how to clean quartz banger

Every once in a while, you know it's time to clean your quartz banger. Usually, this happens right around the time it starts to turn brown.

But exactly how do you take that disgusting black quartz banger and turn it into one as clear as it was when you first got?

In this article, we will teach you everything you need to know about how to clean a quartz banger, so you can get the most out of yours!

Why Should You Clean Your Quartz Banger?
Best Supplies to Clean Your Quartz Banger
Cleaning Your Quartz Banger – 7 Steps
From Black Quartz Banger to Brand New
3 Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Clean Dab Rig
Answering Some FAQ About Cleaning Quartz Bangers
- How Long Does a Quartz Banger Last?
- What is the Best Way to Clean a Quartz Banger?
- How Often Should I Clean My Quartz Banger?
Learn More About Dabbing
Wrapping it Up – Best Way to Clean Your Quartz Banger

Why Should You Clean Your Quartz Banger?

There are a few main reasons why you should consider keeping your quartz banger clean:

Improving taste – As resin builds up, it begins to have a bad effect on the taste of your dabs. They will taste smokey, and charred, much like resin hits from a hand pipe. Cleaning your quartz banger will allow you to remove that resin taste, and take better tasting dabs.
Reducing exposure to chemicals – Resin build-up is filled with chemicals that are dangerous to humans. While you can never remove the danger from smoking dabs, there are ways that you can make it safer.
Keep your quartz banger nice for a long time – By cleaning your quartz nail, you will be able to keep it in very good condition. Over time, resin buildup can become unmanageable. It can also ruin the way a banger heats up, holds heat, and cools down. By keeping it clean, you can keep it working longer.

how to clean a quartz banger what supplies do i need

Best Supplies to Clean Your Quartz Banger

When cleaning your quartz banger, you will want to have the following supplies handy:

Q-tips
Towel
Ziplock bag
Hair dryer
Rubbing alcohol
Salt
Gloves
A toothbrush
A dab torch

Now it's time to show you how to put these all to work!

7 steps to cleaning a quartz banger

7 Steps to Cleaning Your Quartz Banger

Here is the best way to clean a quartz banger in just 7 simple steps:

Soak your quartz banger in an Isopropyl alcohol and salt solution
Rinse it off in warm water
Remove all residue and dry
Heat your quartz banger up
Carefully use a q-tip to clean up the hot resin
Repeat steps as needed
Get your quartz banger dirty again

Let's take a deeper dive into the whole quartz banger cleaning process:

Step 1: Soak Your Quartz Banger in Alcohol & Salt Solution

Make sure the banger is room temperature when soaking and not put in the alcohol while hot – this can cause damage. Mix a handful of salt with Isopropyl alcohol (92% or higher for best results), and stir the solution a bit. You can leave it to soak in a container or in a plastic bag overnight. You should let it soak for about 30 minutes to 1 hour before taking it out. You can also soak it overnight for really good results.

Step 2: Rinse Your Quartz Banger with Warm Water

Use warm water to rinse off any resin from your quartz banger. While running it under the water, use a toothbrush to remove the remaining residue. Repeat the first 2 steps again if necessary to remove more resin. If you have never cleaned your quartz banger, it may take a few rounds of this treatment.

best way to clean water pipe

Step 3: Remove Remaining Resin & Dry

Make sure that you have removed as much resin as you can and dry your dab rig with a hair dryer on low settings or a towel. It is important you make sure all of the alcohol is thoroughly washed off with water, and that your quartz banger is dried before the next step.

Step 4: Heat Up Your Quartz Banger

Use your torch to heat your banger up to around 600-800F in order to get the rest of the resin hot enough to remove. Be sure not to go much hotter than this in order to avoid long term damage to your banger. Heat it up for about 30-45 seconds at this temperature.

Step 5: Use a Q-Tip to Soak Up the Hot Resin

Give the rig a little time to cool after heating it. Usually, 10-20 seconds is recommended. You want to get the resin while it is still liquid, but do not need to burn yourself, and q-tips are only so long. To test if it is cool enough, wave your hand quickly over it about 5" above. If it does not feel hot, move your hand closer to gauge if you can bear the heat of dipping the q-tip in. Use as many q-tips as you need.

Step 6: Repeat Steps as Needed

This may take a few tries. Some bangers have a ton of resin built into them. The key is to be patient when heating them, making sure to not cause too rapid of a temperature change, and also to not heat them too long. After a few rounds of this treatment, let your rig cool and go back to alcohol rinse, and repeat this whole process if needed.

Step 7: Get Your Quartz Banger Dirty to Clean it Again 😛

Get your quartz banger dirty again – Now it's time to get this thing dirty again! It's always a strange, yet enjoyable feeling to smoke a clean quartz banger again. One pro tip to keep your quartz banger clean is to use this q-tip trick every time you smoke while the resin is still hot and in liquid form. It doesn't prevent the need for total cleaning sessions once in a while, but it definitely delays it a lot.

From Black Quartz Banger to Brand New

If you have a quartz banger that is completely blackened by resin build up – a banger that has seen some shit – you can get it back to nearly brand new, however, it will take a lot of dedication, and you may have to repeat this process 2-3 times.

