3 Quick Ways to Clean Your Herb Grinder
If you like to smoke marijuana, you already know how crucial it is to keep your smoking equipment clean to ensure it functions properly. However, this rule isn't only for smoking equipment such as bongs and pipes. It's also essential to clean your accessories such as grinder regularly.
A grinder is a must-have tool for all marijuana enthusiasts. It ensures that the bud is broken down thoroughly, making it quick and easy to insert into a vape, bong, or joint. However, the grinder's cleanliness is something that many people overlook.
Why is cleaning your grinder or shredder crucial?
A dirty grinder is toxic to your health
Cannabis buds are organic materials. Just like food, organic materials get spoilt and decay over time. Eventually, bacteria and mold begin to develop on the residue that collects on your grinder. If you're smoking marijuana (or vaporizing it) grilled by such a grinder, it might result in a health hazard and cause undesired elements to get into your system.
A Clean Grinder Works Better
No matter how cautious you are, a bit of sticky resin will always get stuck on the teeth of your grinder after each use. The icky stuff that builds up with time can impact how well you can crush your herb.
Also, when the grinder's teeth are coated with resin and gunk, it can't transform your buds into tiny, uniform pieces efficiently. Another benefit is that a clean grinder will function better than an unclean, sticky one. When the grinder is clogged or jammed, it can be more challenging to operate it physically. A clean one will grind quickly and smoothly, saving precious time and effort.
Cleaning expands the life of your grinder
Even if you are using your grinder sparsely, there are chances of dust or small particles settling on. It might block up the grinding mechanism, make the teeth dull, and give your grinder a poor appearance overall. Between uses, keep your device clean to avoid it from wearing out prematurely. When you clean it regularly, your device is sure to last longer.
What You'll Need to Clean Your Grinder?
Your grinder can quickly become clogged with tiny plant pieces, powdery kief, and gloopy resin. After a certain point of time, the lid may get stuck and become difficult to turn, making it impossible to move the grinder's teeth or cutting blades back and forth. When this occurs, it's time to clean out your grinder. Here's everything you'll need to have your grinder looking brand new again:
- Isopropyl alcohol (To Clean metal grinders)
- Dish soap (To Clean acrylic and plastic grinders)
- Hot water
- Freezer
- Large plate
- A Jar or Tray to hold the kief
- A soft paintbrush
- Toothpick, or dab tool
- Cleaner for Purilizer grinders
- Salt
- A sealable plastic bag
3 Quick Ways to Clean Your Grinde
1. Cleaning the grinder with a cleaner specific to it
This procedure is effective for metal and plastic grinders, and the results are excellent.
- Place all the grinder components on a tray. The best option is to use a rolling tray, but any other flat surface will do too.
- Scrape out the larger pieces using a toothbrush and toothpick.
- Make sure you pick up all of the kief and don't throw anything away! Unless the material you scrape is exceptionally ancient, moldy, or stinky, you'll want to save all of it for smoking later! This is also why we're using the tray, to avoid losing any of whatever falls out.
- Brush and scrape out any remaining debris once you've removed all of the good stuff. Set the grinder components on a towel after that.
- Spray the Purilizer grinder cleaner on all components, including the lid, chambers, and screens.
- Allow it to settle for a minute. Brush off all the parts with the toothbrush, making sure to clean the mesh screens in particular. All of the components should appear brand new after this process.
- Use warm water to wash everything. After drying, arrange the components in a single layer so they may dry thoroughly.
- Reassemble the grinder, and you're done!
2. The Alcohol Method
The "alcohol" approach is another good cleaning technique, especially for metal grinders. Here's how to accomplish it:
- Get a good-sized sealable baggie that can fit all your grinder parts.
- Place all of the components, except for your screen(s), in the container. Sprinkle 1–2 teaspoons of salt into the bag.
- Fill the bag with isopropyl alcohol or 70% rubbing alcohol to cover all sections of the grinder. Seal the bag. Make sure it's securely closed, and no liquid can escape.
- Take the bag and swish it around for 30 seconds to a minute, or longer if necessary. Don't be forceful when swirling the material; you don't want any grinder components to shatter or your bag to rip.
- Slowly take out your sparkling-clean grinder components after some good shaking.
- Rinse the pieces in warm water. Now, clean your screens with a toothbrush and some alcohol, scrub them thoroughly, then rinse under warm water and let dry.
- You're finished when you put your grinder back together.
3. Deep cleaning your grinder with water and soap
Warm, soapy water is the most excellent method to clean a grinder. This will eliminate all resin built up over time while also removing any kief stuck between its teeth.
Here's how to accomplish it:
- Add a small amount of dish soap into the grinder, enough to give your device a thin film. Ensure all pieces are wet before continuing this step.
- Fill up your kitchen sink halfway full with hot water. The more water you have in there, the better.
- Place your grinder components in water so they sink to the bottom of the tub or sink. Allow them to sit for about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through this time frame with a toothpick if you have one available!
- After that amount of time has elapsed, take out all pieces and set them on a towel. You'll want to air dry them thoroughly before setting up the grinder again.
Extra Tip: To Make Cleaning Easier, Freeze Your Grinder
This isn't required, but it makes cleaning your grinder with a brush and toothpick much easier! Put all of your grinder's components in the freezer for 30 minutes. The sticky stuff on your grinder will solidify during this time, making its removal much more manageable. Use this technique because this extra measure might make a significant impact! It also makes collecting the residual kief much easier.
Lastly, cleaning your grinder isn't complicated or time-consuming. If done right, it can increase functional effectiveness, prevent obnoxious noises, and ease of usage for its users. Your herb grinder will provide the best ground marijuana and stand the test of time if you clean and maintain it well!