A dirty quartz dab nail produces insipid fumes, wastes your precious concentrate, and makes your tokes harder to pull. In fact, with no regular maintenance, the cannabis buildup carbonizes (blackened), and the bowl stops producing consistent vapors because it loses its ability to retain heat.

However, regular cleaning can add years of age to your dab rigs and bongs — which means you can spend more on concentrates! So we’ve put together this article that guides you through the entire cleaning process, step by step.

When’s The Time to Clean Your Dab Nail?

If you cannot see through your dab rig, it’s already past due its maintenance, and cleaning it would be difficult. We recommend cleaning your entire setup at least thrice a month. And if you’re an avid dabber, then do it once every week.

Quick Clean Up Guide

In contrast to the rig, dab nails are detachable and can be cleaned after every session. You only need a Q-Tip and a blowtorch from your dabber tools kit.

1. Use the Q-Tip to clean the insides of the bowl until it’s clear.

2. Heat it from outside to vaporize the remaining residue, and wipe again with a Q-Tip while it’s heated.

Ideally, you must clean the translucent brown deposits, but you don’t have to wait for them to appear. If your dab nail has carbonized (blackened) quartz or brown gunk, follow the thorough cleaning process, as mentioned below.

Deep Clean Guide

Dab Tools Needed

For extensive cleaning, you’ll need Q-Tips, cotton swabs, a dab torch (butane torch), rubbing alcohol (or any cleaning solution), hot water, coarse salt, and ideally, a container, zip-lock bag, or plastic bag with isopropyl alcohol.

Steps to Follow

The same steps can be followed for the dab rig cleaning process.

1. If you use quartz or titanium nail, heat it with the lighter for 15 to 30 seconds. A glass bowl can be heated with warm water.

2. Wipe your dab nail and carb cap with a cotton bud and use Q-Tip to wipe the water pipe, mouthpiece, and inner area of the bowl. After completing this step, you must have a clear quartz banger.

3. Now immerse the nail and carb cap into the ISO solution with coarse salt and let it sit for 30 minutes. If the residue is visible after 30 minutes, you can keep the nail immersed for a few hours.

4. Finally, take the nail out and wipe it with a dry cloth.

Don’t dab right away and let the ISO evaporate. After it’s completely dry (which would hardly take 3 minutes), your dab nail is ready for use!

Precautions

Some points to keep in mind when following the steps.

1. Isopropyl alcohol is extremely flammable. So, keep the alcohol solution away from fire, and make sure your hands aren’t covered in ISO.

2. Glass and pyrex dab nails can crack if exposed to sudden spikes in temperature. So, put the nail in a water-filled container, and then boil it on low heat.

You can also use e-nails for heating, as they are specifically designed to clean the entire dab rig. Find the best ones on grasscity: Freeze Pipe E-nail and checkout today!