Oxiclean - My container says DO NOT SOAK METALS

ok, I know a lot of people use oxiclean, and I just started using it. I was about to clean my keg with it as several people do, when I read the box of the package...it states


Ok, so what's the deal with that??? I cleaned my keggle with it, but there was no soaking involved...I just sloshed it around, wiped the sides and bottom and rinsed...but I know I have read that people soak their kegs in Oxiclean.

EDIT: This is Oxiclean Versatile Free, by the way.

I've heard of plenty of people soaking bottles in oxiclean but not cornies.

It probably promotes rust. Not as much of a problem with stainless, and probably not a problem at all if you rinse soon after.

I filled a stainless steel mixing bowl with concentrated oxiclean solution a while back, to soak a nasty blowoff tube in. I left it overnight and by morning it had corroded the bottom a bit and actually eaten pinholes through the bottom of the bowl. Now I have a leaky mixing bowl.

I have used oxiclean in my kegs, but I have never let it sit for more than a half hour to an hour - and I try to avoid using it with them at all.

A much better solution for cleaning where you'll be scrubbing (as in a keggle) is Barkeeper's Friend (BKF), it's cheaper than dirt and does an incredible job on stainless. But, I don't think it's much of a "soak and rinse" type of cleaner like oxiclean is.

oxiclean- like anything else, when used properly is fine for soaking.

I routinely soak my cornies with oxiclean for 30 min, flip upside down into a clean 5 gallon bucket let it soak another 30 min to clean the top half. Perfectly clean corny with no corrosion everytime. fill 1/2 way with star san sanitizer close up, shake to coat the whole interior and set aside until needed.

Reverend JC said:

oxiclean- like anything else, when used properly is fine for soaking.

I routinely soak my cornies with oxiclean for 30 min, flip upside down into a clean 5 gallon bucket let it soak another 30 min to clean the top half. Perfectly clean corny with no corrosion everytime. fill 1/2 way with star san sanitizer close up, shake to coat the whole interior and set aside until needed.

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I bet it is similar to using bleach on stainless. When using bleach, they say that for the most part it won't harm it, but at the liquid surface it will cause very localized pitting. The bowl that was damaged with oxiclean looked completely unaffected except for the smallish areas on the bottom where it looked corroded - and those are areas where there may have been some undissolved oxiclean crystals resting, so it may have been extra concentrated in those spots. I would guess that as long as you were careful to mix your oxiclean fully (so there's no undissolved crystals) then you'd significantly reduce your risk of damaging your kegs, and of course limiting contact time helps a lot also.

Oxyclean promotes oxidization as does bleach. Metal oxides are ugly, and potentially unsafe.

That said, I've got the ugliest black kettle having soaked it in oxyclean over night.

Oxi-Clean will oxidize dickens out of aluminum if left to soak. I agree with Funk that Bar Keeper's Friend is the way to clean Stainless Steel.

Kevin Dean said:

Oxyclean promotes oxidization as does bleach. Metal oxides are ugly, and potentially unsafe.

That said, I've got the ugliest black kettle having soaked it in oxyclean over night.

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Watch out you might be opening a can of worms! Many folks lurking around this forum think Aluminum Oxide is beautiful and good for you.

I don't happen to be one of em although.

It's not that it's good for you, but a little sure wont hurt you.
It's that small oxide layer on the Al pots that keep them from further corroding.

Oxygen + Metal = corrosion and rust, active ingredient in oxyclean is Oxygen. It shouldn't hurt stainless unless left for a long while, but it can do a number on aluminum or iron in short order. I cleaned a turkey pot with it, it was in there 5 minutes and the black stains have been there 3 years now.