly, remove it from the battery. Remove the atomizer cone or drip protector as well, if applicable.

2. Wipe Down the Atomizer, Drip Tip and Atomizer Cone

Fold your paper towel into a square so that it absorbs more. Press it against the battery terminal end of your atomizer and your drip tip, then blow very gently through the drip tip to force any old e-liquid into the paper towel. If your e-cigarette has an atomizer cone or drip protector, fold the paper towel into a tight triangle and force it through to soak up any stray e-liquid.

3. Clean the Battery Terminal

Re-fold the paper towel to expose a dry section. You need to push it inside of your e-cigarette to clean the inside of the battery terminal. If you find that it’s too hard to clean the terminal contacts like this, you can use a cotton swab.

4. Charge Your Battery and Reassemble the E-Cigarette

Take your dead battery and set it on the charger. When it’s fully charged, reassemble your e-cigarette.

If you have a drip tip, put about five drop of e-liquid into it. Be sure to allow several seconds for the e-liquid to soak into the wick before you use your e-cigarette to ensure that you don’t end up with the need to clean your e-cigarette all over again.

If you hear the slightest gurgling when you draw from the drip tip, then you have wet the heating coil sufficiently. Be careful not to add too much or you’ll end up with a flooded atomizer.

Additional Notes for Tank-Based E-Cigarettes

If you use an e-cigarette such as an eGo-Tank, you’re going to want to refrain from blowing through the mouthpiece.

Instead, remove both the mouthpiece and tank before blowing on the tank atomizer. You can then safely draw on it a few times without engaging the battery to ensure that the tank has sent enough liquid to the heating coil to prevent dry operating conditions.

What About Deep Cleaning?

Some people will argue that swishing your e-cigarette atomizer in a glass of hot water or grain alcohol followed by water will clean more thoroughly, but it’s our professional opinion that deep cleaning doesn’t produce results that are any better than the method we just outlined.

A Handy Tip for eGo-Tank Users

It’s our experience that the eGo-Tank is an excellent e-cigarette for people who like to change e-liquid flavors frequently. We’ve found, though, that if you store your extra tanks in an upright position while they still contain e-liquid, they’re likely to leak. We suggest storing filled eGo-T tanks at a slight angle to prevent this from happening. Likewise, don’t stand your eGo-T e-cigarette upright when you aren’t using it — you might find yourself with a serious mess to clean up later.