Buzzby

I've used two methods for cleaning the screen in my VB whip. One uses recently-boiled water and dishwashing detergent. The other uses rubbing alcohol. Fill a small cup with either liquid, place the weed end of the whip in it, suck up some liquid, and blow it back into the cup. Repeat until the screen is as clean as you need it to be. Rinse well before using.

To avoid liability suits (from idiots): Warning! Do not suck extremely hot water or rubbing alcohol into your mouth.

Replacing the screen is a bit tricky but is quite doable with a little practice.

First, run hot water over the place where the hose slip-fits onto the glass. This softens it up and makes it easy to remove without breaking the glass.

For the weed-end of the glass piece, you want the largest-diameter "pusher" you can find that will fit. I used a regular pencil's eraser end and graduated to one of those fat pencils first-graders use. Finally, I ended up with a piece of dowel that I'd filed and sanded into just the right convex curve. For the narrower end I use the blunt end of one of those bamboo skewers they sell for grilling shrimp.

Before inserting it, shape the screen into a mild cup-shape. Use the end of your little finger. If you make a dowel pusher, as I did, shape the screen over the end of that. Center the screen over the mouth of the glass piece. Center the pusher over the screen. Put the other pusher through the narrow end until it contacts the back of the screen.

As you can see, this would work best if you had three hands, one for each pusher and one for the glass piece. Failing a major mutation or the help of a friend, you can do what I do: put the narrow pusher in a vice and use your two hands for the glass and wide pusher.

Proceed slowly and carefully. Keep everything lined up squarely. With the screen firmly clamped between the two pushers, gradually move the glass, pushing the screen into place until it "snaps" into the groove in the glass. The main reason you get bits of weed coming past the screen is that it wasn't put in straight and the screen isn't evenly filling the groove in the glass. The edge of the screen ends up being folded, leaving gaps through which particles can easily pass.