We talk a lot about how to make the best DIY vape juice in terms of flavor, balance of VG/PG and nicotine strength, while making sure that each ingredient is as high in quality as possible. But, rarely do we talk about the bottles that are involved in the DIY vaping process – especially the importance of cleaning them. Cleaning your DIY bottles is absolutely essential, and fortunately for DIY vapers, pretty easy as well.
Why is Cleaning Your DIY Bottles So Important Anyway?
DIY vape juice bottles are understandably an essential part of a vaper’s DIY vaping setup, as without them, you’d have nothing to put your e-liquids into. Bottles large and small must be cleaned regularly to keep them both safe to use and looking their best. Bottles do get dirty due to exposure to flavoring ingredients that affect the color and clarity of the bottles, with more sugary e-juices causing a layer of gunk to build up on the inside surface. Meanwhile, any bottle that is handled regularly can develop germs that can be harmful to us.
Another important reason to clean your bottles is that if you fail to do so, they can carry traces of the previous ejuice’s flavor profile that interferes with the new flavor that you are trying to develop.
How Often Should You Clean Those Bottles?
You should clean your DIY bottles as soon as you receive them, as they can accumulate various particles while sitting on the manufacturer’s shelf. After that, you should clean them thoroughly between each use so that they are always completely fresh.
What Not to Do When Cleaning Vape Bottles
Before we talk about how to clean your bottles properly, let’s talk about what you shouldn’t do.
#1: DO NOT Use Abrasive Materials
First, whether you have glass or plastic bottles, you should avoid very abrasive materials. These scratch the material which can allow gunk to seep into the cracks, thus being harder to clean later on. Further, too much scrubbing of plastic can eventually cause tears in the material.
#2: DO NOT Use Strong/Dangerous Chemicals
Never use harsh cleaners when cleaning your bottles. Avoid bleach and other commonly used household cleaners, as these contain caustic and sometimes extremely dangerous compounds that can get into your vape juice formula and wreak havoc on the body when inhaled.
#3: DO NOT Put Them in the Dishwasher
Both the plastic and glass materials used for DIY bottles may not be dishwasher-friendly due to their temperature resistance and/or thickness level of material.
How to Properly Clean Your DIY Bottles
Our favorite cleaning method for DIY bottles can be used for both glass and plastic bottles and uses only safe cleaning materials while cleaning the bottles effectively.
Step #1: Fill your DIY bottles with warm water.
Step #2: Place a pinch of salt into each bottle, along with a few drops of isopropyl alcohol.
Step #3: Place the lid onto each bottle and shake each one for about 30 seconds. This will help break up any debris or gunk.
Step #4: Remove each cap and empty.
Step #5: Fill with hot water and pour out. Do this as many times as necessary until each bottle looks completely clean.
Overall, those DIY vape bottles can last for a long time, but if they’re not cleaned after each use, they may become dirty, grimy and even unhygienic. Luckily, it’s easy to clean those vape bottles using the method above, which takes only minutes to pull off so that you can use your bottles once again.