The washing machine was designed to agitate the dirt from the fibres of your clothes, therefore the washing machine is also brilliant at agitating the resin glands from plant material. Instead of washing powder to aid the agitation we use very cold water & blocks of ice. The cold water hardens the resin glands & plant material, causing the plant material to hold together better.

The movement of the water & ice cause the resin glands to drop off their brittle pedestals and sink in the water. For those who wish to process a few kilos a day (4-6 dry leaf, 6-10 wet leaf) the washing machine is a brilliant way to significantly decrease the workload.

 

In addition to the Washing Machine Ice-O-Lator the following items are required:

  •   A top loading washing machine. ( Make sure you can set the temperature to zero )
  •   A 100 litre plastic bucket. ( to collect the water and hold the Ice-O-Lator bags )
  •   Kitchen paper. ( To partially dry the resin glands & press them for removal from the Ice-O-Lator )
  •  Small submergible pump. ( You can get them in gardening & D.I.Y Shops )
  •   Hammer & Plastic bags. ( To break the ice you’ve made )
  •  Thermometer. ( To make sure you have the water at 4°C (41°F) before starting the washing machine )
  •  2 garden hose pipes ( A 1m hose &1 for from the washing machine & bucket to your sink )
  •  3-4 large clamps ( To hold the Ice-O-Lator bags in place )
  •  Kitchen Sieve/Strainer ( To separate the wet resin glands into fine pieces for drying & pressing later )
  •   Water & Ice ( Enough to ½ fill your washing machine with water at 4°C (41°F) & keep it at 4°C (41°F)
  •  Leaf material ( Use only the leaf material that have resin glands, i.e. small leaves & buds )



 

 

 

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1 Place your leaf material (1kg) in the zipped Ice-O-Lator bag & then add about 4kg of ice (break into fist sized pieces). Put the zipped bag in the drum of the washing machine, then ½ fill the washing machine with cold water. Now check the temperature with a thermometer and adjust to 4°C (41°F) (by adding more water or ice). Now tie the small Ice-O-Lator bag tightly around the washing machine water out pipe ( a clamp as can also be used for security ). Attach the 1m hose to the pump in the bucket.

    

The large Ice-O-Lator bag now goes in the bucket. Wrap the edges of the bag around the rim of the bucket & then clamp them down with the clamps. Now hang the out pipe from the washing machine into the bucket and start the washing machine on its main wash cycle ( make sure the water temp on the washing machine is set to zero !!).

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2 The water will be pumped out of the bag & will flow through the two Ice-O-Lator bags. The smaller bag traps any leaf material that may have been in the water and the larger one will collect your mature resin glands. Once the water is in the bucket use the 1m hose to pump the water from the bucket back into the washing machine. This process should happen 3-4 times throughout the main washing program.

    

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3   With the main wash finished the first load of resin glands need to be collected. Carefully remove both bags in the bucket (keeping the smaller bag inside the larger one) & take them to the sink to be rinsed. Some of the resin glands will have stuck to the sides of the bags. After rinsing the smaller bag (inside & outside) rinse the inside of the larger bag, collecting all the resin glands in the bottom of the bag & then drain all the water out. Using kitchen paper wrap the bottom of the large bag & press it together with your hands. This will make the wet resin glands easier to take out of the Ice-O-Lator bags & will also partly remove some of the water from the collected resin glands.

    



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4  The final process of drying can now take place. From the Ice-O-Lator bag put the wet resin glands into a kitchen sieve and sieve the glands onto a piece of paper. The fine texture of the powder dries much quicker than lumps & is better for pressing when it is in a fine powdered form. For a quick drying time, use a dehydrator (0*C). It is fine to leave the resin glands to dry on the paper (make sure you select a spot that is dark, dry & not windy).

    


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Tips for Using the Ice-O-Lator Washing machine system.

A ) Before using a top loading washing machine for the first time clean your washing machine using a strong cleaner and use very hot washing cycles. Make sure you rinse the machine with clean cold water.

B ) The quality of the end product is greatly influenced by the starting product. If you use a genetically good starting material you will get better results.

C ) Use only plant material which contains a large proportion (dried weight ratio) of resin glands as the more plant material you use, the more you may discolour the water to an undesirable green and you won’t get clean glands.

D ) If you are using wet leaf (plant material that has not been allowed to dry) as the starting material then do it within a couple of hours and store it in an airtight bag in the freezer. Don’t keep it there too long as the water in the plant material will start to discolour the water & the quality will suffer.

E ) If you use this system on a daily basis we suggest you spend at least 20 minutes at the start & end of each day cleaning and rinsing the machine with cold water and a cloth to get rid of any old water that may contain plant matter.

F ) Make sure that the resin glands have been fully dried before leaving them to be stored in an airtight container which is then left in a cold dark environment for at least 6 months before pressing. A freezer is a good choice for a cold dark environment). This is very important part as light and heat decrease the potency of the resin glands while time and the eventual pressing of the glands increase the potency, taste & aroma of the resin glands. Mind you most people don’t want to wait 6 months.