Carboy Cleansing

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betelgeuse4721

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Greetings,

I just bottled some Oktoberfest and im about to start brewing some American lager.

However, my glass carboy is slightly dirty from my previous brew.

What is the easiest and fastest way to clean/sanitize my glass carboy?
I have household bleach and a sanitizer called C-Brite on deck.

Thanks
Brady
 
PBW for one hour with hot water. THen starsan. Avoid using a brush if possible as it can scratch the glass.
 
PBW for one hour with hot water. THen starsan. Avoid using a brush if possible as it can scratch the glass.

Or for the cheaper way,

One scoop Oxyclean Free, fill with water, let soak until clean.

You can use a carboy brush on the inside too if you need to, I've been doing that for years and have yet to be able to scratch glass with the nylon brush.
 
PBW for one hour with hot water. THen starsan. Avoid using a brush if possible as it can scratch the glass.

+1 on the soak (but I use oxyclean versitile free overnight)

-1 on the brush...I highly doubt the carboy brushes can scratch the glass without some sort of abusive use.

However on plastic "better bottles" or plastic carboys use of a brush is cautioned
 
Greetings,

I just bottled some Oktoberfest and im about to start brewing some American lager.

However, my glass carboy is slightly dirty from my previous brew.

What is the easiest and fastest way to clean/sanitize my glass carboy?
I have household bleach and a sanitizer called C-Brite on deck.

Thanks
Brady

I use a cleaning powder and fill the carboy almost all the way up with warm/hot water and let it sit for a bit. I use the cleaning brush to scrub away any trub that may be on the glass. Then store and sanitize with the same methodology before use.
 
Or for the cheaper way,

One scoop Oxyclean Free, fill with water, let soak until clean.

You can use a carboy brush on the inside too if you need to, I've been doing that for years and have yet to be able to scratch glass with the nylon brush.

It is not the nylon brush that scratches the glass. It is the twisted metal rod that the nylon is attached to.
 
Don't use the household bleach

Any reason for this statement?

I use household bleach for cleaning all my plastic and
glass utensils including dirty carboys. Works a charm for me, and I have never had any issues using it as long as I rinse it well with hot water before I use my star-san to sanitize. :mug:
 
There are a list of reasons not to use bleach but mainly it is a serious pain to rinse off and its sterilizing qualities would impact yeast. Put a couple drops on your hand and see how much rinsing is required. There are also adverse chemical pathways with the presence of chlorine.
 
Bleach works just fine and has been used by thousands of homebrewers. But it doesn't mean that it isn't a royal pain and that it is as consistent as other methods. You have to measure just right and acidify it plus it isn't as intuitive to use as other cleaning/sanitizing methods.

The 1oz bleach, 1oz vinegar, 5 gal water method recommended by the creator of StarSan to sanitize still leaves the carboy smelling faintly of bleach and vinegar. It doesn't mean that the beer will do (it doesn't), but if your water is already high in chlorine, it can be a gamble (it most probably isn't, but Boo boo reports that it does for him).

Personally, I use bleach right now, but it sure is a PITA, mainly when it is used as a cleaner since you have to rinse and rinse and rinse some more. With a glass carboy, that can be a hassle and even dangerous since you have to manhandle the damn thing for minutes at a time.
 
There are a list of reasons not to use bleach but mainly it is a serious pain to rinse off and its sterilizing qualities would impact yeast. Put a couple drops on your hand and see how much rinsing is required. There are also adverse chemical pathways with the presence of chlorine.

Of course if you pour undiluted bleach on your hand it is going to take a bunch of rinses to get it off...I bet the same goes for starsan or idophor...what kind of arguement is that? Neither Starsan or Idophor as well as any other no rinse sanatizer will make good beer if they are used undiluted.

You can dilute it properly and not be able to smell it, or taste it...yet it still sanatizes as well as StarSan. Here is the inventor of StarSan talking about it:http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrewing/bbr03-29-07.mp3
 
You can, but in my case, I found that with my water it leaves a phenolic taste in my brew without a good and proper rinse.

That is most likely because your water uses Chlormites, instead of the chlorine that is in bleach. Chloromites are a much mor estable version of chlorine that doesn't evaporate. With the exact dilution ratios that JFR listed, the chlorine in the bleach evaporates out, making it a perfect no rinse santizer...even if it didn't, at that ratio the beach is below the taste threashold.
 
