Unclogging a stainless steel diffusion stone

Looks like my diffusion stone is clogged most likely as a result of calcium deposits in my water. I did a test run with it in some plain water to make sure it worked so it clogged after that, made sure I didn't touch the stone with bare hands etc. Went to use it to aerate my wort and nothing. I tried to boil it for 15 minutes but it didn't make a difference.

What, if anything can I soak this thing in to break up the deposits?

Thanks!

Soak it in a strong concentration of StarSan to remove mineral deposits. If it's clogged with sugary wort, use some full strength wood alcohol (often sold as shellac thinner). StarSan is mostly phosphoric acid which should react and dissolve any calcium deposits. I would try that first and give it a long soak. Maybe several days.

Actually the recomended way to clean a stainless diffusion stone is to simply boil it for 10 to 20 minutes. It cleans up any wort or oils from our skin that clogs it.

Just a suggestion but if the issue is water mineral buildup, a soak in some CLR may do the trick. When our shower heads start spaying every which way and get that white scale on the nozzles, I dip them into CLR (Lime-away may be the same thing) for 10-15 minutes without a problem to the finish. Most of our heads are chome but one is stainless and I haven't seen an issue with it screwing up the finish. I'd just boil it for a little while after I was done cleaning (in some DI water perhaps?) to get rid of all the chemical.

Those stones can be pricey. I'd give it a shot.

Revvy said:

Actually the recomended way to clean a stainless diffusion stone is to simply boil it for 10 to 20 minutes. It cleans up any wort or oils from our skin that clogs it.

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He said he already tried that and it didn't help. CLR will probably work if it's mineral deposits. I think the active ingredient in CLR is hydrochloric acid. The acid should dissolve the mineral deposits if that's what is clogging it. StarSan at full strength or nearly so would work much the same way. I've been using the same SS diffuser for a very long time with no problems at all. I don't do anything special to it other than rinsing it well after use and sanitizing it with StarSan before the next use.

Bleach works great for hard water deposits. Better than CLR in my exp.

SankePankey said:

Bleach works great for hard water deposits. Better than CLR in my exp.

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It's been my experience that bleach won't remove mineral deposits, but CLR does very well. Bleach will oxidize organic material and the CLR acid will react and remove the alkaline mineral deposits and rust. CLR stands for Calcium, Lime & Rust. I don't know why our experiences would be completely opposite. That doesn't make any sense.

I don't know but my showerhead doesn't do much if I soak it in CLR but does great with bleach water. My water is, I think, high iron. My toilet bowl gets orange in a month or so if I don't scrub it. The showerhead has orange bits in it. I have very hard water, too, so not sure which is the culprit.

Vinegar - it is why you clean coffee pots with it when they scale up with hard water deposits.

Bonch said:

Vinegar - it is why you clean coffee pots with it when they scale up with hard water deposits.

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Vinegar is mildly acidic and would work much the same way as CLR or StarSan.

Vinegar is always recommended by the coffee maker mfrs because they don't suspect a typical homeowner has any other acid alternatives. We have starsan and it will work.

I will give StarSan a try, then move on to CLR if it doesn't work. I boiled the living hell out of the diffuser and like I said it remained clogged. Never got a chance to use it in a bucket of cooled wort so I know the clog has to be calcium/hard water relatedv as I just did a test run with my setup in some tap water to make sure it worked (which it did) and then put the diffuser back in a zip lock back to keep it clean.

adurotec said:

I will give StarSan a try, then move on to CLR if it doesn't work. I boiled the living hell out of the diffuser and like I said it remained clogged. Never got a chance to use it in a bucket of cooled wort so I know the clog has to be calcium/hard water relatedv as I just did a test run with my setup in some tap water to make sure it worked (which it did) and then put the diffuser back in a zip lock back to keep it clean.

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Which airstone did you buy? There are two different ones commonly available. One is for force carbing the finished beer that uses a 0.5 micron diffuser. The other is a coarser 2 micron diffuser intended for aerating the wort. The finer stone is much more susceptible to clogging than the 2 micron version. This information probably won't be of much help at this point, but something to keep in mind if you buy another one. I use the 2 micron version.

Catt22 said:

Which airstone did you buy? There are two different ones commonly available. One is for force carbing the finished beer that uses a 0.5 micron diffuser. The other is a coarser 2 micron diffuser intended for aerating the wort. The finer stone is much more susceptible to clogging than the 2 micron version. This information probably won't be of much help at this point, but something to keep in mind if you buy another one. I use the 2 micron version.

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Its a .5 micron diffuser. I might need to give the 2 micron version a shot, sounds like it might be less trouble keeping unclogged.