Cleaning Checklist

I'm a new homebrewer, and I think I'm already addicted.

I'm about 48 hours away from cooking my first batch up, and I am getting a little nervous about the cleaning aspect of it. I have been trying to go somewhat light on the expenses for the first few months. I've had to use craigslist a bit for items and while I feel comfortable with them, I am also one of those people that believes clean kitchens equal clean and better food. As a homebrewer, I want to make sure that I have my items in the best shape possible.

Can anyone provide me a list of "must haves" for cleaning my equipment?

As a total noob and not knowing most of these things, I am hoping to break this out by equipment -


Thanks in advance for helping me!

Soap is a bad idea, it coats the surface of things and is very hard to get off. With glasses, it is a major cause of collapsing head. PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash) is the magic cleaner for brewers, everything on the "cold side" must additionally be sanitized, I like no-rinse 5-Star.

I keep a 5G bucket and a trigge sprayer of 5-star, use liberally!

Before PBW or sanitizing, scrub thoroughly but not in a way that might scratch (especially plastic). You'll also quickly realize that rinsing everything quickly with hot water reduces later cleaning / scrubbing dramatically.

Welcome to the hobby and the group, from CO.

You can also substitute oxyclean (non scented) for PBW for most jobs. Add 30% TSP/90 for even better results. Get a quality (professional) spray bottle for your Star San. No rinse. No dry. No fear the foam (foam good).

Clean, rinse, spray/dunk with StarSan. Ready to roll.

Cyclman said:

Welcome to the hobby and the group, from CO.

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Thanks! I am from Colorado as well!!! Downtown Denver here.

I found a planter box like >>> THIS <<<< Different dimensions and NO drainage holes. Both Lowes and Home Depot had them for about $7. I think my two are about 6x6x30"

They are great for soaking all your longer parts that come in contact with the wort post boil. I use it for hoses, auto-siphon/racking cane, thief, hydrometer parts, etc etc.

Also, >>>> THIS <<<< is great for use with StarSan to sanitize bulky items that are difficult to dunk. I use it to spray the mouth of my carboy before removing the airlock. Also to spray the stopper before returning it to the carboy. You will find a LOT of uses for it. StarSan sanitizes in seconds, so you will find you will use it a lot for a quick sanitization without having to fill a bucket to take care of a small item.

Slow_Day said:

You can also substitute oxyclean (non scented) for PBW for most jobs. Add 30% TSP/90 for even better results. Get a quality (professional) spray bottle for your Star San. No rinse. No dry. No fear the foam (foam good).

Clean, rinse, spray/dunk with StarSan. Ready to roll.

Click to expand...

This^^^^^^.

The only cleaner you need is PBW (or the DIY version). An overnight soak and wipe (if needed) with a non-abrasive cloth will clean stuff nicely.

Get some StarSan to sanitize. Keep some in a bucket for dunking and some in a spray bottle too.

Clean just after use. Sanitize just before use (so that what touches your beer is still wet with StarSan).

Don't bother with the carboy as a secondary unless you are long-term aging or adding fruit. Kettle-->Bucket-->Bottling bucket works great.

As far as "MUST HAVES" for ALL equipment cleaning:
PBW or Unscented OXYCLEAN
If you can only find the scented variety, then USE SPARINGLY AND RINSE WELL!!!!!

Soft cotton cloths / washcloths / Microfiber towels that will not scratch plastic like others mentioned already.

For cleaning your kettle, I would offer this advice:
For aluminum kettles like you have, I would boil some water in it to build up the oxidized layer inside the kettle (THIS LAYER IS VERY IMPORTANT) and all subsequent boils in the kettle will serve to keep that layer intact. (it prevents the acidic wort from causing damage to the inside of the kettle)
You do not want to aggressively scrub this layer off. A simple PBW (or cleaner) and soft cloth with a good rinse and dry and it is ready for the next brewday.
The outside of the kettle can be scrubbed using a scotch brite pad and some BarKeepers Friend (or similar metal cleaner) and then rinsed and dried as well. (although this is relatively unnecessary if you do not have a boil over)

Like others mentioned, you want to avoid scratching the plastic buckets, hoses and such as they can harbor infections.

+1 to carboys being unnecessary (and often unused)