anduin1
Well-Known Member
He totally didn't need those huge buckets though did he? He was cutting all his branches into small sections.
Bud Washing
- Thread starter Hiker
- Start date
He totally didn't need those huge buckets though did he? He was cutting all his branches into small sections.
Skybound
Well-Known Member
Those branches just happened to be the smaller colas, but the most choice colas were upwards of 12"-15" and it was a little tricky fitting them into the buckets and having extra room to maneuver them in. In hindsight, I wished I would've used totes to spread the water out so I could've laid each larger branch down to oscillate many at once. Then I could've just snipped the larger sections apart after the wash.
anduin1
Well-Known Member
So today I cut my GSC plant, some really fat buds and thought I would try this method since why not. I cut one branch from the middle to dry regularly without washing it at all and I'm going to compare taste in a couple weeks. One this I noticed right away was my water was getting fairly dirty and I didn't spray my plants with anything other than water. There must have been dust or something on different parts of the bud. I did it in a smaller container than 5 gallon but I ended up changing the water out half way through just so most of my bud could get a good clean washing. The smell is another thing I noticed after washing it in the baking soda/lemon mix, the terpene smell just jumps out at you far more than that of the regular drying bud.
Skybound
Well-Known Member
Unless grown in a NASA style air locked environment, all grows will be subject to dust as all building materials at least emit it throughout the course of their life. I'd even be willing to bet that grow tents also put out at least some microscopic particulate matter. Gotta wash that crap off or get comfortable smoking it.
the crap on the cloth on the inline filter is the very same that people are ingesting or inhaling if they don't wash their buds.
how do people that never tried washing their herb, know otherwise?
those that have washed it also have not washed it...
..i wash my herb..wouldnt have it any other way.
how do people that never tried washing their herb, know otherwise?
those that have washed it also have not washed it...
..i wash my herb..wouldnt have it any other way.
A large amount of dust on your house is shed human skin. We flake off a lot of skin. I wash it off.
I have some unwashed bud curing for the first time. I haven't sampled it in 7 days since being jarred.
Cannabuzz
New Member
What is RO water? Also, are you using food grade H202 or off the shelf regular peroxide?
RO is Reverse Osmosis water. I use tap water.
I never heard of food grade H202 as it is not edible. Hydrogen peroxide (in the USA) comes in two strengths - use differnt amounts of either one.
You only need the H202 for grows gone a bit wrong - bud rot, recent foliar spraying, etc.
Skybound
Well-Known Member
My first attempt at washing, I used the food grade equivalent (29% H2O2), but trying to translate that strength to Doc Bud's suggested dose left me to miscalculate and I mixed in 350ml to a 5 gal bucket of distilled water. It worked great and all, but my buds dried stupid fast and the flavors were burnt right out. In my video, I used the store bought 2% stuff and only mixed in roughly 500ml of it to a 5 gal bucket of RO. This also sped up the drying some, but it didn't ruin the cure and is what I'll do from there on out. I emphasize however that the H2O2 bucket should ONLY be used in the wash when mold is known or suspected. If you're confident there's no mold, skip it.
- Thread starter
- #1,170
I've been absent for awhile, so sorry I couldn't respond to each person. It looks like everyone got some responses to help guide them from this great group. 
I noticed a couple themes in the recent posts: there is a lot of confusion about what temps to use for the water, and some debate on combining the lemon and bicarb and/or no lemon at all.
Yes, it's true that the acid and base do react with each other. I've always felt it was this reaction that 'cleaned' the buds. Does the CO2 by-product react with the water or debris on the buds?
I use both in the first bucket. When I first read that folks were doing the lemon, then the bicarb to neutralize the acid, I was intrigued. That does make some sense, but it made me ask another question. Isn't this theory based on the premise that we want to 'clean' with an acid? Most strong cleaners, ie sanitizers used in brewing beer, are strong bases. Perhaps it's the bicard doing the 'cleaning' and the lemon is neutralizing the base?
Sorry, but I'm not providing an answer to this debate. I'm merely offering other perspectives to think about before deciding what to do to YOUR buds. I will continue to combine my lemon juice and bicarb. I've been happy with the results so far.
In regards to the temperature of the water, I am curious why folks are putting the warm wash in the middle?
I put the hottest tap water into my first bucket, but by the time I start washing, it has usually cooled considerably. As was mentioned above, if I wash while it's very hot, and then wash in much colder water, that is blanching. Some of my strains would produce nice colors late in flower. Blanching can often accentuate this, so I will often try to wash my 'purple' strains soon after filling the first bucket to get the largest blanching effect.
