Pretty much all of us are fully aware of the importance of
keeping our pipe or dry herb vaporizer clean on a regular basis. After all, if we never cleaned it, we’d be
punished with poor-tasting flower and harshness due to inhaling all of that
burnt gunk. But, when was the last time
you cleaned your metal
grinder? As you’re about to find
out, it’s just as important of a task.
Is Cleaning a Metal Grinder Really That Important?
Short answer: YES, it really is that important. Think about it – each time you grind up your
dry herb, trace amounts of it get stuck to the inside of the grinder. This includes the sticky resin that coats the
buds, creating a layer of gunk. Now,
we’re assuming that you spend a good deal of money on premium flower, which is
fresh and full of tasty flavor. So, why
would you want to mix that beautiful, fresh flower with old, crusty flower
that’s been hanging out for months in the nooks and crannies of your metal
grinder?
Not only that, but old flower becomes harsher as it ages,
meaning that the residue of your old flower in your grinder can be a pain to
inhale – literally. You might end up
coughing more, or just feel generally irritated when you go in for a hit.
Plus, a metal grinder that’s really gunked up just isn’t
going to do its job. The metal “spikes”
of your grinder are designed to cut through that fibrous flower, and if each of
them is covered in a layer of residue, it’s not going to break apart the flower
as easily. This can mean it takes more
effort to grind it in the elbow grease department, or simply that you never get
as good of a grind as you were hoping to.
Finally, with a dirty grinder, there’s always more of a risk
of mold and bacteria developing. And,
naturally, none of us want to be inhaling any of that. So, if there is one reason to commit to a
frequent cleaning process, it’s to avoid actually getting sick.
Steps to Cleaning Your Grinder
Now, let’s discuss the process of cleaning your
grinder. But, before doing so, we gotta
quickly talk about how often you should follow these steps –that would be every
3-4 months. This is definitely less
frequent than cleaning your pipe or vaping device, and there is a reason for
that. Your pipe or vaping device is
heating the flower, and this produces more of an unwanted residue than grinding
flower raw.
Now, when we say to clean your grinder every 3-4 months, we
don’t mean a quick rinse. A deep
cleaning is necessary if you want to get your grinder back in good shape. So, what do you need?
For a metal grinder, the best cleaning material is isopropyl
alcohol – more specifically, isopropyl alcohol that’s above 91%. This will disinfect the grinder while lifting
away residue that’s stuck to the surface.
Note: NEVER use any commercial cleaning products or
bleach on your grinder. Not only will
this remove the anodized coating of the grinder that prevents it from getting
scratched up, but if some trace leftover bleach or window cleaner gets mixed in
with your flower, that’s bad news for your respiratory system.
Below are the following steps to properly cleaning your
grinder.
Step #1: First, take apart your grinder. This can look different for everyone since
there are 2-compartment grinders, 3-compartment grinders, 4-compartment
grinders and even 5-compartment grinders.
Of course, if there’s dry herb in the grinder at the time, remove it,
and if there’s kief in there, pour that out onto a small plate or into a small
bowl.
Step #2: Now, you’ll want to do the initial stage of
removing surface residue. Use a
toothpick to break up sticky gunk that’s easy to get at, and use a small brush
like a toothbrush to loosen up whatever residue you’re dealing with.
Step #3: Submerge all of the grinder components in
isopropyl alcohol for at least 30 minutes, but preferably at least 2
hours. The longer it’s submerged, the
more opportunity the alcohol has to break up any of that residue. After it’s done submerging, inspect it to see
if everything is gone. If not, you may
need to do another soak for the same length of time.
Step #4: If there’s still leftover residue after a
second soak, grab your brush and go to town as need be. Give the grinder a good rinse and let each
component air dry before reassembling it, to prevent mold growth. Keep in mind that in rare cases, some residue
may be permanently stuck to your grinder.
Keep Your Grinder Clean – It Really Does Make a Difference
A metal grinder is a critical piece of equipment whether
you’re vaping your flower, smoking it in a pipe or rolling it into papers. Because of that, you always want to make sure
it’s in good condition. Fortunately, as
you can see, cleaning your metal grinder isn’t that complicated. In fact, isopropyl alcohol easily does most of
the work. So, it’s worth it to invest a
couple of hours every few months or so to giving that grinder a deep clean.
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