DJ Equipment Reviews

Simple fog machine cleaning and maintenance basics

You might want to read my previous post on fog machines for a quick breakdown of the principles of fogging, because now I’ll talk about how to take care, store, or even clean your fog machine. Even as a hard-working DJ, you’re not going to have your fogger with you 24/7 because it’s not that kind of a machine. It’s ideal for some situations but in most cases, you’ll have to store it away for some time, so how do you go about doing that?

Well, first and foremost, you should never ever in a thousand years, not even for a day, store your fog machine with no fog fluid in the pump and the heater. That’s where fog fluid was meant to be, that’s where you want to keep it. As far as cleaning goes, things couldn’t be simpler: do not go about trying to clean your fog machine with a damp cloth and into all those internal parts, wiping them off or who knows what else. You may find yourself in the unpleasant situation of finding that your fogger’s busted when you take it out of storing because you "cleaned" it beforehand.

While there are some situations where you should clean your fog machine, those are reduced to the cases when you notice that it’s clogged for some reason. The best way to know that is when your fog machine doesn’t reach its usual output anymore, putting out less and less fog. In that case go ahead and clean it (I’ll tell you in a second how) before it stops putting out fog altogether, because then it’s busted. So, cleaning your fog machine, the easy way:

• empty your fog machine of any fog fluid that’s inside
• prepare a simple solution of 50% distilled water and 50% clear vinegar
• fill your fogger’s tank with the solution you have
• power your fog machine and let it heat up and do its job in a well ventilated area, until output is reaching normal values, hopefully
• then empty whatever solution is still left in your fog machine
• put fog fluid in your fog machine’s tank once again and let it fog as usual, before storing it away

Since I got to storing, you should also not store away your fog machine straight after you’ve cleaned it, and storing is usually best done after you put some fog fluid in the fogger and make fog for a few minutes.

This clogging up incident doesn’t or isn’t supposed to happen very often if you use recommended fog fluid with your fog machine, so if it does happen, you should start asking what’s causing the clog. This might be anything from low-quality fog fluid, some ingredients that aren’t supposed to be in your fogger in the first place or even adding fragrances or colors to your fog fluid.

This takes me to another issue most DJs have with their fog machines, which is how can you make colored fog that’s as safe and reliable as the classic one. The easy and unsatisfying answer is that you can’t. Adding up different things to your fog fluid to color up the fog will more likely than not have some negative effect on your fogger or the fog it produces (in the long run, if not the first time you use it) and it may not even work at all. The best way to have colored fog at your party is to have some colored lights underneath the fog, which will give some nice effects, and it’s way safer than experimenting with high temperature and pressure and ingredients that don’t really belong there, so being careful with your fogger always pays off.

In the end, a fog machine can add the necessary ingredient to make a party unforgettable and a DJ a legend, but being careful and well informed lets you enjoy those moments without other worries. As for a general direction on fogging equipment, I can point you toward Theatre FX, who deal with a lot more special effects than just fog, and I’ll also features some product presentations in the near future, so you can get an idea on how the market looks like. Until then, happy fogging!

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