Bud Washing

Glasgrow said:
With 82 pages of posts i am not going to read through it all to get the info that is probably there. Just some questions. Whye use hydrogen peroxide for part of the washing process? Also where do you get it from? I'm in scotland, uk, so some places may or probably wont stock it. The first post here says to use lemon juice and baking soda so would this be sufficient enough? Do you trim your buds first then wash or do you just remove fan leaves and then wash, wait to dry for a day or two then trim? Also if you trim after washing i assume that trim can be used for bubble hash? Also what about the water that you use to wash which will enevitibly have trichomes in it.... can that be used during the bubble making process so as not to waste any trichomes?

Am gonna have to do a side by side run of this to see if there is any difference. Personally i have always trimmed my plants as soon as i pulled them down, placed in a cardboard box or on a large piece of wood and dried out for around 5-7 days then placed into jars for curing. I now cure better than i once did and try to wait at least a month before sampling my product. When i first started i trimmed, dried and started to smoke it without a cure - bad mistake and my stuff always smelt like hay but the smoke was good.

My current grow is being done in a forest clearing. Not been sprayed with anything just fed with some all round fertiliser, fed with black treacle water (pretty much the same as molasses) and also pk 13/14. Have been leaving nature to take its course and seen as it a first grow (well outdoor guerilla grow) i have done no bad. Made some mistakes but will learn for next time. So if plants have not been sprayed is washing really neccessary? I only ask as time is against me due to family coming up and my eldest son's birthday. Cant exactly start washing, drying, trimming while i got peole visiting.
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It would take longer for me to tell you what to do than it would take for you to read the first few pages.

Bottom line: I won't smoke unwashed buds. No one I know who has smoked washed buds will ever smoke unwashed.

I don't eat, smoke or otherwise ingest unwashed produce. Neither should you.
 
I'll try to help you out because I was feeling similar when I first found this thread. I finally sucked it up and just read the whole thing, and yes, every one of your questions has been answered lol. I had the idea of making "Budwashing Guidelines" so people wouldn't have to read the whole thread and so people would stop asking the same questions over and over, but I guess my idea didn't catch on, oh well.

Hydrogen peroxide is only used for product with powdery mildew
You get it from a drug store or online
If you don't have PM then yes, lemon juice/baking soda will suffice

When it comes to trimming people have different preferences. I removed all fan leafs and most anything without trichomes. Then I washed and hung to dry. Some people finishing trimming after the wash, I let mine dry and then do a dry trim, at least I did this time.

The washed trim can be used for a number of great products, bubble hash being one.
Do not use the wash water, throw that shit away, the amount of trichomes lost is very small and not even worth the effort. Someone tried to do it and ended up with dirt with a couple trichs stuck in it. People have lab tested washed vs unwashed buds and the difference in THC is less than 1%. One users washed bud actually tested 3% higher in THC, although we need to repeat this test a couple more times before we can attribute the increase to the washing.

Even though you haven't sprayed your buds with anything, that doesn't mean they are clean. It's pretty much impossible to keep outdoor crops clean. Being out in the elements they are subject to dirt blowing around including anything else in the air like pollen and spores. Also bugs are bound to land on the plants, they might stay there, they might shit there, they might lay eggs there. Any outdoor plants have the potential to have foreign matter on them that would be beneficial to wash away. Most indoor growers here now wash their buds because of the benefits. It gives you peace of mind and makes the smoke smoother. Hope I was able to help out.
 
That all makes sense and questions answered. Thanks very much.

As for saying i will not smoke unwashed bud again Doc Bud this will be impossible for me. I have to get what i can get and unless dried and cured buds can be washed a re-dried and re-cured again i would have to buy a large amount and keep buying to wash it, dry it while smoking previously washed and dried stuff (if that makes sense). Would be a sort of a rotation thing. Buy an oz, wash it, dry and cure. Next monthe buy another oz and do the same again but then start smoking the previous oz that i got.

I can only gro guerilla style with the approval of the mrs. If she says yes then great, if not then have to go buying again. I generally get pretty good stuff tho.
 
Glasgrow said:
Asked 3 guys. One says he doesnt do it (probably doesnt know what it is), the other doesnt know and the last one says he wouldnt buy it like that. Am pointing him in this direction to have a look and read up on it.
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I was chatting with the bloke in the hydro shop the other day and mentioned washed bud .
The look on his face was priceless and so was his reply , You can't wash bud, what about the oils on the bud .
He has bin growing for thirty years .
Just told him to come to:420: and reed this thread :bravo:
 
My friend's brother lives in California and is doing a couple warehouse grows so needless to say my friend knows a thing or two, but when I told him about planning to do a wash after the next chop he seemed so blown away and couldn't believe anyone would dunk their branches in a bucket of water let alone three. Told him about this thread a few times but he still just couldn't believe it and asked to try some washed lettuce when it's ready.

This is what my water looked like and this isn't even a very big plant. It grew kinda funny so there weren't many branches but they were all fairly branchy, but overall 3' tall in the pot. The main stem was bent to a right angle and was around 12" from bend to tip.
20151016_115849.jpg



All ready to get branched up and dipped
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Drip drying for an hour or two
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This was a few days ago
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Tell him to not get mad that he'll never want to smoke his brother's produce ever again!
 
Had a question about washing buds that have dried for 4-5 days. I have some outdoor that I have been picking cola by cola due to there being a lot of nuggage and so little time with work. Well I picked a cola and as I was trimming it I Noticed some little bugs fell off. Now I want to go through and wash all my nugs would that be a good idea? Or should I only wash the fresh buds? Thanks for the info by the way very happy to find this technique.
 
