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How to Clean Your RDA or RTA (Life Hack) | Vape School

How to Clean Your RDA or RTA (Life Hack) | Vape School

Mar 11, 2024Updated Sep 17, 20265 min readVape School

Sweet vape juice, old cotton and weeks of dripping leave their mark on any rebuildable. If your RDA or RTA tastes muddy, looks sticky or still carries a hint of last week’s flavor, it’s time for a proper clean.

Our favorite life hack for the job is an ultrasonic cleaner, a small tabletop machine that uses high-frequency sound waves in water to shake grime loose from every corner. It’s the same kind of machine people use to clean jewelry and eyeglasses. Here’s how to use one on your atomizer, plus how to get a good result by hand if you don’t have one.

Short version: Pull out the old cotton, take the atomizer apart, run the metal parts through an ultrasonic cleaner with warm water, rinse, and let everything dry completely before you rewick. No machine? Warm water, a drop of dish soap and a soft toothbrush will do the job.

When to clean your RDA or RTA

  • When you switch to a very different flavor, especially after menthol or cinnamon
  • When you see dark, sticky buildup on the deck, posts or top cap
  • When you replace your coils
  • When the flavor tastes dull even with fresh cotton

A clean deck matters most if you rotate through lots of flavors, like Zamplebox Club members who get a new box of 30 ml bottles every month. A fresh start helps every bottle taste like itself.

What you’ll need

  • An ultrasonic cleaner
  • Your RDA or RTA
  • Warm water
  • A towel or paper towels
  • Optional: a drop of mild dish soap, cotton swabs and a soft toothbrush

Ultrasonic cleaners are widely sold for cleaning jewelry and eyeglasses, and a small one is plenty for atomizer parts. Read the manual that comes with yours for fill levels and cycle times.

How to clean your atomizer with an ultrasonic cleaner

  1. Empty it. Vape or pour out any juice left in the juice well or tank.
  2. Remove the cotton. Pull out the old wick and throw it away.
  3. Decide about the coils. Coils in good shape can stay installed and get cleaned along with the deck. If they’re warped or caked in residue, take them out and plan to build fresh ones.
  4. Take it apart. Separate the drip tip, top cap and deck, plus the glass and chimney on an RTA. Set aside O-rings, glass and any plastic parts to wash by hand. Lay everything on a towel so small screws don’t go missing.
  5. Fill the cleaner. Add warm water up to the fill line. A drop of dish soap helps with sticky residue.
  6. Run a cycle. Put the metal parts in the basket and run a cycle. If you still see residue afterward, run another.
  7. Rinse. Rinse every part under clean, warm water to wash away any soap and loosened gunk.
  8. Dry completely. Shake off the water, pat each part dry and let everything air dry. Check the post holes, threads, airflow slots and 510 pin for trapped water.
  9. Reassemble and rewick. Put the O-rings back, reassemble the atomizer, wick your coils and saturate the cotton before you vape.

Ultrasonic cleaner tips

  • Only atomizer parts go in. Never put a mod, a battery or anything electronic in the cleaner.
  • Don’t run the machine without water.
  • Keep your fingers out of the water while it runs.
  • Change the water between loads so you aren’t soaking parts in old juice.

No ultrasonic cleaner? Clean it by hand

  1. Remove the cotton, take the atomizer apart and set the O-rings aside.
  2. Soak the metal parts in warm water with a drop of dish soap for 10 to 15 minutes.
  3. Scrub the deck, posts, threads and the inside of the top cap with a soft toothbrush and cotton swabs.
  4. Rinse thoroughly with warm water.
  5. Let every part dry completely before you rebuild.

Some builders also wipe metal parts with isopropyl alcohol to cut stubborn residue. If you do, keep it off O-rings and plastic, rinse afterward and let everything dry fully. Alcohol is flammable, so keep it away from open flames and hot coils.

Refreshing coils with a dry burn

On a rebuildable, you can refresh a coil by dry burning it: firing it without cotton to burn off built-up residue. Only do this on a regulated mod.

  1. Remove the cotton and check that the coil isn’t touching anything but the posts.
  2. Set the power low and fire in short pulses. Never hold the button down.
  3. Watch for an even glow, and let the coil cool between pulses.
  4. Once it’s cool, take the atomizer off the mod, brush away loose residue with a soft toothbrush under warm water and dry the deck completely.

Only dry burn wire meant for wattage mode, such as Kanthal. Never dry burn temperature-control wire like nickel or titanium. If a coil is misshapen, still dark after cleaning or just won’t taste right, replace it. Our guides to building a basic coil and getting hot spots out of coils will help with the rebuild.

Watch our Vape School videos on YouTube

Common questions

Can glass and plastic parts go in an ultrasonic cleaner?

Metal parts handle it best. Wash O-rings, glass and plastic parts by hand in warm water, and check your atomizer’s instructions if you aren’t sure.

How often should I clean my RDA or RTA?

Give it a quick rinse when you rewick, and a deeper clean whenever you see buildup or switch to a very different flavor.

Can I clean the coils in my sub-ohm tank or pod the same way?

No. Stock coils aren’t made to be cleaned, so replace them when they wear out. See how to clean your tank and when to change your vape coils.

How long should the parts dry?

Until there’s no water anywhere, including the post holes, threads and 510 pin. Water left behind can cause spitting or a poor connection.

WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. For adults 21+ only.