Since the OP only has bleach and some cleaner on hand, I'd put a few cap-fulls of bleach in the carboy and top it off with warm water. Let it soak for an hour or so and scrub as necessary, then rinse, viola! I've used this method several times, the smell rinses out quickly and you've sanitized the crap out of it (need to sanatize with a no rinse b4 adding wort of course...though some apparently use bleach as a no-rinse) I find that generic Oxy-clean works quick for this too. I have scented, and it washes off fine, but would probably look for unscented next time just for $hits and giggles

Side Note: I think I'm going to start bleach bombing my autosyphon, tubing, spigot, bottleing bucket, and other high-contact items every several brews. Maybe overkill, but only my current starsan-only sanitation has me a bit worried... Selection pressure being so high and all. Plus bleach is dirt cheap, and is a good cleaner on top of its everything-killing ability.
 
Of course if you pour undiluted bleach on your hand it is going to take a bunch of rinses to get it off...I bet the same goes for starsan or idophor...what kind of arguement is that? Neither Starsan or Idophor as well as any other no rinse sanatizer will make good beer if they are used undiluted.

You can dilute it properly and not be able to smell it, or taste it...yet it still sanatizes as well as StarSan. Here is the inventor of StarSan talking about it:http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrewing/bbr03-29-07.mp3

Even diluted (or heavily diluted like jfr1111's recipe) it has a tendency to glom onto the walls of the glass and requires a series of rinsing. This compounded with the problematic chemical reactions and chlorine treated water it seems far more of a hassle than the alternatives which arent all that costly.

will listen to the podcast.
 
Even diluted (or heavily diluted like jfr1111's recipe) it has a tendency to glom onto the walls of the glass and requires a series of rinsing. This compounded with the problematic chemical reactions and chlorine treated water it seems far more of a hassle than the alternatives which arent all that costly.

will listen to the podcast.

I actually use star san for all my sanatizing, but I ran out a few weeks ago and researched the hell out of using chlorine bleach as a sanatize. I only use it in a pinch, or for specific cleaning purposes (soaking mash tun to kill anything, soaking bottles from other sources).

It is just after I finished researching making acidified bleach sanatizer I realized how much misinformation is passed around about bleach. I would never reccomend bleach over starsan/idophor for regular use, but I like giving the FACTS so people can make their OWN opinions like the opinion you just presented! (which I agree with)

Bleach is a cheap and realiable go to sanatizer/cleanser. Starsan/idophor are relatively cheap and much better suited for homebrewing applications!
 
Any reason for this statement?

I use household bleach for cleaning all my plastic and
glass utensils including dirty carboys. Works a charm for me, and I have never had any issues using it as long as I rinse it well with hot water before I use my star-san to sanitize. :mug:

I don't have a strong basis for that statement, sounds like it works for you. I just can't see spending all the money, effort and time on brewing and then using bleach as my sanitizer, it is such a strong chemical. Is it only to save a few bucks? I can see using it in a pinch, but besides that I am willing to spend money on StarSans or OxyClean.:mug:
 
Nothing wrong with bleach. Granted, in the strength that it is in the bottle, it is a strong chemical, however, at the diluted strength that you are supposed to use to sanitize, it is actually quite safe. You could drink it at that strength.... not that I'm advocating that... but chlorine is used in public water supplies. It is used in slightly stronger quantities in swimming pools. Ever swallowed swimming pool water? Even accidentally? The CDC even has a ratio for a 'no rinse' dilution of bleach in water.

We used bleach for decades, long before Star-San became the defacto standard. Of course, the newer, more 'main stream' sanitizers are more convenient, and quicker, but they are no more effective than bleach. (Though I do admit they are more forgiving when splashed on your favorite shirt...... yes, I did that).

I don't buy that Iodophor/Star-San are better suited, just better marketed at the homebrew market. Of course they have their selling points. But to try to discredit bleach as a viable alternative is just ridiculous. It has a MUCH longer track record....

It boils down to what you like. I have NO problem recommending bleach, nor would I hesitate to recommend Star-San or Iodophor. They work, period.
 
Thanks everyone for sharing your ideas. Im glad I started a feud over using bleach, funny to see some peoples reactions. I got some good info tho, keep on keepin on my friends
 
It's extremely unlikely that you'll damage a carboy with a carboy brush. Glass has a hardness of 6-7 on the Mohs Hardness Scale. Iron and steel have a hardness of 4-4.5. So those materials are incapable of scratching glass. A brush made with hardened steel which has a hardness of 7.5-8 could. But my guess is that its unlikely they would use that for this purpose. You could chip it if you were to impact the glass somehow. But that would probably take some effort.

I'm sure my parents would be proud to see that their hard-earned money spent on my geology degree is going to good use. :D
 
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