HowTo: Clean a flask easily without a brush

So my 2L and 1L erlenmyer flasks have been getting really gunked up after making starters. I had a few "skuz lines" in them that I couldn't get out with any amount of hot water/soap shaking. I was too lazy to do an oxy clean soak, and even then, without a brush, it might not have worked great.

This did:
I poured in about 1/2 cup of freezer burned frozen mixed vegtables, (corn, peas, and chunks of beans). Added a drop of joy dish detergent, and shook the crap out of it. The frozen veggies acted as a gentle abrasive, and after only 30 seconds my flasks were sparkling clean! Great way to use up old veggies from the freezer, and easy way to clean a flask if you don't have a brush that is the right size.

You can also use a mix of salt, ice and lemon juice.

Hard water and a paper towel.

Swirl the PT inside to serve as teh abrasive.

I always just soak in oxyclean. Half scoop +hot water. That crud almost instantly lifts off. Also works great on cooking gear with crud stuck on them.

I use our local equivalent of oxy clean and let soak overnight, rinse that out then use vinegar and hot water for a soak too. We have very hard water here. But the vinegar also helps remove that oxy clean which for me, sticks to the sides after it finishes its job.

Rock salt and rubbing alcohol, it cleans, um, glassware really well...

+1 on the oxiclean

EMPyre said:

Rock salt and rubbing alcohol, it cleans, um, glassware really well...

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I was waiting to hear that one

hot water Oxy Clean and paper towel swirl if necessary

MattHollingsworth said:

I use our local equivalent of oxy clean and let soak overnight, rinse that out then use vinegar and hot water for a soak too. We have very hard water here. But the vinegar also helps remove that oxy clean which for me, sticks to the sides after it finishes its job.

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since we live in the same region, I would like to know what is the local equivalent of oxy clean here?

thanks

400d said:

since we live in the same region, I would like to know what is the local equivalent of oxy clean here?

thanks

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Don't think you have Konzum there, do you? If you do, go to the laundry cleaner section and look for something called Oxi something. If you don't have Konzum (that product is a Konzum product if I remember correctly), go to whatever your big market chain is and go to the laundy area. If you can find anything with Oxi, or Oxi in the name, that'll probably be something similar. You might need to read the label to see more info. It's generally a cleaner that will say something about using oxygen to clean. I think "vanish" might also be similar, but I haven't used it. Hope this helps.

This stuff is good for cleaning. It's good for removing stuff, but it also leaves its own residue on stuff. So, if you use vinegar with hot water afterwards, this will remove that residue and also remove any kamenac buildup from hard water.

MattHollingsworth said:

Don't think you have Konzum there, do you? If you do, go to the laundry cleaner section and look for something called Oxi something. If you don't have Konzum, go to whatever your big market chain is and go to the laundy area. If you can find anything with Oxi, or Oxi in the name, that'll probably be something similar. You might need to read the label to see more info. It's generally a cleaner that will say something about using oxygen to clean. I think "vanish" might also be similar, but I haven't used it. Hope this helps.

This stuff is good for cleaning. It's good for removing stuff, but it also leaves its own residue on stuff. So, if you use vinegar with hot water afterwards, this will remove that residue and also remove any kamenac buildup from hard water.

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we have Konzum of course, and we can buy Vanish Oxy Action detergent. But I never considered it to be ok for brewing. Don't know why, but I had a feeling it contains too much bad chemistry....

this is it

Ah, cool then. That Vanish will probably work. I use this stuff, though, and bet it's cheaper:



One scoop in a demijohn works good, half a scoop or even less in a 2 liter flask.

I don't think these are unusually toxic. But, like I said, it leaves a residue that you will also need to clean. I usually clean my demijohns with this Oxi stuff and let sit for 24 hours or something, though that long isn't really necessary. Probably a few hours are just as good. I clean with a demijohn brush first to remove most of the material, then soak with this oxi stuff for 24 hours. I then drain it and pour in maybe 200 ml or so of straight vinegar and swirl it around to remove the soapy buildiup. Dump that out and rinse. I then pour another 100 ml or so of vinegar (ocat) into the demijjohn, add hot water and let sit for a day or so. Guess it sounds like a lot of work, but it's not. It's mostly letting stuff sit there and soak.

