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Steve50 · 02-20-2012, 02:25 PM

I mistakenly placed old bottles with labels on into my bottling bucket which was filled with sanitizer. They were only in for a minute or two then I took them out and placed them in my sink to clean and remove the labels. I refilled the bucket with new solution to clean the bottles once the labels were off. My question is did I ruin my bucket by doing this? Should I get a new one before bottling next week? Also I used the bottle brush to clean the bucket, can it cause scratches? Only on my second batch , new , so I tend to be very cautious.
Thanks Steve

atom · 02-20-2012, 02:51 PM

why do you think you ruined a bucket by putting bottles in it?

as far as cleaning with a brush...a soft brush is fine...a hard brush can cause scratches, but if you don't see/feel any, chances are, you're fine.

jaycount · 02-20-2012, 02:53 PM

Bucket is fine. I often use my bottling buckets to soak bottles or for a bucket-o-sanitizer.

I wouldn't recommend cleaning the bucket with a brush or any abrasive. Just a soft sponge and a good cleaner (PBW, Oxyclean, etc.) will do the trick. You want to avoid putting small scratches in the plastic.

**EdWort** · 02-20-2012, 02:53 PM

You probably are fine. Use a cleaner like PBW and a sanitizer like Starsan. Both have surfactants which will help get the solution into any small scratches.

I ferment in buckets and NOTHING is placed in them except wort. I use section of new sponge to clean them each time. Call me anal, but I do not want to scratch the inside and I can get a few years out out of each bucket till I retire it to other things like soaking bottles.

Steve50 · 02-20-2012, 04:06 PM

thanks guys . yes i thought by the labels being in would cause a problem. will get some pbw and star san.

**helibrewer** · 02-20-2012, 04:28 PM

With StarSan you can use it over and over as long as the pH is about 2 it's still good whether you've had bottles in it or not. All my small stuff sits in my StarSan bucket all the the time until I use it then I rinse it with water and drop it right back into the StarSan.