With legal options on the rise for cannabis consumers across the country and beyond, many of us are used to enjoying some amazing offerings from the local dispensary. If you’re lucky enough to live in an area that allows recreational use or you have a medical card, this privilege may make you forget that you can still produce some amazing cannabis creations right at home.
Let’s take a quick dive here at how you can use your washing machine, or dedicated mini-washer, to make hash.
Notes Before Getting Started
While a standard household washing machine can be used to make washer hash, a small mini washer or stainless steel agitator is recommended if you want to make high-grade hash. According to Frenchy Cannoli, the legendary hashashin, “A conventional washing machine is constrained by a cycle that uses a constant force…” For basic hash, your household washer can produce basic results. For the connoisseur, you will want to get a small mini washer or larger washer specific to the task. Washers designed for professional use are also available.
Cannoli uses a stainless steel agitator to fine-tune the process with four washes (a few seconds to start then increasing by 1-2 minutes each wash) at 200-250 rpm. On mini-washers, he recommends more water, less ice, and plenty of space for the material (not overpacked).
There are various methods to making washer hash and those with experience all seem to have their own process. Below is one suggestion but be sure to research and experiment until you find a recipe that works best for you.
Materials Needed
- Washing machine – mini-washer or household
- Filter bags of various sizes – 190-micron, 160-micron, and 45-micron recommended
- Dried or frozen cannabis – flower or trim
- Ice
- A large bucket or two
- A hose with a gentle spray nozzle or attachment
- A disinfectant like hydrogen peroxide or a 70% ethanol solution
How to Make Washer Hash
- Make sure you are starting with a clean, disinfected washer and ancillary components like hoses, buckets, or bags.
- Fill the washer with cold water and ice. If using a conventional washer, add about 5-10 gallons of water or set the machine to a small load size. Use 3-5 pounds of ice.
- Place your dried material in the washer. If using a conventional washer, a filter bag or hash bag is recommended. If using a mini-washer you can add plant material directly to the wash.
- Add more ice on top of the plant material or filter bag. The goal is to keep all of the cannabis submerged in the cold water as the washer agitates the plant matter.
- Let everything in the ice bath sit for about 5 minutes so everything is cold.
- Turn on the washer for 10-20 minutes to begin the process.
- While the wash is running, set up your filter bags in ascending order (smallest micron first) into the bucket and layered on top of each other.
- Make sure that the washer drain tube (outflow) is placed into the filter bag setup such that once you allow the machine to drain, the trichome-rich water goes directly into the bags.
- Once the wash cycle is complete, pour the trichome water over the filter bags in the bucket.
- Allow the water to drain through the layered filter setup. If using a conventional washer and secured bags you can skip this step and simply squeeze your bag to remove water.
- Use the gentle sprayer to rinse additional material into the center of the bag.
- Scoop out the kief collected in the filter.
- You can put the filtered water back into the washer and repeat the washing process for maximum yield. This isn’t a necessary step and might not yield you a significant amount of additional hash, but typically will result in some extra end product by doubling down on the extraction process.
Image source: Sebastian Herrmann on Unsplash