THEN sanitize. I use iodophor myself...

thanks man!

is there a substitution for iodophor available on the local market?

400d said:

thanks man!

is there a substitution for iodophor available on the local market?

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I don't know about finding iodophor locally. Maybe if you ask around. It's basically iodine in a solution. In the States, it's used in restaurants to sanitize dishes, or at least that's my understanding. So, you might try a restaurant supply place.

I ordered mine from Brouwland in Belgium. And then I use half the dosage they recommend, as 12.5 parts per million is good for a no rinse solution. The dose they recommend is twice that. And the result is I use less of it. I ordered 1 liter in the summer and am roughly halfway done with the bottle after 13 batches of beer. So, I'd say for me at least, it's good for 25 batches of beer or so. I use it to sanitize my demijohns, my bottling bucket, my bottles, auto siphon and whatever else comes into contact with the beer.

Shipping is expensive though. If you find it locally, please tell me where you found it as I'd love to find it locally.

MattHollingsworth said:

I don't know about finding iodophor locally. Maybe if you ask around. It's basically iodine in a solution. In the States, it's used in restaurants to sanitize dishes, or at least that's my understanding. So, you might try a restaurant supply place.

I ordered mine from Brouwland in Belgium. And then I use half the dosage they recommend, as 12.5 parts per million is good for a no rinse solution. The dose they recommend is twice that. And the result is I use less of it. I ordered 1 liter in the summer and am roughly halfway done with the bottle after 13 batches of beer. So, I'd say for me at least, it's good for 25 batches of beer or so. I use it to sanitize my demijohns, my bottling bucket, my bottles, auto siphon and whatever else comes into contact with the beer.

Shipping is expensive though. If you find it locally, please tell me where you found it as I'd love to find it locally.

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I am sure that you can get it in "Poljooprema". I've seen their catalog. It is sold as a dairy production sanitizer.

I don't know about the concentration of this stuff, but I'm sure you can adjust it to suit your needs.


p.s.

I just realized we're completely off topic. Sorry! Matt, we can pm each other if you want further info on this. I am moving to Zagreb soon, so maybe we could even hang out

400d said:

I am sure that you can get it in "Poljooprema". I've seen their catalog. It is sold as a dairy production sanitizer.

I don't know about the concentration of this stuff, but I'm sure you can adjust it to suit your needs.


p.s.

I just realized we're completely off topic. Sorry! Matt, we can pm each other if you want further info on this. I am moving to Zagreb soon, so maybe we could even hang out

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Over to PM then. Carry on folks.

PBW is the best thing that I've used so far. Oxyclean is pretty good too though. But don't leave it in there for too long, I've heard that it'll etch the glass if given enough contact time. Borosilicate glass is pretty hardcore though.

I've been wondering why everyone seems to choose erlenmeyers over regular 1L or 2L beakers? Wouldn't a beaker be less prone to boil over rockets and easier to clean? Is it because erlenmeyers look mad science?

EMPyre said:

Rock salt and rubbing alcohol, it cleans, um, glassware really well...

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you mean those pesky resins?

PBW soak for 3-4 days rinse and crystal clean, then reuse the PBW.

oxyclean x several days makes everything sparkle

I don't know if this is "THE" reason to use an erlenmeyer, but it helps to wash trub for reusing yeast. Pour off the yeast layer easily leaving the trub cake on the bottom. I figure it's probably also helpful to keep your starter in the container if you're running a stir plate.

My reason for using erlenmeyers is the thin and flat bottom that makes them much easier to use on a stirplate.

Oxy rocks. My 2L had some nasty burnt on crap on the outside bottom after a boil over (I boil in the 2L on my glass top stove.)

I filled a homer bucket with a few inches of hot water and a little oxy and after a day soak I can sell it as new!