Step 1--
Hydrogen Peroxide mixed with water. A number of the msgs say that the best ratio is 1 part H2O2 to 3 parts water. Personally, that is the ratio I settled on after trying several others. The H2O2 kills molds, mildews, germs, and very small insects like mites. Swish around and let the buds or colas sit in there for several minutes. There might be some gentle foaming when the H202 reacts to the dirt, mildews, etc. I drain and let the buds sit in a sieve while prepping for the next step.
Keep in mind that H2O2 is recommended by oral surgeons and dentists as a mouth wash especially after surgery or most any procedure on the gums or other areas of the mouth so it is considered safe
Step 2--The recommendation in the thread for the second step (originally it was the first step until the introduction of the H2O2) is to mix the Baking Soda and Lemon Juice with water in the bucket. The ratio mentioned by
@013 sounds good. Put water in the bucket, dump the sieve with the buds into the bucket, put in the Baking Soda and swish around. Then add the Lemon Juice. Watch the magic cleaning action before your eyes. The Baking Soda acts as an extremely mild abrasive and starts to remove insects, eggs, dirt and very tiny particles of dirt. When the Lemon Juice is added we see the foaming action between the Baking Soda and the mild acids in the juice. This will physically remove all those small particles of dirt and crud from the surface of the buds and keeps them in the water. Put the buds in the sieve and dump the bucket. Using just Baking Soda or just the Lemon Juice does not do much at all. It is a chemical reaction between the two that does the magic cleaning.
Baking Soda has been used as a basic type of toothpaste for decades so it is safe and Lemon Juice works great to make Lemonade.
Step 3 & 4 are plain water rinses. There are recommendations on the best temperatures for the water but room temp to body temp seem to be best.
If someone has extra buds laying around they can experiment with the temperatures of the rinse water. Warm water, up to 110-120 F will darken the green material in the buds. If the water is cold it does not seem to rinse as well and I have noticed little bits of trimmed leaves later on which are usually removed when the rinse water is warm.
Some people mix the
Hydrogen Peroxide with the Lemon Juice. They probably did not look up the chemical reaction but the H2O2 and the acids in the juice will form a new chemical which is not recommended for living things. I figure that most of the time we are not using a strong enough H2O2 and/or Lemon Juice acid but who knows.
The basic information found on more than one web site about mixing the two: "Combining them creates peracetic acid, which is potentially toxic and can irritate the skin, eyes, and respiratory system." They should not be mixed together but they will not form the Peracetic Acid if used in succession. So, using the H2O2 in step 1 and then the lemon juice & baking soda mix in step 2 is OK.
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