Better Bottle still smells of yeast

I cleaned my Better Bottle fermenter after kegging the other day and it still smells like yeast. To clean it I gave it a power rinse, very hot splashing rinse then a PBW wash. The PBW was 2 gallons of water around 125F and about 1oz of PBW. I vigorously splashed then drained most of it, as it was very effective at removing the obvious. I then dropped in a microfiber cloth and did the swirl around up and down the sides. I also let it bounce around the bottom. Gave it another hot then cold rinse.

The next day, when it was all dry, I noticed that it still had a yeasty smell. Should I use a bleach wash on this thing? Another PBW wash? Any other solution?

other than the microfiber cloth swishing around, any other manual scrubbing?

personally, i've avoid bleach for fear that the odor would linger. I guess a very dilute bleach solution and an absurd amount of rinsing would be a last resort...

but before that, I say go ahead and invest in a good bottle brush. (the ones bent 90 degrees at the tip, like this one). I've abused my Better Bottles (let batches sit in them, uncleaned), has a good, thick, dried trub ring in them a few times, and a couple times I thought for sure I had messed one up for sure, but giving them a good scrubbing with the brush and hot soapy water always does the trick!

WheeledGoat said:

other than the microfiber cloth swishing around, any other manual scrubbing?

personally, i've avoid bleach for fear that the odor would linger. I guess a very dilute bleach solution and an absurd amount of rinsing would be a last resort...

but before that, I say go ahead and invest in a good bottle brush. (the ones bent 90 degrees at the tip, like this one). I've abused my Better Bottles (let batches sit in them, uncleaned), has a good, thick, dried trub ring in them a few times, and a couple times I thought for sure I had messed one up for sure, but giving them a good scrubbing with the brush and hot soapy water always does the trick!

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Definitely DO NOT use a bottle brush on a Better Bottle. You will make micro scratches in the plastic which can harbor bacteria. You are just setting yourself up for an infection.

An overnight soak with the PBW or Oxyclean should help. If not I would not worry too much about the smell. It will probably dissipate before your next brew day. Even if it doesn't RDWHAHB.

kh54s10 said:

Definitely DO NOT use a bottle brush on a Better Bottle. You will make micro scratches in the plastic which can harbor bacteria. You are just setting yourself up for an infection.

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whaaa???? this is the first i've heard of such! I always thought that
a) the plastic that the better bottle is made of is hard enough and
b) the nylon bristles of the brush are soft enough
...that it wouldn't be an issue.

I'm not trying to be a prick or anything, I definitely appreciate your input... but where did you come across this info? I just now looked at the better bottle website and it only says

Never use stiff brushes, abrasive scouring pads, or cleansers - they are unnecessary!

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I guess I just put the nylon bristled carboy brushes in a different category than "stiff brushes and abrasive scouring pads".