cleaning the carboy

I used a 6.5 gal glass carboy for the primary. There is a small ring around the inside where the krausen had risen. Now that the batch is in the secondary, how do I get the stuck-on krausen bits off the glass? I soaked it in water for a while but that didn't do it. My brush can't reach it either do to the angle. What is the best way to get that crud off the glass?

How about a little bleach or oxyclean in the water when you soak it?

Bend the brush - it will reach. Also, use PBW - soaking it will remove all that crap

I do an overnight soak of my carboys with some bleach in it...filled to the top. I use my autosyphon to get the water out.

I have 2-3 carboy brushes that are bent at all kinds of angles for those hard to reach places.

Mmmmmm.....bleach......

I tried sanitizer but for some reason I never thought of bleach. I also never thought of bending the brush.

I am re-todd-ed....

thanks guys

Bleach always seem to make the gunk/kreusen ring come right off. Come morning the ring is gone...well, actually it falls to the bottom...

A generous tablespoonful of liquid dishwasher soap, completely mixed and an overnight soaking will also work.

Most importantly when using any of these methods, a thorough rinsing is vital.

I will take a small bit of goop over bleach or soap residue any day.

Cheers,

knewshound

Should/Can I mix the bleach (or dishwasher soap) with the sanitized water (Star-San) already in the carboy or should I empty it and fill it back up?

Move your StarSan to another container and save it if you can.

Oxyclean will take care of that in no time.

TheJadedDog said:

Oxyclean will take care of that in no time.

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agree, and it's fun to watch the stuff break apart and rise to the top and spill out . . .

ok I really need a life . . .

I gave Oxyclean a try this past week and I'm sold on the stuff. It got off some crud I couldn't get off with a hot bleach soak overnight. It also cleaned it completely in one hour, which was nice.

Buy a carboy brush. It will reach every surface on the inside of the carboy.

Bleach isn't very good for removing organic deposits. Diluted ammonia works pretty well. Do not mix bleach and ammonia!

rdwj said:

use PBW

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I agree. I buy PBW in bulk, I use it to clean everything, even non homebrew related. . I drop a couple of tsp worth in the carboy, fill it with warm water, and in 10-15 minutes, just dump it out, and rinse, and it sparkles it is so clean.

Hey guys, great thread.

I have been bleaching out my carboys. Do you rinse out till you cant smell any bleach? I can smell a faint hint of it in them.

I also let me carboys go over night in bleach filled almost to the top.
I want to make sure I dont affect future batches o' beer..........

Just rinse it out several minutes with running hot water.

I rinse once to get the goo out, and then fill with warm water with a quarter cup of dishwashing detergent. Let sit overnight and bada-bing, it's gone!!

Here is my method. As soon as the carboy is empty I fill it with a half gallon of really hot water. I put 4 teaspoons of PBW in with the water. I then take my trusty cleaning towel (slightly bigger than a wash cloth) and (with a twisting motion) force it into the carboy with the hot water and PBW. Next I place a solid bung over the end of the Carboy to seal it shut. I then sit in one of my comfy chairs and rock the carboy side to side (balanced on my knee). The wash cloth will swish to and fro cleaning all the nasty deposits inside the carboy. This takes about five minutes. After that I'm done. I empty the carboy and pull the rag out. I rinse that Carboy and put it in my carboy tree to drain.

All I do is dump the cake, rinse it a couple times, use the brush to give the ring a good scraping, then rinse a couple more times. It washes right out, and no icky bleach or harsh cleansers required.

I swear by Oxyclean. As soon as I'm done racking out of the primary, I fill it with warm water and put in a few scoops of Oxyclean. By the time I finish cleaning up all the bits I have laying around the kitchen, the krausen is completely gone. I let it sit until the bubbles slow down and then just rinse & sanitize.

Does anyone else sanitize both after brewing and then again before filling again? I didn't know if it was paranoia or OCD, OCD, OCD, OCD, OCD.

YES,YES,YES I always sanitize when cleaning and puting away all equipment after a brew session and before I start a brew session. It only takes a few minutes and is cheap insurance aginst any infections. You arn't being overly cautious. I was taught this way be the fellow who taught me to brew and he owns a very prosperous local microbrewrey here in Visalia, California.

That's what I do also and use One Step, kind of overkill for me, but like you said, not really that much extra work.