Carboy cleaning - oxyclean?

I've been too lazy with my cleaning. After all that work with bottling, I tend to let the drained carboy just soak in regular water for a bit. Maybe I'll throw in a bit of one step.

Now I've got a problem - my last batch was fairly active in the secondary and even formed a bit of a krausen ring. The soaking didn't get it to go away. I scrub and scrub, but no luck. It even appears that little particles are stuck on the inside surface of the carboy on most of the surface.

I've rinsed and scrubbed and rinsed, both with regular water and one step solution. Nothing is getting me anywhere. I need a new plan.

Tonight I bought some oxyclean. I figure I'll dissolve some in water and let it soak a few days? Then maybe rinse 3-4 times? Will this do the trick? How do others use oxyclean in carboys?

What else to people use for carboys with residue?

Thanks again for the help.

- doug

I would add about a 1/4 cup of dishwasher soap, and fill with hot water. Let it stand over night, and then remove the scuz etc and then give it a cleaning with TSP or the pink powedered stuff, which is chlorinated tsp, to remove any soap residue.

Doug said:

What else to people use for carboys with residue?

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An hour soak in PBW is all I've used...you don't even have to brush it. It's a tad expensive tho.

Soak it overnight in warm bleach water (to the top).

Mine always come clean that way.

I typically give my carboys a long soak in hot bleach solution followed by a little scrubing to make sure I got everything.

Oxyclean works good. Just make sure you rinse well.

I'm with Lupus and HB99. Warm water to the top with a splash of bleach. BY the next day, the crud comes right off.

-walker

I had bought the oxyclean, and since no one is shouting at me not to use it, that's what I did. I couldn't believe the foaming with that stuff! I'll be scrubbing and rinsing tonight - I hope it worked!

How do I know when I've rinsed enough?

- doug

When you think you would feel safe eating off of it, and when it sparkles and shines THEN you sanitize it (yes, I have learned my lesson... starsan is your friend).

I use oxyclean to clean my carboys every time. Just soak overnight and rinse well. Never needed to scrub. Make sure it's in a sink or bathtub, though. The bubbles will overflow overnight.

I use somethign called B-Brite, from the LHBS. A 10-15 minute soak is all that's needed to break up all the nasties. No scrubbing or effort required.

I think it's similar to OxyClean, but I've never used OxyClean to make a comparison.

I must have really been mean to my carboy - one day soaking with oxyclean and I still can't scrub away the remanents of a ring near the top. It sure is hard to get and sort of serious scrubbing done with a carboy brush though. I'll let it sit one more day...

- doug

OxiClean, bleach, star-san. I go with the three-tiered method now that my buckets are "seasoned".

PBW. It has never failed me, and I use the same carboys since I started brewing a year ago. I've never scrubbed them.