Two or three compartments are found in a grinder for the shredded buds to fall apart. A weed grinder is more dependable than your bare hands and fingers when achieving a fine consistency. No one can beat the sharpened, pointed metal teeth inside. Using it on the buds will help you figure out their quality as density and compactness are tested.
Maintenance is important so its performance won’t change. So you have to know how to clean a grinder. There are different kinds as they can be made of metal, plastic, or wood. An electric grinder is available too. The variety means that you need to practice the specific cleaning method that won’t cause any damage to every grinder.
You shouldn’t take this for granted as grinders give you a lot of advantages. They save you time and weed as they have compartments to not use waste every bit. The weed has a better quality of smoking and vaping. Using it will allow you to control the quality of your blend.
When to Clean Your Grinder
Cleaning your grinding is not based on any rule. The right time to do it is when it gets stuck, clunky, or if it doesn’t work at all. If one of these things happens, you should give your grinder some love so it can perform well.
Different Kinds of Weed Grinder and How to Clean Them
1. Wood Grinder
It’s a challenge to clean a grinder made of wood as this material is not open to getting contact with water, solvent, and alcohol for a long time. It may surprise you but a freezer is useful in this matter. You have to disassemble the grinder and place every part inside the freezer for around six hours.
Once the slumber of the grinder parts in the freezer is over, place them on an aluminum foil or baking sheet. Hit them so the frozen resin is discarded. It’s an easy way and it assures you that no speck is left in your grinder. However, you may need a small needle to have access to difficult parts. Make sure you don’t scratch the surface.
2. Metal Grinder
Cleaning should start with the exterior parts using hot water and soap. Once done, you can proceed getting rid of resin that got stuck in the interior parts. Dismantling the parts makes it easy.
When there’s a pollinator, you have to the toothy parts. They are the spikes or teeth where tiny bits of weed accumulates. The filter mesh should also be removed for the knife to be discharged at the lower chamber. You have to throw trichome traces.
3. Electric Grinder
You might be doubtful about cleaning an electric grinder. But you can do it on the parts that get dirty. The focus should be on blades and bowls as they deal with resin. The handle would normally get dirty too.
Unscrew and disassemble the bowl and blades. They can be placed in isopropyl alcohol. The inner mechanism can be cleaned by a blade to remove the resin build-up which hinders the grinder to work properly. You have to carefully put all the parts together as it can pose a danger when it’s not in the right spot.
4. Plastic or Acrylic Grinder
You have to refrain from using alcohol and solvent to clean plastic or acrylic grinder. You have to boil water but it’s not for dissolving the resin. What it does is softening the resin for easy removal.
Boil water in a saucepan and place the parts of the grinder. Let the water boil for a few minutes then get rid of the heat. Carefully take out the parts and cool them down. Use a toothbrush or a cotton bud to rub off all the existing dirt. Rinse them with water and let them dry.
This method is only suitable for plastic or acrylic grinder. You have to refrain from applying to grinders made of wood and metal.
Some Tips in How to Clean a Grinder
1. Cleaning with Milk
You have heard about the urban legend of using milk to clean your grinder. It can be done as milk has fats and you should know that weed is liposoluble. Therefore, it dissolves in fat.
The ideal way to use milk is to start with the external parts which also get dirty. Clean them first with water and soap. After the external parts are cleaned, you can boil the milk in a saucepan. Whole milk is the best option as it contains a lot of fat and you can use it without boiling.
Place the parts separately in the pan. Let them stay for ten to fifteen minutes so every bit of resin is removed. You don’t have to throw the used milk as you can make a weed-infused drink like tea.
2. Alcohol as Cleanser
Ethyl alcohol or ethanol should be placed in a glass for you to submerge the grinder. When the alcohol darkens, it means that the resin was drawn out. Remove the parts for another checkup. You can use a toothbrush when there’s a residue left.
You can save the remaining resin found in alcohol. Place the liquid on a plate so you can collect the resin. Alcohol is only suitable for metallic grinder.
3. Cola or Soda for Metallic Grinder
Quick clean can be done by cola or soda. When your grinder is made of metal, it is prone to rust. With the help of a carbonated drink, you can remove the rust. Your grinder will come out as squeaky clean and it looks brand new. But you can’t use the resin that you have extracted.
4. Soft Brush or Toothbrush
It can be prevented that some particles remain in your garden although you used some kind of liquid to clean the grinder. They are safe tools that won’t scratch the surface. You will be able to reach difficult areas. You may dip the brush in the alcohol for meticulous cleaning.
Scratching any material of the grinder is dangerous to your lungs. You may inhale some particles.
Sum It Up
You must know how to clean a grinder to keep its good performance. It won’t take much of your time as you don’t need to do it every day. Cleaning should be done regularly like every fifteen days or once a month.
