oxyclean and starsan react?

Was going to de label some bottles while bottling and brewing today. Decided to make a new batch of starsan up so I dumped the old stuff in the tub my bottles were in. Added some oxyclean (1/3 scoop) in prior to running my wort chiller water in. After a while, the water looked like a snow globe; flocculating into floating rafts.



Has anyone done this before? It wasn't giving off a bad smell or doing anything but clumping up.

FWIW and keep in mind I am not chemist*

Starsan is an acid based disinfectant. Thats how it works. microbes can't live in the acidic environment it creates.

Oxyclean is a bleach. Not chlorinated like clorox but still a bleach. Therefore it is an alkaline product. Allalines are in most household cleaners as they break down greases quite well.

I would say your rafts are a byproduct of the neutralization taking place. I would probably choose one or the other. Typically mixing acids and bleaches can have some nasty effects.

Once again I am not a MD or a chemist so take what I say for what it's worth. Maybe a more qualified person should chime in as well.

I havent had luck reusing XX bottles. My wing capper can not crimp down on them...

Wash with oxy clean. Rinse! Sanitize with star san. Do not rinse.

To remove the labels soak the bottles overnight in some baking soda and H2O and then do the oxy-star san method.

McLompoc said:

Wash with oxy clean. Rinse! Sanitize with star san. Do not rinse.

To remove the labels soak the bottles overnight in some baking soda and H2O and then do the oxy-star san method.

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That is my normal ritual. I have to bring out buckets of water from in the house to the shop, so I was just saving a trip with the old starsan.

I'll try the baking soda and see how that works on the bottles. I was given a bunch of XX bottles, so haven't tried them yet. As hard as it is getting the labels off, if they don't work I am going to be P.O.ed!

Yeah, that would suck! I'd be P.O.'d too! Have you tried to cap one empty just to see if the cap stays tight?

I usually use (tap) hot water and a 24 hour soak to remove labels. No chemestry involved.

If I remember Chemistry 101 correctly, combining a base and an acid causes neutralization to occur. The neutralization creates H2O and "precipitate". Essentially you created a weaker cleaning solution with a bunch of trace minerals floating around.

*DISCLAIMER* I was drunk in Chemistry 101

You basically made your old starsan useless. If you have too much oxyclean residue on your equipment from not rinsing enough, it can bump the ph of the starsan up to where it is not effective.

Ammonia also works great for removing labels.

BamaRooster said:

Ammonia also works great for removing labels.

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But defiantly do not mix it with bleach of any kind!!!

I'll have to give the water and baking soda a try for labels. I've always just used oxyclean. Baking soda is a lot cheaper!

I have had very good luck soaking in Oxicleen Free overnight and removing the labels the next day. I rinse the bottles well and then store until needed. When I need them again I do a quick power rinse and then sanitize with StarSan. After that off to the bottle tree they go. Never had a problem doing it this way.

When I want to sanitize a bunch of bottles I just put them in the oven. a good sized oven should fit enough bottles for a 5 gallon batch. do the following the night before you intend to bottle. make sure they are clean, put them in the oven (you might have to stack them on the side) and heat it up to 350. leave it for say 20 minutes and turn off. The next morning you will have an oven full of sterile (yes actually sterile) bottles.

You might want to add a couple extra as any weakness or fault in the glass might cause a couple to break.

Other people have already answered, but I'll reiterate. I'm a chemist and teach this to college freshman in their first lab series, Acid + Base -> Salt + Water. Here you've mixed Star San (acid) and Oxiclean (basic) and have made an insoluble salt and water. This is a neutralization reaction. Depending on the composition of star san and the amounts of each you put in, you could have completely destroyed any sanitizing effects of both. The stuff floating on top is some kind of sodium salt, can't really say for sure without know what anions are in star san.

Wasn't trying to sanitize, so that wasn't the issue. It did neutralize the oxyclean, because the most the labels (even the normally easy ones) were still on and needed scraped in the morning. Took a bunch of rinses to rinse the bottles, so didn't even save a trip for water in the deal. The XX bottles were given to me from my SIL, and she didn't do a very good job rinsing, so it didn't help with the gunk in them either. A lot of scrubbing and I learned my lesson. I'll try the baking soda as well next time.

If you're just trying to get the labels off there's no need for star san. A hot solution of oxiclean will tear through the glue holding the labels on like a hot knife through butter. It will also rip through any organic matter still inside the bottles.