Should I wash my buds?

[Towelie29]

I keep seeing people say that they wash their buds to take off bugs, mildew and dirt. Some people claim that it makes the weed smoother to smoke. From what I understand it is because it is almost a water cure at that point. Some people claim that it ruins the bud. Has anyone done an experiment to compare washed buds to non washed buds? Does it smell and taste the same after? Or does it actually degrade the quality? I'm wondering because I notice a few aphids here and there on my plants but the ladybugs I released kind of just crawl past them half the time.

 

[Herb & Suds]

I keep seeing people say that they wash their buds to take off bugs, mildew and dirt. Some people claim that it makes the weed smoother to smoke. From what I understand it is because it is almost a water cure at that point. Some people claim that it ruins the bud. Has anyone done an experiment to compare washed buds to non washed buds? Does it smell and taste the same after? Or does it actually degrade the quality? I'm wondering because I notice a few aphids here and there on my plants but the ladybugs I released kind of just crawl past them half the time.

Growing outdoors is like a bag of flour
It does the job and you never saw the creepy crawlers they ground up
Point is are you afraid you might ingest a bit of protein or inhale bug smoke?

 

[thumper60]

I keep seeing people say that they wash their buds to take off bugs, mildew and dirt. Some people claim that it makes the weed smoother to smoke. From what I understand it is because it is almost a water cure at that point. Some people claim that it ruins the bud. Has anyone done an experiment to compare washed buds to non washed buds? Does it smell and taste the same after? Or does it actually degrade the quality? I'm wondering because I notice a few aphids here and there on my plants but the ladybugs I released kind of just crawl past them half the time.

Only time i washed was for pm, Just blast the aphids with a hose couple times before harvest. Washing bud does nothing to the taste or buzz.

 

[Towelie29]

Growing outdoors is like a bag of flour
It does the job and you never saw the creepy crawlers they ground up
Point is are you afraid you might ingest a bit of protein or inhale bug smoke?

Good point, some of these videos I see of people washing them shows a lot of nasty little bits floating in the bucket afterwards. At first I was worried about losing tricomes but it doesn't seem to lose many at all when washing them. It would be less for me and more for my friends, as I use a vaporizer now. It just seems like a lot of work but if it actually makes the bud smoke better it could be worth it. I wouldn't want to sacrifice any flavour or aroma though just for a smoother burn.

 

[Towelie29]

Only time i washed was for pm, Just blast the aphids with a hose couple times before harvest. Washing bud does nothing to the taste or buzz.

Yeah I was thinking I'd just rinse them off before harvest, I'm hoping as my ladybugs start to breed they'll eat all the remaining aphids. It's not an infestation or anything crazy as I caught them early.

 

[thumper60]

Dipping your bud in water after harvest does not give a smoother burn but it does take some crap off out door bud.

 

[stealthfader508]

i usually wash my outdoors in a light hydrogen peroxide bath, then rinse in fresh water ... I do it primarily to catch any PM or mold spores that may be hidden, and become a problem while curing ... I guess it would also help rinse the buds if they were in a dusty environment ... but I don't think it's necessary, and it doesn't change anything with the quality of the burn... that all comes in the cure

 

[Hash Hound]

I usually wash my outside bud. Indoors, only if I've used foliar sprays, especially like Doc Buds Hgh Brix kit.

Wash them in a lemon juice baking soda mix, rinse 2x shake or spin dry. Hang to day. Strangely it takes no longer for them to dry especially if you shake or spin them good to get the majority of the water off.

It has nothing to do with a water cure. Water curing is putting buds in water in a jar, shake and rinse several times over a week if I remember correct, drain and dry. Only did it once, not worth it.

 

[ganga gurl420]

Water curing and washing buds are two different things. Up here we have high winds so we get pollen and dirt etc in the buds.

Since I started doing it, it is a cleaner tasting smoke by far. Like the difference between smoking from a clean pipe vs a dirty one...(well not maybe that extreme but its noticable for sure)

When I say it's a cleaner burn I mean its just over all smoother and less harsh compared to some of my friends buds that cure the same way I do.

No I dont notice any loss of anything. This was washed and it looks beautiful to me.

 

[WintersBones]

I wash my bud now. It's not the same as a water cure. Just a quick dunk in H202 and lemon jjuice and rinse off then hang to dry as normal. Doesn't affect taste or smoothness as far as Ive seen. Dont see why not to, at least for a smaller grow like mine that's almost all for personal consumption. If i was just selling it I'd probably not bother tbh.