Oxiclean vs. Oxiclean Free

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
ultravista

ultravista

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2007
Messages
2,531
Reaction score
83
Location
Las Vegas
I canot find Oxiclean free, only the Oxiclean with the yellow lid. It is mostly white with a few little blue specs mixed in. I presume the blue specs are a detergent or perfume.

So, considering I can't find the 'free' version, will it hurt to use the normal Oxiclean?

Besides the perfumed scent, is there a difference?

Where can I find this stuff in Las Vegas?
 
Used to use regular Oxyclean and with a thorough rinse had no issues. Started using Oxyclean free, though, and still rinse well, but never have any perfume issues. Play it safe and go with the free if you can. I find it at Walmart.
 
I soak my cornies for an hour 1with 1 scoop of Oxyclean, then refill with water and Iodine to disinfect. seems to work good for me
 
Is the Sun Oxygen Cleaner scented? My local WalMart does not cary the "free" Oxiclean. I do however have some regular in the laundry room. I checked Home Depot and Lowes, none had the Oxiclean free.
 
can't seem to find the oxy free around here either. I've been using the regular oxy with the yellow lid as well. I just rinse, rinse and rinse some more.
so far so good..
 
i use the yellow lid oxyclean. no problems.

I am going to try the sun this next time. I like spending less for the same results!
 
Sun Oxygen Cleaner is the same thing as OxyFree. No perfume. It works great. I use 1-2 scoops for 5g of water. I leave it over night in Better Bottles; I soak bottles in it for half an hour to remove lables and to clean bottles; I wash all my equipment with it. You just aren't supposed to use it on aluminum. Check Dollar General.
 
I had a problem with OxiClean regular (with the little blue specks) that I do not have with OxiClean Free. When I soaked bottles overnight in a solution of hot water and the Oxi regular, my bottles came out covered in scale. The only way to remove the scale was to then soak the bottles in vinegar.

Maybe some chemist out there can tell me why this happened. The scale only appeared on the outsides of the bottles. I even cut a bottle in half with a Dremel cutoff disc, and while the outside of the bottle was totally frosted with scale, the inside was as smooth as the day it was made.

I do not have this problem when I soak bottles in hot water with Oxi Free.
 
ultravista said:
I canot find Oxiclean free, only the Oxiclean with the yellow lid. It is mostly white with a few little blue specs mixed in. I presume the blue specs are a detergent or perfume.

So, considering I can't find the 'free' version, will it hurt to use the normal Oxiclean?

Besides the perfumed scent, is there a difference?

Where can I find this stuff in Las Vegas?
Click to expand...

I live in Vegas also. I buy Oxyclean Free at Target.
 
I get my Oxyclean Free at the grocery store in Phoenix. Check your local "Kroger" grocery store. (ours is Frye's in Phoenix and Smith's in Albuquerque)

After a soak, I usually do a soak with water/citric acid to get all of the "soapy feel" out of my carboys. I tried vinegar but never could get the smell out... The citric acid works really well for me.

I tried the Sun Oxygen cleaner but found that I had to use over twice as much to get my beer bottles clean. The cost savings wasn't there for me so I went back to the Oxyclean Free.
 
VABeerSnob said:
I had a problem with OxiClean regular (with the little blue specks) that I do not have with OxiClean Free. When I soaked bottles overnight in a solution of hot water and the Oxi regular, my bottles came out covered in scale. The only way to remove the scale was to then soak the bottles in vinegar.

Maybe some chemist out there can tell me why this happened. The scale only appeared on the outsides of the bottles. I even cut a bottle in half with a Dremel cutoff disc, and while the outside of the bottle was totally frosted with scale, the inside was as smooth as the day it was made.

I do not have this problem when I soak bottles in hot water with Oxi Free.
Click to expand...

Dropping your bottle in StarSan also gets the white film off. I didn't know it was only on the outside. I usually only soak for a half hour or so. After a year and a half I have never had a problem.
 
If you want to get the stuff real cheap and in bulk, you can buy sodium percarbonate from pool supply stores. It is the active ingredient in oxy clean, and is much cheaper. Oxy clean has a bunch of additives for scent and everything because its made for use in laundry, if you get the generic brand, it usually has only sodium percarbonate in it. Read the ingredient labels, it tells all.
 
No trouble with regular oxy clean so far - just make sure to rinse well, it seems to rinse quite nicely. I honestly have never seen Oxyclean "free" up here in Vancouver.
 
I know this has probably been covered, but can someone enlighten me of the difference between PBW and OxyClean. Is PBW more concentrated? Is there other stuff in Oxy Clean?

I like the PBW, but it sure is expensive. I could only find the OxyClean with the blue crystals before, and PBW seems to work better and rinse easier.
 
PBW is Sodium Metasilicate, a very strong base
Oxyclean is Sodium Percarbonate, which breaks down into hydrogen peroxide.

In fact, one-step sanitizer is essentially the same thing as oxyclean free.
 

Similar threads

Ashv1
Greetings from Iran! (sorry for the long introduction)
Replies
32
Views
1K
Hoppy2bmerry
Hoppy2bmerry
CallMeKiupid
Kiupid's Mead Guide for Beginners (like me)
Replies
3
Views
1K
Barzahl
B
passedpawn
Florida $999 10g Electric Brewery, SS Brewtech, RIMS, pump, chiller, stainless glory!
2
Replies
52
Views
5K
passedpawn
passedpawn
R
My experience with the Auber Brew Buddy 50-amp kit
Replies
0
Views
1K
RunnyDMC
R
Skåldy
A Hobby Obsessed Vet
Replies
6
Views
875
IslandLizard
IslandLizard
SSBrew 300

Latest posts

Back
Top