cleaning beer tap/faucet without cleaning kit?

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Scottfarcuz

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What chemicals and method should I use if I want to take my faucet and tap out of my keg fridge and clean them?

I plan to just replace the beer line but would like to clean the faucet and tap without buying a cleaning kit. Ideally I would like to do it with chemicals I can find locally. I see mention of sodium percabonate (oxyclean)? I also need to sanatize after this? Wouldn't a bleach solution do that?

I appreciate any help. I am hoping to get into home brew soon but had a big party this summer for my son who is leaving for the Marines. The parts I bought new and put in a fridge I had. We ran a half barrel through it that just emptied. It seems easier to just pull the parts and clean them than trying to wait patiently for some magic kit via the mail to clean them.

Thanks :mug:
 
Assuming you have a full-on faucet-and-shank assembly;

Simply detach the faucet from the shank, disassemble it, and soak in oxyclean free (the kind with no added scents, etc) overnight. Rinse very thoroughly, and sanitize. Yes, a very mild bleach solution would work for this, but a no-rinse sanitizer like starsan or iodophor might be a simpler option.

As for your lines - don't replace them after only a single use!!! Either get one of those kits from an online vendor to attach to your shank and flush out the lines that way, or take a cornie keg (or similar), load it up with some oxyclean solution, and simply push that through your lines with a little CO2... Rinse and sanitize using the same procedure.
 
Can I get sanitizer locally somewhere?
Its not something I recall seeing at the grocery store, but I could have easily missed it.
 
You need to visit a homebrew store for a sanitizer. The only one you'll find at a grocery store is household bleach, but I wouldn't recommend using that as it is not no-rinse.

If you can find it, StarSan is your best bet.

Some people use kegs and co2 to push clenaer and sanitizer through their lines. I built one of these for cheap: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/diy-beer-line-cleaner-226497/ . I'd rather have my kegs full of beer than sanitizer...

First I push out the beer from the line (if there is any) with water. Then I push through some beer line cleaner and let it soak for 20 minutes in the line. Then I rinse with water, and push starsan through, and hook up the new keg.
 
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