How to Clean Your Vape Pen For the Perfect Hit Every Time

There’s nothing worse than taking a nice, deep hit of your vape pen only to find that it tastes a little off. As much as we hate to hear it, you should probably be cleaning your vape pen at least once a week—and depending on how much vaping you do, it may even need to be more than that.

Luckily, cleaning your vape pen isn’t very difficult, and it can be done pretty quickly with just a few common household items. Learn how to clean your vape pen and keep your pen in working order for the perfect hit every time below.

Make Sure You Have Your Manual

While most vape pens can be cleaned with similar methods, you’ll want to make sure you read through your device’s manual to avoid any mishaps when you clean your vape pen. It can seem like a little extra step, but you’ll want to make sure you know what’s what to get all the hidden nastiness out of your pen, or worse, break it completely.

Disassemble Your Vape Pen

Vape pens come in a variety of shapes, sizes, features and functions, but generally, they all have the same core parts. If you’re looking to learn how to clean your vape pen, you’ll want to know the pieces of your pen first. We’ll go through a bit of the anatomy of your pen here, as a quick refresher.

Battery: If your vape pen battery has ever died in the middle of a sesh, you probably already know that your pen needs power to function. Most vape pens use lithium ion batteries, and they vary on run-time based on the amount of amps it can hold. Some, like the 510 Thread Battery, are easy to screw off from the cartridge, while others, like the Stiiizy, just plug right into the wall. We’d recommend carefully cleaning your vape pen battery or stowing it in a storing case if necessary. Damaged batteries and vaping don't exactly mix.

The Cart and Mouth Piece: The cartridge is the chamber where your oil or e-liquid is stored for vaporization. It’s connected to a mouthpiece, which is the part of the vape pen that makes contact with your mouth. These are usually removable, meaning there’s no excuse not to keep it clean. You’ll definitely want to—it’s the piece that touches your mouth.

Now that you’re familiar with the different components of your pen, we’ll show you how to clean your vape pen. First, you’ll want to carefully take it apart. Remove the cart from the battery and go from there. Trust us, that’s where the most gunk hides.

How to Clean a Vape Pen

Now that your pen is disassembled, it’s time to get to cleaning. Pick off any visible oil or resin and then use a cotton swab soaked with a little water and dish soap to loosen, scrub and remove any visible gunk. If water isn’t helping, you can also use isopropyl alcohol. You’ll want to make sure to have a toothpick or small brush on hand to make sure you’re getting into all the little crevices. No resin should be left behind!

Next, it’s time to give the mouthpiece a quick soak. Remove your mouthpiece from your cart and submerge it in a bowl of water or rubbing alcohol to loosen up any debris. Then use a toothpick or toothbrush to give it a light scrub. You’ll definitely want to rinse it after this—you won’t want your first hit to taste funky. Make sure the water runs clear of any bubbles or residue before setting it on a paper towel to dry.

How to Clean a Vape Pen Battery

As we mentioned before, you have to be careful when you clean the battery of your vape pen. You can’t dunk it in a bowl of water and let it soak, or you’ll ruin your pen. We recommend giving the exterior a gentle cleaning with cotton swabs soaked in water or rubbing alcohol to remove any excess oil. Again, be careful. This is not the time to take your pen for a swim.

Let Your Vape Pen Dry

Now that you’ve got your vape pen all shiny-clean, you’ll want to dry it with a paper towel so it won’t get rusty. Make sure to leave your pen out for at least an hour—you don’t want to put it back together wet and risk ruining your battery. Once it’s fully dry, it’s perfectly safe to refill your cart or insert a new pod.

Let’s Hit It

Now that you’ve figured out how to clean your vape pen and it’s all squeaky clean, you’re good to go. Power up and enjoy a fresh, delicious hit!

Looking to take your vaping experience to the next level? At StayLit Design, we’ve got high-quality customizable vape pens, custom glass pipes, and unique accessories to elevate your next smoke sesh. Shop now or stay up to date on trends and gear on the StayLit Blog.