How to Clean a Weed Grinder

Your grinder is an important part of enjoying your marijuana experience. Without it, you would not be able to make your bud small enough to smoke. But when you have a grinder, you will need to spend some time making sure that it stays clean enough. 

Why Clean Your Grinder?

One of the main reasons to keep your grinder in good shape is that it can help prevent you from getting sick. Your bud used to be part of a live plant. Even though it is now dried, it can still begin to decompose at some point. This can cause bacteria to begin to grow, which can eventually make you feel sick.

Cleaning your grinder will also help it operate better. Cannabis is sticky when you grind it, and a sticky residue can remain in the grinder when you are done. Eventually, it will gum things up, making your grinder have to work harder and less efficiently.

With regular cleanings, you can help keep the tooth of the grinder sharp and keep it easy to use. That way, you will not need to replace it as quickly. Therefore, cleaning will help lengthen the life of your tool.

Cleaning Your Grinder

Knowing what type of grinder you have can help you during the cleaning process. Some types of grinders have multiple pieces. A basic type has a lid and a grinding bowl. Inside of the chamber and on your lid, there are teeth that grind your herb. This works when you put the weed in your bowl and place the lid on. 

You might also have a two-chamber type. This has three pieces. It has a bowl for collection under it. You will want to ensure that you get everything out of this bowl, so you can save it for use again later. Other models might have a screen between the collection and the grinding areas. This is generally removable, so you will want to ensure that you take it out and get it cleaned properly.

You might also have a grinder that has three chambers. This consists of four pieces. However, it does not have a solid bottom. Instead, there is a removable screen as well as a container under it. Bigger pieces of cannabis can collect on the screen. However, smaller kief will fall into the bottom part of the chamber.

Remember that if you have a grinder with three chambers, you might have as many as six parts to clean. This includes:

• Grinding Bowl
• Lid
• First Screen
• Second Screen
• Collection Chamber
• Kief Chamber

How to Clean Your Herb Grinder

There is a range of different shapes and sizes for grinders. However, what the grinder is made from is what really matters here. For example, if you have a metal grinder, it might rust when you put it in water. If you use rubbing alcohol, it can cause acrylic or plastic to warp and degrade. Knowing what the grinder is made from will help you clean it better. If you have a grinder that has both metal and plastic parts, you will need to be careful. You will want to gather some tools, including:

• Container to Hold Your Kief
• Rubbing Alcohol for a Metal Grinder
• Soap for a Plastic Grinder
• Freezer
• Hot Water
• Plastic Cutting Board or Plate
• Metal Pick or Toothpick
• Toothbrush

First, you will want to take apart your grinder. For example, if you have one with four pieces and three chambers, you will most likely have your grinding chamber, lid, kief chamber, and a collection chamber. You might also have a screen that you can take out between the kief and the collection chambers. This is fragile, so you will want to handle it with care.

If you want to make the process a bit easier, you can place everything in your freezer for about half an hour. This can harden up the bits of weed inside of the grinder. That also helps you take out everything to save for later. If you have a plastic grinder, you will want to be careful when you take it out of the freezer. At lower temperatures, the plastic can become brittle. 

Now, you will want to hold everything over your cutting board or plate. Tap the parts a bit to help dislodge the bits of plant material.

Use an old toothbrush to brush every surface. Sometimes, the gunk will not come off all the way, so you can use a toothpick or another tool to scrape it. Do not throw this away. You can still get some life out of it.

For a metal weed grinder, place everything in a bowl with rubbing alcohol in it. That way, you can kill off any bacteria in the tool. You can move the bowl around to help further loosen up bits of the plant material. Allow your pieces to soak until the alcohol is light brown or you can see that everything has loosened.

If you have a plastic grinder, bring water on your stove to a boil and then place them in. Turn down the heat, so you do not melt the pieces. Allow them to stay there for a minute. Using tongs, remove everything from the pot and allow them to cool for 10 minutes. If you like, you can use dish soap to scrub down the surfaces.

Closing Thoughts

It does not take a lot of effort to clean your marijuana grinder, and cleaning can help it function better. Cleaning your grinder is a great way to prevent buildup on the surfaces. It is generally a good idea to clean everything once a month or so. The more you grind, the more often you will want to clean the grinder because the cannabinoids will build up on the surface faster. 

However, if you only use the grinder a couple of times each month, you can wait even longer between your cleanings. The first time you notice it is not working as well as it should is a good time to start cleaning it.