Keep it clean!
We’ve covered some of the basics on how to dab, how to select the proper equipment, and how to clean your rig, but what about how to clean your quartz banger (or nail)? Or how to clean dabs from your skin? As you may know dabbing can be messy! Not only that, but it can be difficult to clean up that mess without the right tools. In this article, we will cover the important supplies to make sure your dabs don’t ruin your décor.
After Every Dab.
First, and most important is isopropyl alcohol (Iso). Aside from cleaning glass paraphernalia, iso is a tried and true solvent for most any dab cleaning debacle. Personally, I prefer 91% iso because it quickly cuts through even the most difficult dab mess. I keep a stock of 91% iso and alcohol swabs close by my dab rigs. You can typically find alcohol swabs or alcohol wipes in the medical section of drug stores. They usually come in 70% iso and do a great job of cleaning dab tools, gunky rigs, carb caps, or for that final wipe down of a banger before a dab.
In addition to the iso and wipes, keeping a hearty supply of cotton swabs is a must when it comes to how to clean your quartz banger. Nothing ruins quartz quicker than not taking the time to clean it and instead just burning off the oil left behind from your last dab. Bangers aren’t always cheap, especially if you go for a higher quality quartz from a heady source. The goal is to get the longest life out of your para possible which is why it’s important to clean your quartz banger. It takes very little time to wipe down after each use and will drastically increase the life of your quartz. I like to keep a small dish of Iso and a jar of q-tips on deck next to my rig for convenience.
Dab Hands.
Furthermore, when it comes to getting dabs on your skin it’s not often easy to get them to go away. This is perhaps the single most frustrating part of dabbing. (Particularly if you tend to run warm like I do.) I’ll get some nice stable shatter and think “If I just do it quick, I should be able to grab my dab with my fingers and drop it right into my banger.” I’d say 7 out of 10 times I end up with some (if not all) of my dab stuck to my hands. I then end up scraping off what I can before entering into the infuriating battle to wash the rest of it off my hands.
Then, I learned the butter trick; yeah, I said butter. Dabs are concentrated cannabinoids which bind to fats. Butter is a fat. (It can’t be margarine for this, it has to be real butter.) Get a little butter and rub it right on the skin with the dab mess on it. After about 30 seconds of working the butter onto your affected skin, wash with soap and warm water to remove the butter. The oil will have bound to the butter and will rinse right off. I do not recommend using butter to remove oil off any household items. (Use the Iso and wipes for that!)
How to Shock Clean your Quartz Banger.
Now maybe you have a quartz banger sitting around that has seen better days. Possibly it’s caked with build-up from the past several months of dabs consumed off of it. If it is in fact quartz, there is a way to give it back some of its luster. Now it won’t look brand new, but that excess buildup on the surface of the quartz can be removed with a simple method. Unlike glass, quartz doesn’t expand and contract with extreme temperature changes, even sudden ones. However, the carbon build-up on those filthy bangers does change with drastic temperature fluctuation. What you can do is what’s called “shocking” your quartz. To do this, you’ll need a few tools.
- A torch
- Some pliers or long tweezers
- An oven mitt
- A bowl of ice water (deep enough to submerge the entire quartz banger)
Don’t Hurt Yourself!
Remember, safety first! You’ll be dealing with hot quartz that is upwards of 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit making contact with cold water. The possibility of getting burned from the quartz or the steam emitted from the reaction is a high if you’re not using the proper precautions.
To begin, you’re going to put on your oven mitt. With the hand wearing the oven mitt, take your pliers or long tweezers and get a gentle grip on the base of the banger (the part that goes into the dab rig). Next, use your torch to get the bucket portion of the banger red hot (don’t light the oven mitt on fire). Once it is red hot (STILL using the hand with the oven mitt to avoid steam burn) dunk the entire banger right into the bowl of ice water. Be warned, this will cause a loud hiss and popping noise as the hot quartz reacts to the ice cold water. After this, you should be able to scrape away all that pesky build-up. For the truly weathered quartz, you may need to repeat this process.
If there are any questions or issues you have with cannabis or its consumption, please reach out to educators@theevergreenmarket.com and we’d be happy to tackle them!
Written by: James Phillips, Educator/ASM at our Auburn location
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