cleaning carboys

ok, I had big problems cleaning my carboys, I used a brush, but I had problems reaching some parts, and it was killing me...

my last beer had huge krauzen that left huge dried yeast ring all along the carboy neck.

I was thinking how to clean this stuff because even brush was very weak and I didn't have a good grip, so I thought it's gonna be impossible...

then I did the following. I took some quartz sand which is used in gardening a lot for decorating gardens. I toss it in the carboy, added some dish washing solution and shook the carboy...

oh my god!

this thing was sooooo efficient! my carboy looked brand new and shiny in a minute.

I will never use a brush again!

the sand looks like this

I wouldn't think sand used in a carboy would be a good idea, I'd be too afraid to scratch the glass. YMMV

Chad_C said:

I wouldn't think sand used in a carboy would be a good idea, I'd be too afraid to scratch the glass. YMMV

Click to expand...

this sand has no sharp edges, it is very fine and believe me it doesn't leave any scratches.

it cleans a carboy in a minute

I've never had a problem cleaning with a little bit of beer brite, a brush and a garden hose with a pistol grip sprayer.

I've made 42 batches and never used a brush yet. OXYClean. Put a cap full into the carboy, fill it with hot water to the top and let it sit for a couple hours. Then empty and rinse. That will take even the worst hardened crap off.

OH - I see you are in Bosnia and Herzegovina hmmmmmmmmm!

I'm also curious about carboy cleaning techniques. I have yet to try it, but my idea is to put a partially filled carboy upside-down in a bucket of water so that the level is above (below when right-side-up) the fermentation crud. Or you could just fill the whole carboy with solution.

I have heard of using rice to do the same thing as the sand but not sand. Glad it works though! I just bought a brush with an angled piece on the end to scrub both the bottom and top section. Oxyclean works great too.

I soak mine in B-brite for a week never an issue.