Help cleaning EZ Cap wire bales

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garrettbuckeye

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I was just gifted a few cases of the clear EZ Cap 16 ounce bottles from a friend. I soaked them in Oxiclean, but to my surprise... all the wire bales now have a white goopy residue on them. I removed the bales, cleaned and sanitized the bottles, but is there a good way to clean up the wire bales now?

Also, what's a few cases of clear bottles good for? Mead? Cider? Does light affect them?
 
You'll probably need to replace the caps now that they've been in oxiclean. I found out that if a metal is left in PBW, and it's stainless, the solution will eat away at it.

As for the use of the bottles, I wouldn't use them for any beer. A mead could be ok, but I would still keep them in the dark (or at least low light exposure). If the bottles are older, then I would also replace the gaskets on them. At least inspect them to make sure they're not starting to dry out. Personally, I wouldn't put anything in there that would stay beyond 12-18 months (at the outside). If you think it will be (or could be) bottled for longer than that, go with something that doesn't use a gasket that will dry out over time.
 
I don't think the bails on my bottles were stainless. I routinely leave stainless in PBW/Oxi for extended period with no corrosion, but the bails would get corroded.
 
I don't think the bails on my bottles were stainless. I routinely leave stainless in PBW/Oxi for extended period with no corrosion, but the bails would get corroded.

Exactly... I left a screw in my March pump head when it went into a PBW solution bucket. Came out a bit nasty. Reached out to Senor March and found out the screws are not stainless. Got the size from him and picked up a 5 pack of stainless replacement screws. :D Believe they're 8-32 x 1". :D
 
The wires are outside the bottle and do not affect the sanitation inside the sealed bottle. I have EZ Cap tops that have corroded in the cleanser. Unless they are severely corroded to where it would affect their strength you can still use the tops. Make sure to remove the seals to sanitize the seals and tops. You only need to get the lower half of the top into the sanitizer as this is the only part that will come in contact with the beer/mead/cider.
 
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