Cleaning Up? (something a bit different)

so, outside of the usual "have I ruined my brew?!?!?!" posts I thought I'd ask something that's been bugging the bejesus out of me ever since I started my first brew this week:

....how do you guys clean your carboys?

I don't know about everyone, but my dark ale is 4 days into it's fermentation and the foam remnants and the yeast layer on the bottom of the carboy are probably going to be caked on, good and solid and I'd like to have all my gear as clean and sanitized for the next batch once I drink this beer.

is there a special technique that most of you use to get carboys clean after a fermentation?

I let it soak in extremely hot water 3 or 4 times then swish it around. That does the trick most of the time. If that doesn't work I bend a clothes hanger with a soft scratch pad rigged to it and that always does the trick.

As long as you clean it right after you empty it its not a big deal... let it dry a little and it gets much worse. Same goes for bottles.

PBW soak for an hour, give it a quick once over with your brush and after a rinse or two its sparkling clean.

I took a short garden hose and attached an adjustable nozzle to one end and the other hooks up to the spout after removing the shower head in my bathtub. You can then adjust the nozzle to a strong stream to blast out the bottom of the carboy and then set it to mist and stick it in the neck of the carboy and it will spray down the sides to remove the rest of the gunk.

Then I soak in B-brite for a few minutes and the standard once over with the brush, rinse and let dry.

My bottle brush sucks for carboys. The metal tip always seems to stick out a bit and I worry about scratching the glass. I should try this chemical cleaner stuff. I've also used a bit of washcloth and coat hanger to rub around a bit and that helps.

I've also used a bottle washer device, but with a glass carboy, that's dangerous, especially with soapy water.

SGT-RIEL said:

I let it soak in extremely hot water 3 or 4 times then swish it around. That does the trick most of the time. If that doesn't work I bend a clothes hanger with a soft scratch pad rigged to it and that always does the trick.

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Warm water is fine, but I'd stay away from "extremely hot water" in a carboy at any time. If the water is too hot, you could run the risk of shattering the carboy...

Oxyclean and hot water, then a thorough rinse with a jet bottle/carboy washer.

cdburg said:

Warm water is fine, but I'd stay away from "extremely hot water" in a carboy at any time. If the water is too hot, you could run the risk of shattering the carboy...

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It's from the faucet so it's hot but not enough to break a carboy.

+1 for Oxyclean free.

Oxy free plus hot water + carboy brush = clean carboy in ten minutes.

If the Oxyclean leaves a film, rinse with vinegar, then clean water.

I have the jet washer that Revvy posted above. As soon as possible after emptying my carboy, I hit it with the jet, then let it soak in water and PBW for a day or two. Then I rinse it one last time with the jet.

I like a soak in PBW, a good rinse, then a quick dose of Starsan. Store it upside down, then next time you just need to hit it with Starsan and its good to go.

Better bottles here. Soak with PBW and warm water for 30-60 minutes. Swish around on the tennis ball. Empty the bottle and store upside down until next use

I soak overnight in oxyclean. rinse, a splash of starsan and into the basement it goes.

B

Dizavin said:

I don't know about everyone, but my dark ale is 4 days into it's fermentation and the foam remnants and the yeast layer on the bottom of the carboy are probably going to be caked on, good and solid and I'd like to have all my gear as clean and sanitized for the next batch once I drink this beer.

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The gunk will still be damp from the high-humidity sealed environment. As long as you clean it shortly after racking out you will be fine. It will come off much easier than you think. A carboy brush helps, as does oxy.

If you let it sit open for a week after you rack THEN you've just made a mess.

I use plastic for my primary and glass for my secondary. Nothing but hot water and a bare hand touches my primary and only hot water from a jet washer followed by sanitizer touches my carboys.

Papinquack said:

Nothing but hot water and a bare hand touches my primary.

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I agree, hot water and a little time. Hit it with the One-Step and I'm good to go.

Bleach soak, then thorough rinsing with Jet carboy washer.

wow, thanks guys. yeah, my beer is still in it's primary.

I have a plastic carboy so I may use hot water and a scrubber to clean it. I got the plastic one because, well, I'm pretty much a walking accident and the last thing I need is to be in the hospital because I was attacked by 5 gallons of raging beer and shards of glass.

Dizavin said:

I have a plastic carboy so I may use hot water and a scrubber to clean it.

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Don't go to scrubbing. You'll leave scratches that while you may not see them, nasties will and move into them.

Baldy_Beer_Brewery said:

Don't go to scrubbing. You'll leave scratches that while you may not see them, nasties will and move into them.

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wow. that seems so obvious! why didn't I clue in to that? good call.

Dizavin said:

wow, thanks guys. yeah, my beer is still in it's primary.

I have a plastic carboy so I may use hot water and a scrubber to clean it. I got the plastic one because, well, I'm pretty much a walking accident and the last thing I need is to be in the hospital because I was attacked by 5 gallons of raging beer and shards of glass.

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Make sure you don't use straight hot water or your bottle will warp. As mentioned above, no scrubbies or you will scratch it.

SGT-RIEL said:

I let it soak in extremely hot water 3 or 4 times then swish it around. That does the trick most of the time. If that doesn't work I bend a clothes hanger with a soft scratch pad rigged to it and that always does the trick.

Click to expand...

I should also point out that you're old-school rifle icon is badass.

Homercidal said:

My bottle brush sucks for carboys. The metal tip always seems to stick out a bit and I worry about scratching the glass. I should try this chemical cleaner stuff. I've also used a bit of washcloth and coat hanger to rub around a bit and that helps.

I've also used a bottle washer device, but with a glass carboy, that's dangerous, especially with soapy water.

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I must be using my carboy brush wrong or something, it seems like the only part of the brush that I can make good contact on the carboy with, is the tip, and as mentioned my Homercidal, there is not too many bristles on the there.
Who would've though that there is some jackass out there (me ) that needs directions on how to use a brush?

+1 to not let anything dry. I find if I clean everything right after I rack, I can just use hot water. It also saves me a lot of time on the front end of my next brewing session.