Spray the Right Way & Use Every Drop

The mechanics of an aerosol are fascinating, at least to us at Slide. But as a user, some instruction can help you get every drop of active ingredient out of the can.

The smudge

You’ve seen it. Maybe you have wondered why it is there. That black dot or smudge near the spray tip.

That smudge is there for you. An aerosol can does not have a flat bottom. And the dip tube in an aerosol can is not straight. It is curved to reach down into the lowest part of the can. So if you turn the aerosol tip to point to the black smudge, and tilt the can slightly in that direction, you will be getting all the good stuff out of the can, down to the last drop.

Spray between 12 o’clock and 2 o’clock

If you look inside an aerosol, you will see the propellant is ABOVE the concentrated product. The propellant pushes the product down so it can only exit out through the drop tube.

Using the aerosol with the top of the can up helps keep the propellant above the concentrate and away from the entrance to the dip tube.

Tilting the can too far moves the concentrated product toward the downward side of the can allowing the propellant to get under the tip, so only propellant exits out of the can.

So, keeping the top of the can between the 12 o’clock position and the 2 o’clock position, with the tip pointing at the black smudge, keeps all the good stuff coming out without loosing the propellant.

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