Now that you've had mold, it is DEFINITELY time to wash ALL of your buds so you don't accidentally smoke some mold/fungus spores as that can be dangerous!!! Here's how it works:
1. Gather your supplies:
- 4 large buckets that can hold liquid, 5gal work perfectly
- ~3gals of clean water in each one.. Doesn't have to be de-Cl'ed, but if you have extremely hard tap water, maybe pick up a couple jugs of distilled or even de-ionized water. First bucket is room temp, but can be cold from the faucet; 2nd bucket must be VERY warm; I'd say as hot as your hands can handle; 3rd bucket, the same, and the last bucket MUST be the coldest water you can get from your faucet, or as cold as you can get that isn't near-freezing.
- 3 Large bottles of H2O2
- Box of baking soda
- bottle of lemon juice
- Method to hand-dry, post-washing
- Patience
2. Set the buckets up as I had detailed before, having the middle 2 buckets containing hot-ish water, first one can be warm, cold, not as important, and the last one MUST be cold.
3. In first bucket, add the large bottles of H2O2 (large bottles are generally 1qt at most drug stores like Walgreens, CVS in the U.S.).
4. In the 2nd bucket, slowly add 1 cup of lemon juice and 1 cup of baking soda.. ****DISCLAIMER**** When adding the baking soda, it WILL start to foam up and react. Lightly stir the solution to mix. It shouldn't bubble over, but it depends on how far your water is from the top of the container..
5. The last 2 buckets are rinse buckets, but remember, hot first, then COLD.
6. I like to leave my branches relatively in tact as it makes it easier to dunk and swirl.. If you were trying to hold a tweezer-like grip on fully-trimmed buds, it may take a long time as well as make your hands sore..
7. When dunking, COMPLETELY submerge the plants all the way down to your hand.. Each stage is 30 seconds, however the first stage is the only one that does not require agitation. Just make sure that the ENTIRE branch STAYS submerged for at least 30 seconds, no longer than a minute..
9. Once pulled out of the 1st bucket, let it drip as much of the excess off into the first bucket before transitioning to the 2nd bucket. With the 2nd bucket, you will fully submerge, however you will move it, shake it, stir it, do whatever it takes to get the liquid to penetrate the buds and to help remove any unnecessary dust, dirt, animal hair, bugs, bug turds, tears, etc... After 30 seconds of vigorous agitation, remove and let it drip as much of the excess off as you can.
10. Easiest steps yet.. Bucket [HASHTAG]#3[/HASHTAG] has the hot water.. Remember, it's got to be hot, but not so hot you can't touch it.. Repeat the same type of agitation for about 30 seconds, longer if the buds are bigger. This step is to help cleanse the remaining H2O2 and Baking soda/lemon juice solutions out of the buds.
11. Last rinsing step is in the COLD water. Same idea; dunk, swirl, swish, splash, whatever it takes to agitate tenaciously.
12. Now, it's time to hang dry. There have been 2 schools of thought on this; 1 - Hang dry just long enough for the heavy moisture to be dissipated, but in a lighted area. 2 - Hang dry in a lighted area for at least 24hrs, and then trim into bags.. ****DISCLAIMER**** When using the H2O2 step (which isn't absolutely necessary if you had no mold or pests), the buds WILL dry faster than normal! In my own experience, it was probably 2-3 days shorter, even on a "long-term dry". Not really sure about the science, but I've seen it and have spoken to others who have had the same experience.
13. Once they have been voided of the extra moisture, trim off branches as you normally would and dry in your favorite method..
Notes:
- The H2O2 step isn't necessary if you didn't have pest/mold/pathogen issues, although I still use it because who knows what kind of stuff has made my plants home in the couple months of their lives..
- The questions comes up often about the loss of trichs or loss of potency... No one that I know of that uses this has ever complained about any of those things, and after seeing a thread on a different website do this, they showed enlarged pictures of before and after to show that trichs are not harmed and if anything, the only things you'll find in your wash buckets would be loose trimmed leaves that may have stuck, dust, dirt, floating particles and possibly some pistils..
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask!!! I may have missed minor details, but this is pretty much how I do it every time, and I HAVE noticed a big difference in the quality of the smoke, post-wash.. It's smoother, less funkiness, more flavor..
