How Clean Is Your Tubing?

I used my 3/8" tubing on Sunday to rack 4 1-gallon jugs of wine. Ran out of time cleaning up because we had to head to the neighbor's BBQ, so I ran some water through the tubing, then left it submersed in my iodophor solution that I had used to sanitize the jugs. I rinsed and drained the tubing ~4 hours later when we got home.

The next day, the tubing had a white haze on the inside. I ran soapy water through and gave it a good rinse with my bottle rinser, but the haze is still there.

Does the inside of your tubing stay clear with repeated use, or does it cloud up? I need to know if I have to make a run to the LHBS before this weekend's planned bottling session for my beer. I'd rather not make the trip if I don't have to, but I don't want to ruin 10 gallons of beer, either.

When in doubt, ask yourself if 10 gallons of beer is worth a couple feet of tubing?


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wildwest450 said:

When in doubt, ask yourself if 10 gallons of beer is worth a couple feet of tubing?


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yeah, I buy new tubing allllll the time, ($0.21/ft at lowes, I think). Cheap cheap insurance.

shortyjacobs said:

yeah, I buy new tubing allllll the time, ($0.21/ft at lowes, I think). Cheap cheap insurance.

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Agreed! I tend to get enough for the next 3 or 4 batches. I hate even trying to clean those things.

Mine is hazy after a longish soak in starsan, but I figure it should be sanitized from the SS. A trick I've heard on here is to tie a piece of paper towel or small fabric and pull it through the tubing.

I personally have never done it. I am lazy. And I havent had a bad batch yet (knock on wood). I have replacement tubing on my 'to buy' list, I just never actually buy it. I imagine I will learn the hard way if I don't replace soon, but I'll be honest I don't worry that much about it, as long as the tubing is clean before the starsan soak.

The tubing clouds up, it's not an infection. It's moisture. I don't worry about it too much. When it doubt, soak in oxi for 30 minutes, run star san or iodophor through it Let them both do their respective jobs. What's going to be left?

IrregularPulse said:

The tubing clouds up, it's not an infection. It's moisture. I don't worry about it too much. When it doubt, soak in oxi for 30 minutes, run star san or iodophor through it Let them both do their respective jobs. What's going to be left?

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I feel the same way. I also have a tubing adapter on the end of my laundry tub hose that I can use to blow scorching hot water through the tubing. This is usually the first step. Then I siphon some oxy through it, a rinse and twirl to get rid of moisture. Then starsan right before use.

My clear tubing hazes after boiling.

+1 on the pull a piece of papertowel or cloth through the tube. Think cleaning a gun barrel; there are bore snakes for that.

I rinse my tubing with hot water immediately after use, then put it aside until the next time. Before using, I soak it in Star San, and have had no problems with this technique in four years. If there's been a long interval between brews, I soak the tubing in PBW before the SS. When I was using the cheap vinyl tubing, I bought new every year. I recently purchased the silicone hi-priced spread, and we'll see how this goes.

soak in oxyclean, should be fine. If your worried, as stated before, new hose is a cheap insurance policy.

iodine will discolor your tubing but it should not be a problem

I bet it is precipitated calcium salts from your water. I wouldn't worry about it, but if you did, probably a soak in an acid based sanitizer (or dilute vinegar) would take care of it.

I recently bought a 4' handled 3/8 diameter brush from my LHBS it makes me feel much better about the cleanliness of my hoses. I don't know why it just doesn't seem clean unless it gets scrubbed.

damnitbeavis said:

I bet it is precipitated calcium salts from your water. I wouldn't worry about it, but if you did, probably a soak in an acid based sanitizer (or dilute vinegar) would take care of it.

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I think you were right. Vinegar took most of it out. Thanks!

smyrnaquince said:

I think you were right. Vinegar took most of it out. Thanks!

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Great! glad I could help.