Bud Washing

[Skybound]

ok got it. Looks like Doc started with 0.75% H2O2. I would think that going anything over 1.5% is useless, 3% is way too strong.

H2O2 is a strong oxidizer. You dont want your resin oxidized, right? So my first reaction to this is 'what? why h202 unless you wanted to sterilize it'. I understand that H2O2 dries 'clean' so it would be a preferred sterilizer. Water would wash and 'float' things alone without the oxidizing agent, no?

I completely dont understand the reason behind the lemon and baking soda step. Is the idea to give it a 'reaction wash'?

Ok well i will give this a try in the next few days and see what happens.

That makes a lot of sense on the use of H2O2, I see now I went way too concentrated and ruined my harvest in the process. Live and learn. The lemon juice is a mild solvent for breaking down and residues and the baking soda IMO is just a mild abrasive that can be worked into the tiny nooks and crannies. The 2 following rinse buckets should wash the lemon and soda off the nugs

 

[ecofrog]

I used the 29% H2O2 found in the hydro store and looked online to see what conversion ratio I would need to dial it way down from that 29% and I settled on about 300-400ml per 5 gallons. Well after the wash and trim, I noticed at my entire harvest dried very quickly and didn't last that long in jars either. I believe this was due to being overly exposed to a high concentration of H2O2 solution. Next time I will use a bottle of the 3% stuff found in local pharmacies for a milder mix.

The 3% stuff has lots of stabilizers in it so its shelf stable, i wouldnt use it but that's me. The higher concentrations (29%+) of h2o2 are more stable so it doesnt need stabilizers.

Fun with math...
.29 h2o2 x 350ml = 101.5ml of h2o2 you added to 5 gallons + 248.5ml of water.

gallon = 3785ml x 5 = 18925 of water.

101.5ml h202 / (18925 + 350) = ~ .005% solution of h2o2.

 

[CareStaker]

Hey ecofrog,

I don't use any h2o2, at all, just FYI. I do use the lemon juice, and the baking soda.

The lemon juice that Doc Bud specified, is the ReaLemon brand, as it contains:
Lemon juice from concentrate (water, concentrated lemon juice), sodium benzoate, sodium metabisulfite and sodium sulfite.

In addition to it being a mild solvent, the sulfites are natural preservatives and anti-fungal, which is why they are perfect for this task. When using this as a solvent, I feel that I can skip using any h202.

Good to hear that you will be giving a try. If you can, please post your impressions.

 

[David Bowman]

CS, I may try that approach with my next harvest either later this month or early next month. There really is little, if any, in the way of pests, molds, etc. on my ladies and they've been given nothing but water and nutrients their entire lives. While I still believe in bud washing and plan on doing it after each harvest, it seems prudent not to go too overboard on a relatively clean indoor grow.

 

[Doc Bud]

I don't use peroxide UNLESS there is a small amount of PM on the crop. A "large" amount of PM means I toss the crop in the dumpster. A few spots here and there means I toss out the stuff that is white, and peroxide wash the stuff that isn't.

No PM? No peroxide.

BTW, Lemon juice and baking soda is a DIY produce wash. You can also use pure lemon juice and skip the sulfites if you're sensitive to sulfites. I do wash a small amount with pure lemon juice because I have one med user who is allergic to sulfites.

 

[Crawdaddy]

Those pics from all smiles are great.

 

[Skybound]

Wow, this thread has gotten really informative today. I don't think I had any PM in my buds, but being a newb, I wanted to err on the side of caution and do the H2O2 in case. Future grows I expect I will have better visual access and more time during the chop/trim/dunk than I did with my previous. Many mistakes to learn from I guess. Thanks all for sharing so much!

 

[ecofrog]

Lemon juice and baking soda is a DIY produce wash.

ah ok so the idea here is to do a reaction wash like washing produce. The problem with MJ is that its not like a skinned fruit but has huge surface area and will retain solids. Sodium citrate will be a solid precipitate on the surface in the nooks and crannies. Even multi water washing wont remove all of it as its gonna precipitate on surfaces into compounds that would take physical scrubbing to remove, IE scale. Granted if you dont use alot of baking soda (or any), this wont be much of an issue unless your water is really hard. Perhaps Sodium citrate makes the smoke smoother?

