How to Properly Clean and Maintain Your Fusion Banger
We’ve never seen a quartz banger that comes with an instruction manual. That’s just fine with us; here at Fusion, we prefer a more hands-on approach to figuring out how things work. But we also recognize not everyone’s on that same page and some of us just want the instructions. For example, if you’re completely new to dabbing, you may not know how to clean your banger. You may not even know it needs to be cleaned. Fortunately, keeping your quartz banger in sparkling condition isn’t rocket science. You just need some sturdy cotton swabs, some isopropyl alcohol or a drop of Dark Crystal Glass Cleaner, and a passable amount of self-motivation. Consider this your instruction manual.
Clean Your Quartz Banger After Every Dab
Different materials require slightly different cleaning methods, but with Fusion bangers, you’ll always be cleaning quartz. We highly recommend giving your banger a thorough cleaning after every dab. That may seem excessive, but the moment you double dab without cleaning, you’re basically begging to stain your quartz. That blackish to brownish discoloration of the quartz is bafflingly (though somehow fittingly) referred to as chazzing. And trust us when we say you don’t want to be a DJ Chazzy Jeff when you could easily be a Fresh Prince. All it takes is (drum roll, please)... cleaning your banger after every dab.
The trick is to start in on the cleaning when your banger’s still decently warm so that any remaining oil or residue doesn’t have time to harden. We always keep our 99% isopropyl alcohol and cotton swabs handy in an orderly iso jar set so we always have the right tool for the job when we need it. You don’t want to be frantically searching for your swabs and iso after taking a massive dab.
The rest is pretty intuitive. Simply dip one of the ends of your cotton swab into the isopropyl alcohol and swab the interior of the banger, making sure to get any pooling areas and thoroughly wiping any surface where wax came into contact with hot quartz. Flip the cotton swab to use the dry cotton end to mop up any residual alcohol. You’ll still need to deep clean your banger at some point, but religiously wiping up your banger after every dab will lessen the frequency of deep cleaning and also keep your bucket looking like new.
The Dreaded (but Essential) Deep Cleaning
“Depp cleaning” isn’t a term that people generally like to hear. It typically translates to pain, whether you’re hearing it in the dentist chair or when it’s time to move out of your apartment. But deep cleaning your banger doesn’t have to be a painful experience; especially if you have a backup banger waiting to go. That’s because this process will knock your primary banger out of commission for a solid 24 hours (at least). Even if you’ve been totally devoted to giving your banger the scrub down after every dab, you’ll need to deep clean your banger every few weeks depending on your dabbing frequency. It may sound tedious, but it’s a fairly simple process.
If you know how to clean a glass pipe, you’ll have no problem deep cleaning your quartz banger. There are a few ways you can go about it, but one of the cheapest options is by creating a solution using 99% isopropyl alcohol and salt. Pour the isopropyl alcohol into a plastic sandwich bag and add a few spoonfuls of salt to create the solution. Then, deposit your quartz banger into the bag, sealing it tightly. Make sure that your banger is completely submerged in the solution. You’re going to let the banger soak in this solution for at least 24 hours, but you should shake the bag every so often to keep the solution working its magic. If you can afford to invest in a pro cleaning solution, we recommend Dark Crystal Glass Cleaner. You can use it in much the same way as the salt-and-iso mix, though heating it tends to enhance its effectiveness.
Finishing Up
When your banger has adequately soaked, you can remove it from your Dark Crystal Glass Cleaner or DIY solution and give it a good rinse under warm tap water. Ideally, there will be no residue left after you’re finished. In the event that you do still find residue on your banger and you used a DIY cleaning solution, you may want to take the extra step to invest in some Dark Crystal Glass Cleaner or a comparable brand. However, there are some bangers that just seem to get chazzed to the point of no return. Once you’ve rinsed your banger, give it another wipe down with a cotton swab to get any potential lingering residue. You may find some of the more tenacious, stubborn stains giving way at this point. Finally, your banger will need to dry. Air drying can lead to glass spots which won’t affect performance but can be unsightly. To avoid this, you can wipe the banger down with a paper towel or another cotton swab.
The more you get into the routine of cleaning (and, yes, deep cleaning) your banger, the more it will just become second nature. But remember, this is about more than an aesthetic. Cleaning your banger is key to maintaining the flavor and performance that we all love so much. Embrace that sense of gratitude as you run the cotton swab across the quartz or drop your daily driver into a baggy of cleaning solution. You’ll feel it in every sesh.