Cleaning a Plastic Fermenting Bucket

For those with plastic fermenting buckets....

Is some small amount of staining from the wort inevitable? I have a plastic fermenting bucket which, after bottling, I immediately soaked in an OxyClean solution overnight (along with the lid).

After washing with a sponge and rinsing thoroughly, the interior of the bucket appears very lightly stained, and if I stick my head in the bucket, I can detect a very, very light scent of wort. The same is true for the lid if I put my nose right up against it.

Is this just the nature of plastic, that it will invariably stain and pick up some faint aromas?

If so, I'm fine with that, as a glass carboy is simply too heavy for me to move around safely (bum shoulder). If it isn't inevitable, what cleaning procedure should I use beyond soaking for 24 hours?

Cheers!

Mozart said:

For those with plastic fermenting buckets....

Is some small amount of staining from the wort inevitable? I have a plastic fermenting bucket which, after bottling, I immediately soaked in an OxyClean solution overnight (along with the lid).

After washing with a sponge and rinsing thoroughly, the interior of the bucket appears very lightly stained, and if I stick my head in the bucket, I can detect a very, very light scent of wort. The same is true for the lid if I put my nose right up against it.

Is this just the nature of plastic, that it will invariably stain and pick up some faint aromas?

If so, I'm fine with that, as a glass carboy is simply too heavy for me to move around safely (bum shoulder). If it isn't inevitable, what cleaning procedure should I use beyond soaking for 24 hours?

Cheers!

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Mine is the same way! Should be ok

I have plastic fermenters,& after bottling day,I clean them out,wash the yeast if I'm saving it. Then put in 4TBSP of PBW & fill above the crud ring with water. I let it sit 5-7 days & the stuff inside just comes loose & falls to the bottom. I then rub lightly with a bottle brush or Dobie brand scrubber.
I then rinse it out,& run a couple gallons of rinse water through the spigot.
Then dump in a gallon of Starsan,& run that through the spigot back into the jug. Clean & no stains. Even smells clean. On brewday,I soak the spigot & it's parts in Starsan & brush with some aquarium lift tube brushes. Clean the mounting hole too. Reassemble while still wet with Starsan. No stains or smells.

My first fermentation bucket has smelled like hops ever since I first used it. after a dozen uses, it still smells like hops. (It's wonderful.) I have had absolutely zero problems as a result of this. Don't worry.
I've heard that leaving the bucket in the sun can remove the aroma, but I've never tried that.
Cheers, happy brewing!!


For the record, I usually soak the plastic equipment for 24 hrs. in a PBW solution, then wipe down and rinse. Clean, yes. Still smell like hops? Yes.

You can put some bleachwater in the fermenter and let it sit and it will help clear up the staining and smell if it bugs you. Just be sure to rinse well many times to get rid of all the chlorine residue. I have a few that smell like old batches and have no problems as a result, no infections or cross smell/color contamination between batches that I can find.

as others above have said, you're ok...but what I want to see is a pic with your head in the bucket

DrunkleJon said:

You can put some bleachwater in the fermenter and let it sit and it will help clear up the staining and smell if it bugs you. Just be sure to rinse well many times to get rid of all the chlorine residue. I have a few that smell like old batches and have no problems as a result, no infections or cross smell/color contamination between batches that I can find.

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I do this once in a great while - but be cheap with the bleach. A quarter cup for six gallons of water is plenty. Let it sit overnight.

All my fermenters have a nice healthy tan.

I wouldn't put a bottle brush anywhere near a fermentor. A soft sponge ok, scratchy pad = infection.

I find soaking them in oxyclean works well, as does just cleaning them right out immediately.

dracus said:

I wouldn't put a bottle brush anywhere near a fermentor. A soft sponge ok, scratchy pad = infection.

I find soaking them in oxyclean works well, as does just cleaning them right out immediately.

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When I mentioned using a bottle brush,I'm def not talking about aggressively scrubbing the holy snot out of it. Just letting the FV soak 5-7 days loosens or dissolves most of the crud by that point anyway. So just rubbing it very lightly over the inside surfaces does the job with no scratching whatsoever.
Same thing with the Dobie brand scrubber. It's a fine grained yellow sponge covered in nylon webbing that won't scratch if used lightly. I first learned this skill with Dobie scrubbers when cleaning cars after rustproofing at Zeibart. Leaving swirl marks from aggressive scrubbing with them was a no-no! Same thing here,& scratchy pad doesn't automatically equal infection,as many have thought up to this point. The scratches seem to have to be pretty deep to harbor anything that can't be cleaned out some how when exposed to the proper cleaner/amount.
Also,I ran across a statement from one of the brewing books that claimed prolonged soaking in PBW would permiate the surface of plastic fermenters. I honestly have to say this is false,since I've used plastic fermenters from the start. And I've soaked them clean with PBW since my 2nd brew.

Mozart, how hot is the water you're using to mix Oxi? If it's hot, and you use enough Oxi, it should do the trick with an few hour-overnight soak. You can make a caustic cleaner with your Oxi as well; get some Red Devil TSP (trisodium phosphate) at Ace Hardware, mix one container (~4 lbs) with 6-7 lbs of Oxi Versatile Free (two regular sized tubs) in a large enough container to hold 10-12 lbs. Shake it up so the two powders combine well. This will make a caustic similar to PBW that will clean your plastic very well.