Vinegar and baking soda will wash away cleaner and is a slightly more vigorous 'fizzing action' than lemon. I think most people use vinegar for that reason (and its cheaper) to clean their produce.

 

[Doc Bud]

ah ok so the idea here is to do a reaction wash like washing produce. The problem with MJ is that its not like a skinned fruit but has huge surface area and will retain solids. Sodium citrate will be a solid precipitate on the surface in the nooks and crannies. Even multi water washing wont remove all of it as its gonna precipitate on surfaces into compounds that would take physical scrubbing to remove, IE scale. Granted if you dont use alot of baking soda (or any), this wont be much of an issue unless your water is really hard. Perhaps Sodium citrate makes the smoke smoother?

Vinegar and baking soda will wash away cleaner and is a slightly more vigorous 'fizzing action' than lemon. I think most people use vinegar for that reason (and its cheaper) to clean their produce.

You're thinking like a chemist. I like that! I do the same thing.

However, in this case I submit we're both better off thinking like a chef. Citric acid will work very well for this purpose, but vinegar will give your product a flavor.

I had very good results with the SNS produce wash....citric acid and baking soda, and I also wanted the sulfites---I live in wine country and have learned a lot about sulfites---in cheap lemon juice....so that's what I do.

How do you wash your buds?

 

[ecofrog]

You're thinking like a chemist. I like that! I do the same thing.

However, in this case I submit we're both better off thinking like a chef. Citric acid will work very well for this purpose, but vinegar will give your product a flavor.

I had very good results with the SNS produce wash....citric acid and baking soda, and I also wanted the sulfites---I live in wine country and have learned a lot about sulfites---in cheap lemon juice....so that's what I do.

How do you wash your buds?

My training is as a botanist but i only play a chemist at work and on TV. I always try to think more like a chef than a chemist. I often use the grocery store as my reactant source vs lab grade.

If there would be a taste to the vinegar, that tells me that there is sum ad (maybe ab) sorption happenin. Thus you would imagine situations where adding a light, citric flavoring to your product could be a good thing. Baking soda would add a 'super charge fizz' to the cleaning but at a cost of adding salts to your product like the sulfites, sodium citrate and a few carbonates. Again perhaps this is a good thing depending...

Why would you want sulfites? I live in milk country and know little about using sulfur and preservation. I have no idea what happens when you smoke sulfites either, does anyone have any more info on this topic specifically?

I dont wash unless i had an issue with bugs and i just dunk in warm water post harvests, pre trim. Frankly it never occured to me and everyone i know is already so giddy with joy so it never came up. But now that we are talking about it, water only seems a reasonable step, h2o2 seems reasonable solution to 'sterilize', the lemon and the baking soda step i need to ruminate on more...

 

[Curso]

My training is as a botanist but i only play a chemist at work and on TV. I always try to think more like a chef than a chemist. I often use the grocery store as my reactant source vs lab grade.

If there would be a taste to the vinegar, that tells me that there is sum ad (maybe ab) sorption happenin. Thus you would imagine situations where adding a light, citric flavoring to your product could be a good thing. Baking soda would add a 'super charge fizz' to the cleaning but at a cost of adding salts to your product like the sulfites, sodium citrate and a few carbonates. Again perhaps this is a good thing depending...

Why would you want sulfites? I live in milk country and know little about using sulfur and preservation. I have no idea what happens when you smoke sulfites either, does anyone have any more info on this topic specifically?

I dont wash unless i had an issue with bugs and i just dunk in warm water post harvests, pre trim. Frankly it never occured to me and everyone i know is already so giddy with joy so it never came up. But now that we are talking about it, water only seems a reasonable step, h2o2 seems reasonable solution to 'sterilize', the lemon and the baking soda step i need to ruminate on more...

