Are you travelling or wondering how to store your vape pen at home? Either way, there are some dos and don’ts around vape devices and how to maximize their lifespan.
A vape pen is a very popular device among vapers. However, you have to ensure it’s being properly stored, kept clean, and treated with the same care as any other device. There are a few tips on what not to do.
Here is how to store your vape pen safely:
1. Keep your vape pen upright
A vape pen should be kept upright at all times. It can leak when a vape pen is on its side or upside-down. Even if it doesn’t leak, you’re also running a risk of dust and dirt getting into the device or some damage coming to it with it on its side.
This is why you may want to keep a vape pen in a cup holder, a toothbrush holder strictly reserved for vape pens or something similar that will keep it upright.
2. Store your vape pen in a safe place
As with any tool like this, you do not want a vape pen to fall into the hands of a child or someone who doesn’t know how to properly use it.
Always keep your vape pen and vape liquids somewhere secure. If you have children, keep your vape pen out of their reach. It’s best practice to keep your vape pen in a secure location without the risk of someone misusing it.
3. Identify when e-juice has gone bad
E-liquid can go bad. If it’s not being stored properly, it’s a certainty. If the e-liquid smells or tastes rotten, you know it’s gone stale. At that point, you shouldn’t even try to use the e-liquid.
Some e-juices last longer than others, usually with fruity vape juices being the most prone to spoiling quickly. Going over the e-liquid aspect is important when discussing how to store a vape pen.
4. Limit exposure to heat for your e-liquid
Heat affects the chemicals in e-liquid. Heat creates energy, causes ingredients to interact, and breaks them down into smaller pieces. This isn’t a problem when the heat is purposeful. However, prolonged exposure to heat through improper storage of a vape pen will mean changes in the flavour notes of the liquid.
You will end up with a different tasting vape than what you thought it would be. Always store your vape pen and e-liquid in a cool, dry place without exposure to direct sunlight.
5. Limit exposure to air for your e-liquid
Air exposure is also very bad for e-liquid. An e-liquid that contains nicotine will change with exposure to oxygen. Long-term oxygen exposure reacts to nicotine and creates cotinine from it. This oxidation process will reduce the nicotine in your e-liquid and reduce the vaping experience’s intensity.
Fortunately, most e-liquids are already sealed and safely contained. However, if they are not, be sure to seal them so they will not be exposed to oxygen.
6. Limit exposure to light for any e-liquid
As some may already know, UV light is also a threat to vape pens and e-liquid. UV light assists in providing heat-like energy, and that energy can further intensify any oxidation that’s occurring. Light’s a big issue for vape pens, so the e-liquid is always contained in things that purposefully obscure light.
If you happen to re-bottle or put e-liquid in something clear, keep it away from UV light when storing it. It is best recommended to use a dark container over a transparent container.
7. Store vape juice in a freezer or fridge
The best place to store vape juice is in a freezer or fridge. Put it in a fridge if you use it frequently. For long-term storage, though, always store it in a freezer. E-liquid isn’t the sort of thing you would store in a cupboard. A freezer keeps air and light out, reducing its likelihood of oxidizing.
On top of that, ingredients like nicotine will last longer and stay fresh in a freezer or fridge scenario. Removing it from the freezer, let it thaw. Though removing it from the fridge, e-liquid can be deposited immediately into your vape pen. It does not need to heat up.
8. Treat your vape pen as a delicate device
Treat your vape pen like you would a phone. Do not put it anywhere it could be stepped on, sat on, buried in heavy things, kept together with other materials that could damage it, or where it could fall. Be very careful with your vape pen.
Something like sitting on a vape pen will most likely break it. If it falls from the top of your fridge or a high shelf to a solid hardwood floor, the impact can also cause it to break or malfunction.
