stupid noob! i used soap and water to clean my fermenter bucket

Ok,
as the title says I used soap,water, and a clean wash cloth to clean my fermenter bucket after I transfered my first batch into my secondary glass carboy. I just read not to use soap and water because it can ruin the head of your beer on future batches... Is my bucket now ruined? I have starsan but I only thought that was for "sanitizing" right before use. I bought unscented oxiclean to clean my courney kegs out with should I try that in my bucket and then use starsan to try and get rid of the soap issue, or is it too late? Ugh...... any help would be great THANKS!

What do you mean "soap?" I use nothing but Dawn dish detergent and a Scotchbrite sponge (not the green part!) to clean my buckets. Works just fine.

on my midwest supplies directions sheet that came with my batch.. it says "clean your primary fermenter with a sponge. Don't use any abrasive pads that could scratch the inside of your bucket, these scratches may hold bacteria that could affect future batches. DO NOT USE SOAP; IT CAN RUIN THE HEAD OF YOUR BEER."

Yeah, I order most of my ingredients from MW, and I've read that. I don't know whether they literally mean "soap," since Dawn and products like it are detergents. Soap is very different chemically from a detergent. But if it didn't rinse off completely, I certainly don't think I'd use it to wash my dishes, and the implication here is that there's some sort of residue left on the washed / rinsed surface. I'd like to know what.....

You are fine... You can use soap, just rinse it well because residues can ruin head or leave a soapy taste. Rinse Rinse Rinse and its fine, lots of people use soaps/detergents to clean...

I just used bar soap and a washcloth to get the residue off... then I read that and was like wtf. rinsed it off and was planning on just using starsan before I made my second batch tonight. making the autumn amber ale next.

rico567 said:

What do you mean "soap?" I use nothing but Dawn dish detergent and a Scotchbrite sponge (not the green part!) to clean my buckets. Works just fine.

Click to expand...

Same here.

soap is fine just rinse well

[rant]
It's our infatuation with blaming others for our own stupid mistakes and not wanting to take responsibility for our actions. Oh and all the political correctness bull#$%@! We have warnings for everything. Don't do this, don't do that, don't mix this with that. That's why they put a warning on take-out coffee at restaurants; you know, be careful--it's very hot--you could burn yourself. Because some ****** bags will sue if they spill it on themselves. And they have. And they've won. As if that's the restaurant's fault. We're the "always blame others" society. So consider this the HBS' way of making sure that an improperly rinsed fermenter that's been washed with soap doesn't ruin your next batch of beer. Or at least that they don't get sued for it. Because some ****** bags will blame the HBS and not their own damn stupidity. But that's just my $0.02.
[/rant]

I feel better now.

I always use soap and a rag on my buckets. Never had a head retention problem. Just rinse them very well with hot water afterward and you're all set.

Its exactly the same as pouring a beer into a glass that has a little bit of dish soap residue still in it. It kills the head.

Now, you wash your glasses with dish soap I hope, and then thoroughly with water...so the exact same science applies to your fermentation equipment!

Rinse rinse rinse and you'll be fine.

I work with chemicals daily. I always triple rinse. Just remember to triple rinse your bottles, buckets, etc and you should not have a problem. I am new to brewing but I do use soap to clean and I have not had any issues with my beers.

_______________
Primary - Deschutes Black Butte Porter Clone
Primary - Dogfish 60 Clone
Bottle - San Diego Pale Ale
On Deck - Nut Brown Ale

I also use dish soap... liquid detergent... what ever you want to call it and have no problems. Excellent head retention despite it. If you're lax in how well you rinse it won't matter what you use, you'll end up tainting the brew.

I also heard (as a child) the old wives's tale that if milk is *ever* used in a glass, the beer will not hold a head (in that glass).