cleaning the fermeters

What does everyone use to do the initial cleaning after racking? You have to get all the stuff stuck on the side and the trub out of the bottom, so do you just add water and scrub and then use the no-rinse or can you use a dish soap at this stage to help get the smell and really stuck on stuff out and then use the no-rinse? I know soap is bad for head retention, but I wondered if it mattered if you used the sanitizer after.

I use Oxy-Clean and find it work wonders for the gunk and the smell. I just rinse out my fermenter as best as possible with the hose and by shaking it. Then I fill it up half way with water, add a scoop of Oxy-Clean, top it off and let it sit overnight. Rinse it out, drip dry, and store.

If you are using a bucket as a fermenter do not use an abrasive pad or brush or anything else that will scratch it up. Just rinse it and use a scoop of Oxy-Clean and a sponge or cloth to scrub it out. You can also let it sit with the cleaner in it to help with the odor.

Oxy-Clean - it works miracles I tell you.

I ferment in buckets and I give them a hot rinse immediately after racking. I rarely have to take a sponge to the inside. Before use, I give them a soak in Oxyclean Free or PBW followed by a hot rinse before sanitizing with Starsan.

I scrub my plastic with a soft sponge and soapy hot water. Abrasive pads will cut microscopic grooves into the plastic giving bugs a place to hide out. For carboys I have a brush and a sink attachment that lets me spray it down well.

I like to sanitize my fermenters just before I use them, along with all my spoons, and what not.

I sanitize everything right before using it also. I guess I'm going to have to give this oxyclean thing a try. No soap residue right?

Bsquared said:

I scrub my plastic with a soft sponge and soapy hot water. Abrasive pads will cut microscopic grooves into the plastic giving bugs a place to hide out. For carboys I have a brush and a sink attachment that lets me spray it down well.

I like to sanitize my fermenters just before I use them, along with all my spoons, and what not.

Click to expand...

Those sink attachments are a life saver when working with carboys.

I still haven't found a brush that will reach into the carboy at the angles I need, so I took a wire coat hanger and attached a sock to the end it. That way I can bend the coat hanger to whatever angle I need to scrub the gunk that gets stuck to the sides of the primary.

I got one at my HBS that is long and has a brush with a right angle in it. It is a must have for cleaning carboys.

Here's a handy tip from the restaurant industry:

http://www.csibc.net/tips_techniques.htm

It involves Rice and Baking Soda in water as an abrasive/cleaning-agent, and then just swirl it around and dump.

I've seen people use it in stained coffee carafes before.. makes sense here too.

kvh

z987k said:

I sanitize everything right before using it also. I guess I'm going to have to give this oxyclean thing a try. No soap residue right?

Click to expand...

You'll love it. Works great taking labels off bottles as well. Just rinse the heck out of it to make sure you get any leftover residue off.


Ize

I do a couple different things for carboy fermenters. I found a so-called vegatable brush that consisted of a loop of twisted wire holding bristles, and cut one end of the loop at the handle, and now have a bendable, long bottle brush for reaching the shoulder of a carboy.

The other approach comes from an old English homebrewing book by Ken Shales: six feet of a brass chain used in old fashioned bathtubs to hold the drain plug. Drop it in the carboy add a gallon of cleaning solution, and swirl away. The chain is hard enough to scour away deposits but soft enough not to scratch the glass. The chain links are stamped and folded together like a kid's paper chain.

I have said it before and I will continue to say it.....

OXY CLEAN ROCKS!

I just cleaned a carboy that I fermented a porter in, and forgot about for a week. Just filled it full with hot water and a scoop of OC. clean as a whistle! I think that it would do the same for plastic fermenters. Just fill it up and let the OC do the cleaning!

I lay my carboy on it's side, throw in half a dozen roaches from the local pet store, then lock them in with a drilled rubber stopper. 2 days later, all the gunk is gone. Rinse, sanitize, and I'm good to go.

I usually rinse with the hot tap water (~145ish Deg F) it pretty much cleans anything.. esp on my plastic bucket and using the sprayer.. on the Glass I add some cold water in too.. don't need any broken carboys. I just let the water soak the carboys and it really eats away at everything.. heck.. this is how I clean my pots and pans that are a wreck from cooking.. just soak till the stuff gives up the goat!

SpamDog

i don't use anything other than hot tap water and a 90* carboy brush. cleaning directly after racking to secondary/bottling makes it a worry free easy cleanup

i use straight water but if it's really tough i use a little TSP.and then let it soak over night..a good rinse with hot water ..