If we asked you to describe the JUUL® in one word, ‘cheap’ probably isn’t the first word that would spring to mind. It’s probably the world’s most famous e-cigarette and has helped millions of people around the world make the switch from smoking to vaping.
JUUL® owners rightfully love their devices, and they want to keep them in top condition for as long as possible. To get the best possible performance out of the JUUL® – charging reliably, delivering vapour clouds, long battery life – you need to keep your device clean. Here’s our quick cleaning guide:
How to Clean the JUUL®
Things You’ll Need:
- Microfibre cloth
- Cotton swabs
- Tweezers
- Rubbing alcohol
Cleaning the JUUL® Battery
Clean the outer surface of the JUUL® battery by rubbing gently with a microfibre cloth. If you have a cloth that you use to clean the lenses of your sunglasses, that’ll work fine. The cloth gently wipes away fingerprints and dust.
Cleaning the JUUL® Pod Chamber
Next, we’ll turn our attention to the pod chamber and metal pins at the top of the device. If your JUUL® has a pod inserted, remove the pod and set it aside. Take a dry cotton swab and rub it around the inside of the chamber. If you’ve never had a pod leak in your device, that might be all of the cleaning that you’ll need to do. If you have dealt with a leaking pod, though, continue to the next step.
Breaking Up Tough Grime
When e-liquid leaks from a JUUL® pod and dries inside the pod compartment, it creates a sticky film – and dust loves to adhere to that film. If there’s stubborn grime inside your device’s pod compartment, remove the grime by scraping it away with tweezers. If the grime still resists removal, dampen a cotton swab slightly with rubbing alcohol and rub the swab over the grime to dissolve it.
Removing E-Liquid From Inside the JUUL® Battery
The JUUL® battery makes electrical contact with an inserted pod via spring-loaded pins. The contacts on the bottom of the pod push the pins down, and that can allow e-liquid to seep inside the JUUL® device when a pod leaks. To remove most of that e-liquid, hold the device with the pod chamber facing down while compressing one of the pins with a cotton swab. Examine the swab after several seconds. If it’s wet, repeat that process with fresh swabs until a swab comes out dry. Do the same thing with the other pin.
Cleaning the JUUL® Charging Contacts
If your JUUL® spends a lot of time in your pocket, chances are that the charging contacts have collected a significant amount of pocket lint. Use a cotton swab moistened with a little alcohol to rub the contacts until they’re clean and shiny. If you encounter a particularly stubborn clump of dirt or dust, you can use your tweezers to gently scrape it away. Be careful not to scratch the metal.
Cleaning the JUUL® Charger
The JUUL® charger has spring-loaded pins that work similarly to the pins in the pod chamber. While your charger may not take quite as much abuse as your JUUL® device, the fact that it is magnetic may cause it to attract bits of metallic debris that could interfere with charging. Brush debris out of the charger with a cotton swab. If necessary, you can dampen the swab with a bit of alcohol to loosen tough grime.
Disassembling the JUUL® for a Deep Cleaning
All too often, a leaking pod can lead to a prematurely dead JUUL® due to the problem we mentioned above: the spring-loaded pins create channels that can allow e-liquid to enter the device when a pod leaks. The battery has a rubber dam that helps to prevent e-liquid from messing with the device’s internals. E-liquid is a slippery substance, though, and it can get past the dam. If that happens, your JUUL® can develop a host of problems.
In our article about troubleshooting a JUUL® that isn’t hitting, you’ll find instructions that explain how to disassemble the JUUL® for a deep cleaning. Click the link to read those instructions in full. If you’re short on time, though, here’s a brief summary. To disassemble the JUUL®, you’ll need one tool to push the battery’s LED down and another tool to push the JUUL®’s internal components out of the bottom of the device’s case. The JUUL®’s battery and mainboard come out in one piece.
When cleaning the inside of the JUUL®, use dry cotton swabs as much as possible. Pay special attention to the area immediately under the rubber dam, because that’s where e-liquid is most likely to collect. If you find an area that’s particularly dirty, clean it using a cotton swab moistened slightly with rubbing alcohol. Allow the alcohol to evaporate fully before reassembling your JUUL®.