How to Clean Your Dab Rig

As the legal cannabis industry has grown from a black market illegal drug trade to a legal industry worth billions of dollars, cannabis consumers have seen a rapid evolution in the ways that people enjoy their cannabis.

Due to the massively high THC content and need for only small doses at a time, many consumers swear that cannabis concentrates are the best way to get the most bang for your buck. After all, there's a reason why sales of cannabis concentrates shot up more than 40 percent last year and accounted for a larger share of the overall cannabis market than ever before!

To get the most out of the concentrates you're buying, however, you'll need to make sure you not only have the right equipment to get the job done but that you keep the equipment in tip-top shape. That's why this article is going to break down exactly how to clean a dab rig, how to clean a dab nail, and how to collect reclaim to make sure that you're always getting your money's worth out of your cannabis concentrates!

Intro to Concentrates

For those out there who might not be cannabis aficionados when it comes to concentrates, here's a quick overview of all of the most important information you'll need to know about concentrates, your dab rig, and how to use it. 

Basically, a dab rig is a bong made specifically for smoking concentrates. Using a dabber tool, you'll apply a portion of your cannabis concentrate of choice to a heating element, often called a banger or nail, which quickly changes that concentrate into vapor for you to inhale. That vapor then flows through the dab rig, is filtered by some water held inside the rig itself, and from there goes straight to your head. 

Think of your dab rig like you'd think of your bong for smoking regular old cannabis flower. Just like that bong or your favorite bowl, however, they'll get dirty over time. That's why it's so important to know how to clean your dab rig.

Why Cleaning Your Dab Rig is Important

Over time, taking hits from your dab rig will build up a substance called reclaim on the inside of the rig. So what is reclaim wax? To put it simply, reclaim is a dark, charred resin that will build up over time and if you don't take the time to properly clean your rig that will ruin the quality of your dab hits, making them harsh and ruining the flavor.

While smoking reclaim is possible if you want to, your main goal when caring for and cleaning your dab rig will be removing any excess dab rig reclaim to make sure you're getting the most from your concentrates. If you want to, however, you can take the time to collect that reclaim by heating it up with your torch and laying it out on some wax paper for later dab hits or even for making some edibles. If you're in the habit of collecting and smoking reclaim, however, it's super important that you know how to get water out of reclaim.  

How to Clean Dab Rig

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While the process of getting your dab rig squeaky clean and good as new might seem daunting, it's actually not that hard to clean your rig yourself with just a few household items. Here's a quick guide for the things you might need:

• Cotton swabs
• Rubbing alcohol
• Salt
• A resealable plastic bag

Once you have all of those items, you'll be able to start the cleaning process! Here are the steps you will need to follow clean your rig and be ready to take fresh dabs once again. 

Step 1: Heat Your Nail

The first thing you'll need to do is heat up your nail or banger, which is likely to be one of the filthiest parts of your entire rig. To get that clean, you'll need to heat it up with your torch. From there, it will depend on how dirty your rig is overall. If it's only a little bit messy, you should be able to just torch off the residue and wipe it down with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball. If it's been a while since your rig has been cleaned, you'll need to take extra steps. 

Step 2: Deep Clean Your Nail, Banger or Cup

If your nail or banger hasn't been cleaned in a while and has built up a lot of that charred resin, then you'll need to bring out the big guns. Remove your rig, banger, or cup from the rig and put it into your resealable plastic bag. Fill that bag with some of your rubbing alcohol and let it soak for a bit. If things are really built-up and gross, add some salt into the bag and shake it every once in a while for a deeper clean. 

Step 3: Clean Your Rig

Just like with your nail, banger, or cup, the next part depends on the last time your rig has been cleaned and cared for. If your rig is often cleaned out and well cared for, you'll just need to pour out the water, pour in some alcohol, and give the interior a quick spot cleaning by shaking it up. If anything is left over after shanking it up, you can clean up any left-over build-up with a cotton swab. 

If it's been a while since the inside of your rig was cleaned, then you'll want to repeat the same process as listed above but with some salt added into your alcohol mixture for an added layer of clean. 

Step 4: Rinse Everything Off, Reassemble Your Rig 

Rinse off all the pieces of your rig with warm water for a few minutes to make sure all the alcohol is gone, add some new, clean water into the base of your rig, and put the nail back in. Once your rig is back together and clean, you'll be good to go!    

When was the last time you cleaned your rig? Share with us any tips & tricks you may have in the comments section!