Cleaning Bottles?

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StrangeDog

StrangeDog

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Hey all,

If I've already scrubbed the bottles down with hot water to make sure there's no mold or anything in them - do I need to use a bottle brush to scrub them down again with StarSan just before bottling or would it be ok to just soak them all for a bit in StarSan then bottle them?

Thanks again as always for the help
 
yeah unless you see mold on the bottom you can just rinse with water and then soak in starsan. If my bottles have been sitting around for a while I run them through my dishwasher on the highest heat setting (some new washers have a 'sanitize' feature) with NO soap...the heat does most of the work for ya.
 
There really is NO reason to scrub when using starsan. Starsan is not a cleaner and your equipment MUST be clean before sanitizing it. If you are tired of scrubing bottles buy some oxiclean from Walmart and soak them overnight in a laundry tub, rubbermaid storage container, bathtub etc. Works like magic and takes labels off. Depending on how dirty the bottles are I can't see you getting them clean enough with just a bottle brush and hot water. I personally would soak them in oxiclean.
 
If any crud has dried inside the bottles, I would give them a total immersion soak in a CIP cleaner such as PBW or Oxyclean. Starsan is formulated to kill bugs on already clean surfaces.

I'm still on the fence re sanitizing bottles without cleaning as long as they are thoroughly rinsed after pouring. But apparently a lot of brewers do this with good success and I'm leaning that direction.

You can use the heat cycle of your dishwasher to sanitize/sterilize clean bottles. But I don't think the wash cycle by itself will clean the inside.
 
yeoldebrewer said:
If any crud has dried inside the bottles, I would give them a total immersion soak in a CIP cleaner such as PBW or Oxyclean. Starsan is formulated to kill bugs on already clean surfaces.

I'm still on the fence re sanitizing bottles without cleaning as long as they are thoroughly rinsed after pouring. But apparently a lot of brewers do this with good success and I'm leaning that direction.

You can use the heat cycle of your dishwasher to sanitize/sterilize clean bottles. But I don't think the wash cycle by itself will clean the inside.
Click to expand...

I see no reason to reclean bottles after they have sat idle after being initially cleaned. After I clean bottles I close the lid on the beer box and typically let them dry upside down. I let them sit like that till I'm ready to bottle at which time I sanitize them by dunking them in starsan 3 times in a rather quick manor. I have never had a bottle infection so it works well for me.
 
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