My lemon juice and bicarb are also in the first bucket. I like this to be the warm bucket also to increase the chemical re-activity of the solution. I'm sure there is both physical and chemical actions at work in the process, so increasing the temps will increase the chemical reactions.
Sorry I haven't been around much. We bought a new house, so I've been busy renting the old place and fixing up the new one. I'm hoping to start building a new garden before the end of the year.
thanks for the shout out buddy
I like your setup. I love using the string and the stem 'hangers'. Great vid.
I'd like to make more vids, but I mostly want to show technique and that's really hard when you're also trying to hold the camera. Maybe I need to enlist Mrs Hiker as camera woman.
I noticed a couple themes in the recent posts: there is a lot of confusion about what temps to use for the water, and some debate on combining the lemon and bicarb and/or no lemon at all.
Yes, it's true that the acid and base do react with each other. I've always felt it was this reaction that 'cleaned' the buds. Does the CO2 by-product react with the water or debris on the buds?
I use both in the first bucket. When I first read that folks were doing the lemon, then the bicarb to neutralize the acid, I was intrigued. That does make some sense, but it made me ask another question. Isn't this theory based on the premise that we want to 'clean' with an acid? Most strong cleaners, ie sanitizers used in brewing beer, are strong bases. Perhaps it's the bicard doing the 'cleaning' and the lemon is neutralizing the base?Sorry, but I'm not providing an answer to this debate. I'm merely offering other perspectives to think about before deciding what to do to YOUR buds. I will continue to combine my lemon juice and bicarb. I've been happy with the results so far.
In regards to the temperature of the water, I am curious why folks are putting the warm wash in the middle?
I put the hottest tap water into my first bucket, but by the time I start washing, it has usually cooled considerably. As was mentioned above, if I wash while it's very hot, and then wash in much colder water, that is blanching. Some of my strains would produce nice colors late in flower. Blanching can often accentuate this, so I will often try to wash my 'purple' strains soon after filling the first bucket to get the largest blanching effect.
My lemon juice and bicarb are also in the first bucket. I like this to be the warm bucket also to increase the chemical re-activity of the solution. I'm sure there is both physical and chemical actions at work in the process, so increasing the temps will increase the chemical reactions.
Sorry I haven't been around much. We bought a new house, so I've been busy renting the old place and fixing up the new one. I'm hoping to start building a new garden before the end of the year.
thanks for the shout out buddy
I like your setup. I love using the string and the stem 'hangers'. Great vid.
I'd like to make more vids, but I mostly want to show technique and that's really hard when you're also trying to hold the camera. Maybe I need to enlist Mrs Hiker as camera woman.
Cannabliss89
New Member
Hey MassMedMan, did you ever get those test results? I'm really interested in how they came out. I'm not worried about loss of THC but more if the terps or anything else is effected.
Finally found the time to read this whole thread, definetly going to be doing it on my little outdoor girl because of some mites n stuff. Also have two indoor girls that I'm going to harvest in the next week. I think I'll wash some of it not sure how much though, this is my first harvest and I really like the idea of having clean bud but this shit still makes me nervous lol. I'll probably wash most of it but I'm still worried that some unseen negative effect is happening. It seems the only downside to this process is that it makes the bud dry quicker and I'm already worried about drying too fast so I might have to put them in paper bags or something I'll see how it goes.
Is it recommended to use the hydrogen peroxide if you have bugs?
I was just going to mix some of my shitty tap water with some RO, so it has some chloramine in it but not too high of PPM, n I figured that plus the baking soda n lemon juice should do the job
Finally found the time to read this whole thread, definetly going to be doing it on my little outdoor girl because of some mites n stuff. Also have two indoor girls that I'm going to harvest in the next week. I think I'll wash some of it not sure how much though, this is my first harvest and I really like the idea of having clean bud but this shit still makes me nervous lol. I'll probably wash most of it but I'm still worried that some unseen negative effect is happening. It seems the only downside to this process is that it makes the bud dry quicker and I'm already worried about drying too fast so I might have to put them in paper bags or something I'll see how it goes.
Is it recommended to use the hydrogen peroxide if you have bugs?
I was just going to mix some of my shitty tap water with some RO, so it has some chloramine in it but not too high of PPM, n I figured that plus the baking soda n lemon juice should do the job
I did, I even started a thread with the results but I don't have that at my finger tips, at the moment. According to the lab, my washed sample tested 3% higher then the unwashed. I totally trust the lab, and know the samples were marked properly. So,, I'm going to do the same test again with some DBHB and see what I get. I'll post the link to my thread/tests as soon as I'm able.
