Bud washing washes away trichomes

[Gfol70]

Ok so I just completed an experiment to see what percent trichomes are removed when washing buds to remove dust and mildew - a lot. Based on my experiment - I started w two 40g samples of OG kush - one had been gently washed, the other not.

The wash was the three 5 gal bucket approach using room temp water.

The 1st bucket contained water and a few grams of baking soda to bring pH above 8, the second bucket had a half a squeezed lemon and 6oz of 3% hydrogen peroxide and the last bucket simply contained RO water. The buds were dipped into each solution two or three times and then gently agitated to remove excess water. I then did a bubble water extraction of both. From what I got back I’d say one loses 2/3s of the trichomes by washing the buds.
So yes, one removes dust and mixes but one also loses a lot of trichomes. Worth it? Hard to say.
Next time I do experiment i would completely try buds and do a dry-ice extraction for more accurate results.

[s62]

Thanks for testing that out! Very interesting .

[Farmall]

Seems contrary to Ed Rosenthals techniques for making hash. Was the water too cold? He actually soak the ground flower and squeezes out the water which is more aggressive than a dip

[Gingerbeard]

I noticed on the leaves of my last harvest that I was getting dust on my plants because of my proximity to the ocean an prevailing west winds. I'd read about washing and losing the trichomes. At what point do you think the trichomes are lost and do you suppose you could otherwise remove the trichomes from the bucket you think they might be lost? Get me? I'm a dabber and blast my own when I can. Do you think there might be a way to extract the trichomes from the waters? I mean, they have to go somewhere. What about running the buds over a screen, first, then filtering the kief? I'm throwing thoughts out there.
Comes to be that anything around here that is home grown in any outdoor conditions is also covered by ocean breeze. Until I grew my own, I didn't know what I was inhaling. Had I not known from new experience, I might have never known or cared. Bud never get washed. I know blasting will get rid of the larger particles. Dissolved salt, not so much. Yeah, great experiment!

[Farmall]

Well, they do use bubble bags with micronic screens down to 20 something. I think that would easily do the job, especially that the best stuff is said to come out on the #73 bag

[homegrown]

Wow Gfo, thanks for taking one for the team! 40g's, you wernt mess'n around. lol. I always questioned the practice of washing/rinsing buds...but i've never had a serious outbreak to deal with. nice job!

[Gingerbeard]

In my case the stuff that blows in from the west is primarily salt and sand particles. These bits are fine enough to become airborne. I've never used bubble bags because I've never had enough flower or trim to bother. There would have to be some good magnification between bags to see when the trichs, sand, and salt are separated. Dry sifted, that is. I imagine other parts of the US would be more concerned with washing something else off.
Which bucket has the trichs?

[homegrown]

i suppose you could always do a taste test....salt should be easy, sand, a little crunchy, use the other one...?

[Farmall]

That’s a good test homegrown 😅