Best of luck!!!
1. Gather your supplies:
- 4 large buckets that can hold liquid, 5gal work perfectly
- ~3gals of clean water in each one.. Doesn't have to be de-Cl'ed, but if you have extremely hard tap water, maybe pick up a couple jugs of distilled or even de-ionized water. First bucket is room temp, but can be cold from the faucet; 2nd bucket must be VERY warm; I'd say as hot as your hands can handle; 3rd bucket, the same, and the last bucket MUST be the coldest water you can get from your faucet, or as cold as you can get that isn't near-freezing.
- 3 Large bottles of H2O2
- Box of baking soda
- bottle of lemon juice
- Method to hand-dry, post-washing
- Patience
2. Set the buckets up as I had detailed before, having the middle 2 buckets containing hot-ish water, first one can be warm, cold, not as important, and the last one MUST be cold.
3. In first bucket, add the large bottles of H2O2 (large bottles are generally 1qt at most drug stores like Walgreens, CVS in the U.S.).
4. In the 2nd bucket, slowly add 1 cup of lemon juice and 1 cup of baking soda.. ****DISCLAIMER**** When adding the baking soda, it WILL start to foam up and react. Lightly stir the solution to mix. It shouldn't bubble over, but it depends on how far your water is from the top of the container..
5. The last 2 buckets are rinse buckets, but remember, hot first, then COLD.
6. I like to leave my branches relatively in tact as it makes it easier to dunk and swirl.. If you were trying to hold a tweezer-like grip on fully-trimmed buds, it may take a long time as well as make your hands sore..
7. When dunking, COMPLETELY submerge the plants all the way down to your hand.. Each stage is 30 seconds, however the first stage is the only one that does not require agitation. Just make sure that the ENTIRE branch STAYS submerged for at least 30 seconds, no longer than a minute..
9. Once pulled out of the 1st bucket, let it drip as much of the excess off into the first bucket before transitioning to the 2nd bucket. With the 2nd bucket, you will fully submerge, however you will move it, shake it, stir it, do whatever it takes to get the liquid to penetrate the buds and to help remove any unnecessary dust, dirt, animal hair, bugs, bug turds, tears, etc... After 30 seconds of vigorous agitation, remove and let it drip as much of the excess off as you can.
10. Easiest steps yet.. Bucket [HASHTAG]#3[/HASHTAG] has the hot water.. Remember, it's got to be hot, but not so hot you can't touch it.. Repeat the same type of agitation for about 30 seconds, longer if the buds are bigger. This step is to help cleanse the remaining H2O2 and Baking soda/lemon juice solutions out of the buds.
11. Last rinsing step is in the COLD water. Same idea; dunk, swirl, swish, splash, whatever it takes to agitate tenaciously.
12. Now, it's time to hang dry. There have been 2 schools of thought on this; 1 - Hang dry just long enough for the heavy moisture to be dissipated, but in a lighted area. 2 - Hang dry in a lighted area for at least 24hrs, and then trim into bags.. ****DISCLAIMER**** When using the H2O2 step (which isn't absolutely necessary if you had no mold or pests), the buds WILL dry faster than normal! In my own experience, it was probably 2-3 days shorter, even on a "long-term dry". Not really sure about the science, but I've seen it and have spoken to others who have had the same experience.
13. Once they have been voided of the extra moisture, trim off branches as you normally would and dry in your favorite method..
Notes:
- The H2O2 step isn't necessary if you didn't have pest/mold/pathogen issues, although I still use it because who knows what kind of stuff has made my plants home in the couple months of their lives..
- The questions comes up often about the loss of trichs or loss of potency... No one that I know of that uses this has ever complained about any of those things, and after seeing a thread on a different website do this, they showed enlarged pictures of before and after to show that trichs are not harmed and if anything, the only things you'll find in your wash buckets would be loose trimmed leaves that may have stuck, dust, dirt, floating particles and possibly some pistils..
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask!!! I may have missed minor details, but this is pretty much how I do it every time, and I HAVE noticed a big difference in the quality of the smoke, post-wash.. It's smoother, less funkiness, more flavor..
Best of luck!!!
)
