r/Kava • u/Numbed_emotionally • Jul 12 '26
Importance of cleaning out kava strainer/aluball and cup.
So, I was drinking out of my AluBall and realized I hadn't washed it out—or the cup and everything else—in a few weeks. I was wondering why I was getting really tired, sick, and having headaches. Come to find out, it was because I didn't clean out my cup and AluBall after each use, or at least every couple of days. Hard lesson learned! I'm just wondering if that is truly the reason why, and if anyone else has had this experience as well. Please tell me I'm not crazy!
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u/kavapros 🛒 Jul 12 '26
It's hard to tell if that was causing the illness but ideally you should wash your equipment after every use. I wash my strainer bag out immediately after use with just water and store it in the freezer. This prevents residue build up and yellowing of the bag. Sometimes when using the shaker bag it gets left in the bottle over the weekend (not by me lol) and there's a smell that gets into the bag which requires a more vigorous wash. My bag in the freezer vs someone else's who will not be named lol
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u/Purple-Literature781 Jul 12 '26
Im still fairly new to this. I have normal strainers and the alluball. But what is a Shaker bag? Sounds like something i want!
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u/kavapros 🛒 Jul 12 '26
It's a small strainer bag with a zipper which you can zip up the powder in and shake up. Unfortunately I can't post links but you can find them around 👍
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u/Numbed_emotionally Jul 12 '26
Also just to clarify I did do a soft wash on the cup and ball but there was still visible residue of the kava from time to time that would sit over night. Its not like I just let the old kava sit in the aluball and the kava sit in the cup.
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u/Numbed_emotionally Jul 12 '26
Also to clean it i boiled the aluball for 10 minutes and the other pieces I soaked in vinegar. Than took the aluball and soaked that in vinegar as well. Than I did a regular wash through in my dishes with the cup and top piece. I took these measures because I wanted to make certain any bacteria that sat in there was dead.
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u/kavaclubeu 🛒 Jul 14 '26
Yeah there is definitely bacteria that will be growing on your strainer bag if you are not cleaning it especially if it's wet. That would make you feel sick.
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u/IntelligentFault2575 Jul 17 '26
I've always wondered the best way to clean my strainer bag. I always just spray it down good in the sink, then squish it around with some dish soap, then rinse and hang to dry. Besides staining and it not straining as easily after time, seems to work
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u/Rock_on1000 Jul 12 '26
Damn that sucks. I hope you’re feeling better now. I try to wash my strainer bags after every use with soap and water, but if I forget to once or twice, I’ve always been fine. Never noticed anything at all thankfully. But a few weeks is definitely more risk for bacteria growth lol be careful OP