David Bowman
New Member
Interesting. I wonder if that 3% increase is from the fact that since washing removes foreign matter from the buds that the resulting percentage is higher even though the actual amount of THC is the same, washed or unwashed. Washed buds should yield a truer percentage of THC since there is minimal non-plant material within the bud as compared to unwashed buds.
BrodyNitro
New Member
When I first read about dunking buds in buckets of water it reminded me of water curing, which I've read causes a rise in potency because the buds turn out lighter. Your comment is almost my own thought when I saw the washed batch had the 3% rise, hehe. Great minds
anduin1
Well-Known Member
It's definitely benefiting from the reaction of the lemon juice/baking soda. its mostly just CO2 bubbles being released when you first mix it but you're left with a weak base in solution and you get the best of both worlds AND it's gentle. It's not something you would immediately think of since lemon juice and baking soda are considered an eco friendly cleaning combo.
I'm going to run the test again,, probably with a Doc Bud plant cause I'm really focused on heavy metals and I think doc's kit will do well there. I always felt the washed product smoked better,, it's good to see it wasn't just in my mind!
great thread. i've read the entire thing and i have a concern. i have 4 plants, 2 of which have come down with bud rot. it wouldn't surprise me to find that they all have some of the bortytis. i know the H202 initial bucket is recommended for this and PM but wouldn't washing just spread around the spores to ALL of the buds and make contamination of the entire harvest inevitable? i mean, does the H202 completely wipe it out? i'm planning on going through and trimming pre wash and hopefully i can catch the majority of infected buds, but there is no way i'm going to catch it all. i mean, it's got to be all over the plants, even if it's not visible.
one thing i like about this process is that the drying time is reportedly reduced.
i don't know, i'd just like some confirmation that bud washing is not a bad idea for my situation. say i wash my known infected plants and accidentally infect my clean ones. how likely is that to happen?
one thing i like about this process is that the drying time is reportedly reduced.
i don't know, i'd just like some confirmation that bud washing is not a bad idea for my situation. say i wash my known infected plants and accidentally infect my clean ones. how likely is that to happen?
Skybound
Well-Known Member
The purpose of the H2O2 is to kill the spores, but that is not to guarantee that the dead spore will ALL be removed. I've saw youtube video(s), (or possibly 420 thread(s)), of grower(s) having evident bud rot, and to best salvage their efforts, it was decided to cut off the known infected areas to be washed and used for tinctures or oils and such. In your situation, you'll have to be the one to make any executive decisions, but if I were you, I'd trim off the infected well into the uninfected areas to be safe, and wash them separately with H2O2 used in both processes, but more so in the infected product. Then send samples of each to a lab to be tested while their counterparts are curing in segregated areas. I've found that making dry ice hash is extremely easy and can be done on fresh undried materials in a pail with a bubble bag over it. Just toss in a few chunks of dry ice (you'll need to find local distributors) into the bucket with the trimmings and shake the hell out of it for 5 minutes. Then flip it over and shake some more like a giant pepper shaker. Scrape up the hash and have a portion also tested. The results should give you more info to make the tough choice of possibly discarding some or all of your harvest.
IMO, washing is to refine the cleanliness of already relatively clean materials, not a miracle to revive the dead. I don't mean to sound cruel, but sometimes we make mistakes that can cost dearly. I hope you are able to resolve this.
IMO, washing is to refine the cleanliness of already relatively clean materials, not a miracle to revive the dead. I don't mean to sound cruel, but sometimes we make mistakes that can cost dearly. I hope you are able to resolve this.
by all means i agree. i'm not looking for a cure all. i truely want the best buds i can grow and as far as i can tell that includes washing. i don't need a way to fix the budrot, i want to know if washing is still safe in spite of the rot. i'll just get in there and inspect everything during a pre wash trim and go from there.
Cannabliss89
New Member
I saw the test results, very interesting, so the washed sample was 17.5% THC and the unwashed was 14.7%.
We need to figure out why there's such a difference, I can't imagine he removed enough dirt and dust to result in a 3% increase.
Were the sample buds from different parts of the plant? Even if they were I don't think the THC varies enough to make that big of a difference.
and your sure that the samples were labeled correctly right?
We need to figure out why there's such a difference, I can't imagine he removed enough dirt and dust to result in a 3% increase.
Were the sample buds from different parts of the plant? Even if they were I don't think the THC varies enough to make that big of a difference.
and your sure that the samples were labeled correctly right?