How to Clean your Quartz Banger - A Step by Step Guide (PHOTOS)

You just spent a bundle on a brand new banger and now you want to know how to clean your quartz banger. We love your moxie and want to give you the knowledge you need to keep your quartz nail in top shape.

Clean bangers taste better, look nicer, and last longer than dirty quartz, so what are you waiting for? Keep reading to learn how to clean your quartz banger and how to care for it in the future.

How to Clean Your Quartz Banger: Step-by-Step

How you clean your dab banger depends entirely on how dirty it is. If you really let your quartz banger go, it could be coated in thick black gunk. This is a step-by-step guide describing how to clean a dirty quartz banger, as well as how to keep it clean in the future.

Before we discuss cleaning your quartz banger, let's look at what to avoid.

First, never use bleach or acid-based cleaning products. Instead, use distilled water or 99% ISO alcohol.

Next, never use rough, abrasive tools to clean your quartz banger. Instead, most dabbers use a Q-Tip or cotton swab.

Low-temp dabs (400-600°F) are also essential to keeping your quartz looking and tasting great. It's also important to clean your banger after every dab.

That may seem like overkill, but realize that once your banger cools, any residue has a permanent effect on the quartz. If not kept clean, quartz bangers become dull, cloudy, and yellow.

Now that you're all caught up, it's time to learn how to actually clean your quartz banger.

My Quartz Banger is Turning Black

You were going to clean your banger, but then you got high. This happened so many times that your quartz banger now has a thick layer of black or dark brown residue. All is not lost, though. Follow these steps to clear the gunk:

1. Soak banger in 99% ISO Alcohol and Salt.  Start with a nice soak. Use a combination of 99% ISO alcohol and coarse salt in a Ziploc bag to create a powerful solution for cutting through dab residue. Put your banger in the solution overnight to loosen the residue.

2. Rinse with warm water. Remove your quartz banger and rinse thoroughly under warm water.

3. Scrape off any residue with a dabber. Once the residue is softened in the alcohol solution, use a dab tool or similar blunt tool to scrape off the excess.

4. Heat up the banger. After the worst of the gunk is removed, it's time to heat your banger up with your torch to around 600-800F. This should turn any remaining residue to ash, and loosen whatever's left for removal.

5. Wipe bowl with alcohol soaked q-tip. Allow the banger to cool enough that it's safe to run an alcohol-soaked Q-Tip around the bowl. This isn't an exact science, and it takes some practice to get the right temp. Yellow residue and fresh puddles should come off easily without being sticky or too wet.

6. Use the dry side of the Q-Tip to remove excess alcohol.

7. Repeat until you can no longer remove any residue.

My Banger is Yellow/Light Brown

You just got your quartz banger, and to your horror, it's already turning yellow after just a few sessions!  Bummer. Quartz gets dirty quickly, so stay vigilant. For light messes, simply follow Steps 4-7 from above. Keep your banger clean by following the steps below between dabs.

Regular Quartz Banger Maintenance

Once you have a clean quartz banger, or if your banger is new, you must use regular maintenance to keep it that way.

Remember when we said that when your banger cools after a hit, the finish of your quartz is permanently altered by the mess. Once or twice isn't bad, but over time the quartz will turn yellow and lose its shine.

To avoid this, experienced dabbers perform the following steps and keep their quartz bangers looking fresh:

Keep a bunch of fresh, sturdy Q-Tips and some ISO alcohol around.

Take a dab. Remember, low-temp dabs are the best for you and your quartz banger. Overheating your quartz banger (over 1000°F, or red hot) causes it to go cloudy, and is the main cause of black, tar-like residue.

Allow the quartz too cool enough that the puddle is solid enough to stay in place but liquid enough to lift away – about 30-seconds or a minute. Use a Q-Tip dipped in alcohol to gently remove the residue.

Use the dry side of the Q-Tip to mop up any extra alcohol.

Repeat after every dab to keep your quartz banger looking new.

The Importance of Buying Quality Quartz

Like everything else, the best quartz bangers come in varying qualities. A cheap quartz banger runs around $10, while expensive pieces over $50. And like everything else, you get what you pay for when it comes to quartz bangers.

In short, cheap bangers discolor faster, have poorer resistance to temperature shock, and are less sturdy than their top-end counterparts. Hey, they work, but we recommend spending a bit more for a banger that will last longer than a few months.

No matter how much you spend on your quartz banger, just follow the steps above to keep it looking and tasting like new.