For some ancient quartz bangers that have been through it all, you may never be able to get some resin scars out, though this treatment does the trick in almost all cases.

how to keep a quartz banger clean

3 Tips to Keep Your Quartz Banger Clean

Want to save yourself a ton of time and frustration? These simple tips for cleaning your quartz banger are super handy:

Clean as you go
Don't overheat your nail
Invest in a carb cap or reclaim

Let's take a second to review why these tips are important and why they work so well.

Tip 1: Clean As You Go

While your dab rig is hot, and so is the resin, why not just keep a few handy q-tips in your dabbing kit to clean your quartz banger every time you smoke it. This is a quick way to take 10 seconds cleaning it each time, instead of a few hours every couple of months.

Tip 2: Heat Your Quartz Nail Properly

Look, one of the main reasons quartz bangers get so dirty is because a lot of Stoners don't know how long to heat a dab nail or what the right temperature for dabbing is. A lot of new dabbers have this idea that a rig has to be 800F to take a dab, when realistically you should not heat your quartz banger beyond 650F in most cases.

Hotter temperatures than this will cause your resin to burn, turning it black – the reason you probably had to clean it in the first place. They can also damage your banger in the long term, make more of a mess, have poor flavor, and if hot enough, can damage your mouth, throat, and lungs.

If you do go higher than this, make sure to give your rig time to cool before taking a dab. Also, be sure to be ready to purchase more quartz bangers or nails in the near future, as you burn them out at a faster rate.

Tip 3: Invest in a Carb Cap or Reclaim

Carb caps allow you to easily soak up all of that extra resin that accumulates and causes buildup, by adding a cap to the top of your quartz banger that keeps vapors in and creates a vacuum, making perfect airflow and keeping the heat in. This allows you to soak up almost all of the remaining extract in your rig, instead of it being left there to accumulate at the end of the smoke sesh.

Reclaims are small pieces that collect excess dabbing extracts in a separate chamber to be drained and re-used. These can be purchased as dab rig accessories, or are also built into other dab rig designs.

quartz banger cleaning faq

Answering Some FAQ About Cleaning Quartz Bangers

At Best Gifts For Stoners, we were beginners in the dab scene once too, and had to figure out all of this stuff on our own. In this section, we answer some FAQ about cleaning quartz bangers, including some we wish that we had answers to years ago.

How long does a quartz banger last?

This really depends on a few factors:

The brand
The quality of the banger
How hot you heat it
How long you heat it for
How often you clean it
How frequently you use it

For someone who gets a top of the line quartz banger, and smokes it once daily, at a temperature of about 600-800F, and who heats it properly, a clean quartz banger can last years.

Some less reputable brands burn out faster. Other times, people ruin solid bangers because they refuse to clean them until the damage is done, or they smoke them at too high of temperatures. Just like anything, as long as you treat it right, it will last a long time.

What is the best way to clean a quartz banger?

The best way to clean your quartz banger is with Isopropyl alcohol and salt. Let is soak in the solution for at least 30 minutes to an hour or overnight. Then, rinse it off with water while scrubbing it with a toothbrush. Dry it off, then heat it up to around 600-800F with your torch for 30-45 seconds. Let it cool for about 10-20 seconds and then use a q-tip to get the remaining residue out. Repeat the heating and q-tip a few times. If it is still dirty repeat the whole process.

How often should I clean my quartz banger?

We recommend cleaning your banger every time you smoke it. However, we know that is not realistic for some people, or exactly what you want to do (or will remember what to do) after smoking a dab. If you can't clean it after every smoke session, you should at least make an effort to clean it every 3-6 months, if it does not get too dirty to stand before then.

learn more about dabbing

Learn More About Dabbing

Want to learn even more about dabbing? Check out these helpful resources:

Best Dabbing Gear:

Best Dab Rig Brands 2019
Top 10 Dab Rig Accessories
10 Best Dab Torches
Best Type of Dab Nail
Best Dab Rigs Under $100

Dabbing Education:

What is a Recycler Bong?
What is a Percolator?
How to Dab for Beginners
Everything You Need to Know About Dabbing

Browse Dabbing Accessories & Rigs:

Quartz Bangers
Ceramic Nails
Titanium Nails
Carb Caps
Dab Rigs
Dab Torches

Wrapping it Up – Best Way to Clean Your Quartz Banger

Thanks for reading! We hope that this guide has helped you learn how to clean your quartz banger, and that you have an easy cleaning process, and didn't wait too long to clean yours like we always do.

With a bit of elbow grease, the right materials, and the right process, you can easily take that black quartz banger and make it clear as day again.

Have you recently cleaned your banger using this technique? Let us know how it went! Tag us in some pictures @bestgiftsforstoners on Instagram! Or, leave a comment and tell us all about your cleaning adventures. Did we miss something? Maybe you know a secret cleaning tip we don't, please feel free to share in the comments.

At Helpingpot, we work extremely hard to keep producing the best content in the industry, so we appreciate any feedback.

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