Better Bottle Cleaning

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Sir Humpsalot

Sir Humpsalot

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I thought one of the nice things about Better Bottles is that they required almost no cleaning on the inside.. just fill with sanitizer, give it a few shakes, and wait.

Well, I've had a dried, caked-on ring on hops around my BB carboy for 2 weeks now! How do I get rid of it? It's been filled with water and sanitizer for 2 weeks now! I read that a nylon brush, like that used for glass carboys, is a big no-no.


Any suggestions?
 
I have no BBs yet, but I've heard from enough sources that a nice soak in Oxyclean will do wonders that I'll pass that along to you ;)
 
the_bird said:
I have no BBs yet, but I've heard from enough sources that a nice soak in Oxyclean will do wonders that I'll pass that along to you ;)
Click to expand...

It's been soaking in StarSan for over 2 weeks now!!!! Isn't that pretty much the same thing?
 
I had something similar, but the stain was from the krausen of my hefeweizen. It literally took three weeks of soaking with a light bleach solution to get rid of most of it. Then someone on this forum recommended oxyclean, and it helped loosen the rest of the stains.
 
Star-San IS NOT a cleaner. You can't sanitize something that is dirty with organic solids. Cleaners do not sanitize and sanitizers do not clean. I use PBW (powdered brewery wash) to clean my Better-Bottles. Oxyclean is very similar, but PBW has some added chemicals that aid in cleaning organic solids.

A 24 hour soak in a hot PBW solution of one tbsp/gallon of water will break up anything that you could possibly have crusted on the inside. To get off really crusted on gunk I like to add the PBW, and about 2 gallons of water. I insert a washcloth, put on a stopper and shake the crap out of it until the rubbing of the washcloth removes all of the gunk. Then I fill it to the top and let it sit for 24 hours. Then I just dump it out, rinse it and let it drain.

John
 
As others have stated, your trying to use a sanitizer as a cleaner. Two different things. I use oxy in my BBs and have no problems. One key is to clean/soak it imediately after use.
 
Toot said:
the rag trick?
Click to expand...

From the BB site:
Washing

Hot water and the right detergents do an excellent job without scrubbing. Never use stiff brushes, abrasive scouring pads, or cleansers.

Detergents recommended for winemaking and beer brewing do not damage Better-Bottle carboys and related components when used according to the manufacturer's instructions (See Detergents below). It is rarely necessary to remove a Racking Outlet from a carboy in order to clean it. Patiently soaking a carboy in a solution of low-suds detergent and hot water is an easy and effective way to loosen stubborn contamination, which can then be rinsed out. For faster results, put a few cups hot wash solution into a carboy, add a face cloth, and vigorously slosh the solution and cloth. Better-Bottle carboys are light, so sloshing the carboy in your hands will not be difficult; however, rocking the carboy back and forth on its side or rocking it on a tennis ball placed under its punt requires even less effort. At each stage of washing a carboy fitted with a Carboy Adapter and High-Flow valve, the valve should be opened to allow some of the solution in the carboy to run into and though the valve.
Click to expand...
 
1/2 gallon of hot water + a little oxyclean or onestep, shake hard. Let sit, repeat twice more. I don't even fill up to soak it. Filling it up too much makes it too difficult to shake hard. A small amount of water smashing around really works.
 

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