Oxyclean not working? cleaning BB's

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.

mdf191

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2007
Messages
165
Reaction score
0
Location
State College Pa
From what I have read Oxyclean is the suggested magic cleaner for better bottles. Supposedly a half scoop of oxyclean overnight in a bb filled with water will remove all fermentation residue. I did this, and it did not clean my bottle. It cleaned off some, but not spotless like everyone suggests. I even let it soak for a few days.

So how do I get the rest of the residue off? I would normally use a bottle brush on my glass carboys, but it sounds like you should never use bottle brushes on BB's because of scratch risk. Did I do something wrong with the oxyclean? How do I get the rest off with no brushing?
 
Make sure to use very warm (not boiling!) water and throw a washcloth inside and shake it around. You probaly only need 2 gallons of water and a half scoop of oxyclean. The washcloth will knock all the junk off.
 
I just cleaned mine out today w/ Oxyclean - no residue after only an hour.

Here's my procedure:

- After racking, don't let it sit for an extended time, since you want to clean it while things are still moist.
- Swirl up trub with warm/hot water, dump (or harvest yeast if you want)
- Get out everything you can by swirling and rinsing a couple times
- Add one scoop or so of oxyclean
- Fill with hot tap water, at about 1/3 and 2/3 full, swirl it around a little
- Fill up to above the residue line, preferably close to the neck
- Let it sit at least an hour (residue should disappear)
- Empty / rinse / repeat rinse a couple times
- Turn upside down to drain and air dry

If you have really stubborn residue, some have said they add a small wash cloth or something similar and slosh it around with a gallon or so of hot water. The cloth will wash the gunk off. Just don't put too big of a cloth in or it will be difficult to get out. Do not use a brush or anything abrasive. (I have not needed to do this since Oxy works so well).
 
Hell Brew said:
Make sure to use very warm (not boiling!) water and throw a washcloth inside and shake it around. You probaly only need 2 gallons of water and a half scoop of oxyclean. The washcloth will knock all the junk off.

That's basically what I do. Simple & effective.
 
If the suggestions the others made don't help, switch to PBW. It really does work better. I had some fermentation residuals (in a glass carboy) that wouldn't go away even with repeated soakings in Oxyclean and scrubbing with a brush. I am at a loss to explain why this occurred, as even just water and a brush will normally clean all visible residue. But I gave it an overnight soak in PBW, and it is as clean as new.
 
Back
Top