The trichs become less flexible fairly quickly, so you run the risk of significant loss. I've washed the next day, when I simply didn't have time to chop, trim, wash and hang, all at once, but the buds were still plump and wet.

I'd advise against it after 4-5 days.

:Namaste:
 
Thanks for the info ! That's what I was thinking but I'm no pro figure it'd be worth asking. Too bad to hear though but in a way it will be nice seeing the difference between washed and unwashed buds :) thanks again!
 
H2o2 here cost $29 3% 1 litre...
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Lord are you serious?

H202 (Hydrogen Peroxide) is what folks usually use for bleaching hair etc....almost ANY supermarket has it.
Here, a 250ml bottle of Peroxide is like €1, which would make it €4 for a liter.
I know this won't help you, but Peroxide for $29/l is a MAJOR, MAJOR ripoff. And it's really not something "rare" either if you can get it in almost any supermarket.

Edit: Walmart, Walgreens, CVS etc... a 16oz bottle shouldn't be more than $1.50
 
If you live in a country where H2O2 is expensive(it's only available in small bottles at the chemist's here) check out online wholesale stores that cater to the pig/poultry farming industry, they probably have 5-10 litre jugs for a reasonable price.
 
Hiker said:
I have a question for anyone that knows. What is the reasoning behind the lemon juice and baking soda?
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I found this thread two days ago, but allow me to give you input:

Baking POWDER (not pure baking soda) usually contains baking soda & some type of mild acid to "activate" the baking soda.

If you use baking soda for this bud washing method, the lemon juice basically helps the baking soda to get activated so it can wash/clean better. I guess this will also answer my own questions whether baking SODA (sodium bicarbonate) alone would be fine. It obviously is not, so you want to add lemon juice to make it more effective.

The lemon juice might have other added benefits like killing germs etc.
 
Doc Bud said:
Bucket 1: 3 parts RO water to 1 part 3% H202.
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Doc Bud said:
The Cervantes video is what prompted me to do the peroxide wash.
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[video=youtube;S7jE7qzfgQs]
[/video]

If you mean this video of Cervantes, he is using only 200-250ml H2O2 per 5 galons of water.

But with your measurements this would mean a 5gal bucket would contain 1,25gal H2O2 and 3,75gal water

Cervantes and you are both recommending 3% H2O2, so the dosages are really wide appart...

Why would Cervantes reccomend so much less than you?


Regards,

Budwasher
 
budwasher said:
[video=youtube;S7jE7qzfgQs]
[/video]

If you mean this video of Cervantes, he is using only 200-250ml H2O2 per 5 galons of water.

But with your measurements this would mean a 5gal bucket would contain 1,25gal H2O2 and 3,75gal water

Cervantes and you are both recommending 3% H2O2, so the dosages are really wide appart...

Why would Cervantes reccomend so much less than you?


Regards,

Budwasher
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Gee, I don't know.

What's your theory?

Have you ever tried it?
 
>>
1,25gal H2O2 and 3,75gal water
>>

This sounds too much for me!
I know that H2O2 can be very harsh and 1,25gal for a 5gal wash just sounds off, that would be a very unusually large amount.
Even without having any real numbers there (I googled a bit), 250ml or 16oz, a typical bottle you'd get at a drug store sounds more reasonable to me adding to a bucket.

Note that the H202 wash is only needed IF you have powdery mildew anyway.

We washed buds last week, really simple...one warm (not hot) 10L or so bucket with a cup or so baking soda and lemon juice, two buckets with cold clear water. Probably not "by the book" and not perfect like the original method but it sure helps to wash off all kinds of crap and especially if you sprayed your plants.

Edit: Looking a bit more, I see all kinds of advice about dilutions of 3% H2o2, eg. for "washing vegetables". that range from "1 cup for a full sink of water" to "directly put in undiluted H202 to wash off mold". So I don't think it would "hurt" using it like the OP suggests, eg 3:1, ie. 25%.

In case of doubt you can always use two or maybe three 16oz bottles into your bucket, say if you have a bad case of powdery mildew and think that one bottle is not enough.

The other question is whether a quick soaking and swishing in H2O2, regardless of dilution would do anything! From what I read you would have to soak stuff for some time because H2o2 needs time to work. Like put buds into your H2o2 bucket for 10mins or so to even have an effect when you want to wash off mold.

But don't ask me how that would affect resins or buds. No idea. Would be a matter of trying it out I guess.
 
flexy123 said:
>>
1,25gal H2O2 and 3,75gal water
>>

This sounds too much for me!
I know that H2O2 can be very harsh and 1,25gal for a 5gal wash just sounds off, that would be a very unusually large amount.
Even without having any real numbers there (I googled a bit), 250ml or 16oz, a typical bottle you'd get at a drug store sounds more reasonable to me adding to a bucket.

Note that the H202 wash is only needed IF you have powdery mildew anyway.

We washed buds last week, really simple...one warm (not hot) 10L or so bucket with a cup or so baking soda and lemon juice, two buckets with cold clear water. Probably not "by the book" and not perfect but it sure helps to wash off all kinds of crap and especially if you sprayed your plants.
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Well, most people thought I was crazy to wash my harvests. Then, they tried it. Once you try it you'll always do it.

It might just be that I know what I'm talking about....you never know.
 
Doc Bud said:
Well, most people thought I was crazy to wash my harvests. Then, they tried it. Once you try it you'll always do it.

It might just be that I know what I'm talking about....you never know.
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Nah, it makes totally sense to me! Bugs on the buds, residue from insecticidal soap I sprayed by mistake during flower etc.
It's clear that water doesn't "wash away the good stuff", anyone who washes their sticky hands with plain water knows that it doesn't do shit for removing resins, so makes total sense to me! And it's simple enough to do! I am now also recommending this every time when we harvest!
 
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