I work as a chef in my spare time. Never in my life have I ever used vinegar and baking soda for a wash on any veggie. I have used and still do the lemon/baking soda or something similar for many, many years. It works really well with green onions, lettuce and other leafy greens. I have also used a weak bleach solution to "wash" herbs (like basil) this takes all the nasty off the leaves and as long as people don't touch them with their bare hands, the herb lasts for months.

 

[AllSmiles]

No PM? No peroxide.

Missed that piece in my original reading. Oh well. Live and learn.

Like Skybound said this has gotten really informative.

 

[ecofrog]

citric acid and baking soda, and I also wanted the sulfites---I live in wine country and have learned a lot about sulfites---in cheap lemon juice....so that's what I do.

How do you wash your buds?

i manicured down from standing to final trim on sticks in one fell swoop, about 5z dried. Then i dunked in ~1cup ($0.75) with cheapo fake lemon juice previously mentioned in about 4gal of RO water. I just didnt want to do the baking soda. Dunked for about 5 min, couldnt see much floating but its a bit cloudy from the juice and it was already finally manicured so cleaned up pretty good already. after a x2 water wash with RO water, i laid out on paper to dry before hanging them on the drying rack which are hanging circles. I could tell the product had a brighter, citric note to it after treatment. I will have to wait to test it against her sisters, i suppose i will report back.

 

[Doc Bud]

i manicured down from standing to final trim on sticks in one fell swoop, about 5z dried. Then i dunked in ~1cup ($0.75) with cheapo fake lemon juice previously mentioned in about 4gal of RO water. I just didnt want to do the baking soda. Dunked for about 5 min, couldnt see much floating but its a bit cloudy from the juice and it was already finally manicured so cleaned up pretty good already. after a x2 water wash with RO water, i laid out on paper to dry before hanging them on the drying rack which are hanging circles. I could tell the product had a brighter, citric note to it after treatment. I will have to wait to test it against her sisters, i suppose i will report back.

Too bad you skipped the baking soda. I have no idea how your product will turn out. I hope it's good.....I know it would be if you had used the baking soda too.

 

[Icemud]

.

How do you wash your buds?

I love that question Doc!!! sounds like a company catchphrase, but for MMJ... awesome!! almost like "what do you have in your wallet" hahaha How do you wash your buds!

 

[Boscoe]

Whew! Finally got caught up on this thread! Lots of amazing info here. I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't at least TRY washing a bud or two to check it out. I'm a looong way from being at that point, but after everything I've read here, there's no way in the world I *wouldn't* try it!

Thanks to everyone for sharing the good thoughts and info and the results of their own tests! That's what it's all about!

 

[Hiker]

Lot's of great discussion happening.

I agree with Icemud. I like that as slogan or something. "How do you wash your buds?" I actually have a logo I've been using since some my buds end up at a farmer's market. I already made up a little flyer for them to use at the market to explain the difference between washed and unwashed buds. Then I provide some "dirty" bud to compare too. Maybe I'll put that question on the flyer!

 

[greenergrass]

I have been reading this Thread and been looking forward to trying this out when harvest came along.
I was planning on doing a comparison half washed vs half unwashed to compare strength.
That went out the window when i washed the first branch and seen the dirt that came off, also the verdict on this thread seems pretty unanimous.
I thought i would probably regret not washing half so i washed it all here are some pictures

I went cold water (but not to cold because as far as i know cold makes trichomes brittle)
then warm water with 1 cup lemon juice 1 cup baking soda, Then cold again for final rince, drip dry then hang to dry normaly.

6 days of drying here are some buds

 

[Doc Bud]

Nice! Fantastic looking buds.

You're not going to regret washing....please let us know your impressions on your first enjoyment of it!

 

[DrZiggy]

Nice! Fantastic looking buds.

You're not going to regret washing....please let us know your impressions on your first enjoyment of it!

Im enjoying and im not the proud owner..