fermenter thru the dishwasher after infection ??

I just had a white bubble infection in my plastic bucket fermenter and I was trying to think of the best way to save the bucket and to be sure I had it nice and sanitary before I used it again. I took out the top rack of my dishwasher so the bucket and lid would fit in there and I am running it right now on the sani mode. Will this work? ... has anyone done this before? Should I just give up on the bucket? .. thanks

Get a new one. The plastic buckets are fine and dandy fermentors, but you've got to replace them periodically. There's just no way reliable way to make sure you've got them clean, especially after an infection.

I would do one of two things:

1) bleach bomb the bucket - die you bastards! - then rinse really well and sanitize well again (using either iodophor or star san) before you use the bucket again, or

2) replace the bucket

Running it through the dishwasher won't hurt it, but I would bleach bomb it anyway.

Pappers_ said:

I would do one of two things:

1) bleach bomb the bucket - die you bastards! - then rinse really well and sanitize well again (using either iodophor or star san) before you use the bucket again, or

2) replace the bucket

Running it through the dishwasher won't hurt it, but I would bleach bomb it anyway.

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yea .. i was thinking about bleach .. if it was a 14 dollar bucket I wouldnt even be messin with it ... but I paid 27 bucks for it ... it's a 7.9 gallon, really nice bucket .. maybe after i have run it thru the DW a couple times and bleached it .. and hell, maybe even one more run thru the DW, I'll try a pretty cheap recipe .. I'm on the fence I guess .. thanks for the thoughts

but I paid 27 bucks for it

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Keep in mind if your next brew with it goes down the drain, you will be throwing a lot more away.

Just saying.

It may be a $27 bucket, but it's just a bucket. I'd get a better bottle or carboy.

bendavanza said:

It may be a $27 bucket, but it's just a bucket. I'd get a better bottle or carboy.

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I dont think I'll ever use glass because I am so clumsy .. haha ... i do have a 6 gallon better bottle, but i really just prefer the buckets. They are just easier IMO .. I'll probably toss the bucket .. sounds like that is what most on here would do. thanks

I dont see any need to toss the bucket. I would soak it in oxyclean for a night, then bleach the hell out of it, rinse and store for your next bach

Germelli1 said:

I dont see any need to toss the bucket. I would soak it in oxyclean for a night, then bleach the hell out of it, rinse and store for your next bach

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well if i do pull the trigger on using it again .. i can guarantee you it will be the best sanitizing job I've ever done on a fermenter .. I dont think anything could even survive the dishwasher, but so many are saying toss it ... can something really survive that .. and some bleach??? ... can the plastic somehow be penetrated by the nasties???

cadarnell said:

well if i do pull the trigger on using it again .. i can guarantee you it will be the best sanitizing job I've ever done on a fermenter .. I dont think anything could even survive the dishwasher, but so many are saying toss it ... can something really survive that .. and some bleach??? ... can the plastic somehow be penetrated by the nasties???

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I'll tell you I hear people talking about scratches in plastinc causing infections...I have used the same buckets for a year now, and many of them came from someone leaving the hobby, so who know how old they were.

Yeas I have had infections before, but never on consecutive batches before and I have used the same buckets that help infected beers over and over again.

I feel an oxyclean soak will penetrate any scratches to remove any "clingers", and a heavy bleach solution will make the bucket so toxic it will be like a nuke going off on a microscopic level

I am not saying there is now merit in the scratched plastic thing, but it has never been an issue for me!

PS: To actually answer your question on the dishwasher...I am with you, why not just do it if it fits? I would be a little worried about the heat on the plastic, but for what it is worth, I have poured near boiling wort in mine before

sanitizing plastic with heat = melting usually. if the bucket survives the temperature, i dont see any other negatives from putting it in the dishwasher (as long as you dont use dish detergent).

try using a quart of hydrogen peroxide and swirling it around in the bucket for a long time. 5% hydrogen peroxide is as effective as strait undiluted bleach at killing bacteria, only hydrogen peroxide breaks down into salt, water, and oxygen and leaves no aftertaste or smell. its even effective at killing bacteria on semi-clean surfaces (surfaces free of most sludge and major debris, but unsanitized) at concentrations of like .01% or something very small. normally for disinfecting you use a ~2% soloution.

i just hate using bleach, especially on plastic. i can immediately taste chlorine in any city water, even in the winter when they use a lower concentration, and i can always smell the bleach residue on anything, especially on plastic, even after you rinse the living hell out of it. i will never use bleach on my food handling or brewing equipment.

Chlorine evaporates VERY fast. So fast that you can use bleach as a no rinse sanatizer at proper dilution if you wanted.