Cleaning brew bucket lids

[Bamsdealer]

Any suggestions? its the only thing I struggle with. Even with a new lid, yeast and krausen get caked in after a couple batches and I can't get it out. Soaking with oxy doesn't do much and I'm hesitant to hit it with a stiff brush.

 

[Beernik]

I soak it in a bucket full of 1step, wipe it off with a sponge.

 

[Bamsdealer]

All those little depressions around the seal come clean? Maybe I need to try one step because the oxygen sure doesnt cut it. And I have a hard time getting a sponge down in all the depressions

 

[jmhbutler]

I was using a q-tip to clean out all the depressions around the seal. An extra long oxiclean/pbw soap will make the debris either come loose or come off altogether. You can bend the lid and stick it in the bucket to soak.

 

[Malticulous]

That is one of the things I hate about a long primary. If you change the lid after the yeast start to drop it just sprays right off.

 

[The542]

I just chuck mine in the dishwasher with oxy clean! Comes out nice.

Of course I also throw my 15 gallon mlt and bk in the dishwasher. I'm a lazy brewer...

 

[unionrdr]

I lay the lip seal-side up on a flat surface & fill the area of the seal with PBW. Let it soak for awhile & use a soft toothbrush to clean the area. Some remove the seal, but I'm always afraid I'll ruin it removing it. Then rinse & spray with Starsan before storage to at least try to keep it free of nasties in there while damp.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

I soak it in the sink with oxyclean and spray it down.

 

[Bamsdealer]

I just chuck mine in the dishwasher with oxy clean! Comes out nice.

Of course I also throw my 15 gallon mlt and bk in the dishwasher. I'm a lazy brewer...

Good call. That should fix the problem.

Just curious... how big is your dishwasher? I cant imagine my 10 gallon mlt fitting in there. Generally a quick wipe down and rinse is enough for my mlt.

 

[The542]

Good call. That should fix the problem.

Just curious... how big is your dishwasher? I cant imagine my 10 gallon mlt fitting in there. Generally a quick wipe down and rinse is enough for my mlt.

Standard dishwasher, just take the top rack out.

 

[Beernik]

All those little depressions around the seal come clean? Maybe I need to try one step because the oxygen sure doesnt cut it. And I have a hard time getting a sponge down in all the depressions

Mine are smooth on the inside. The corrugations are on the outside. I don't worry too much about the outside.

 

[Black]

I clean the fermentation stains by soaking the lid in the fermenter with cold water and bleach for 24 hours or more. I then take a magic eraser. Stains disappear without much scrubbing and it doesn't scratch the plastic.


Cheers !

 

[Barley_Bob]

Heavy bleach mix for a while and then a q-tip. I agree it's a pain in the ass, but bleach works really well.

 

[normonster]

Standard dishwasher, just take the top rack out.

LOL and 1/2 half man!!!!! That is worthy of a poster and some good homebrewer joke printed at the bottom!!!! I love it.

 

[Malticulous]

Mine are smooth on the inside. The corrugations are on the outside. I don't worry too much about the outside.

I get my buckets from a food storage place (six bucks) and the lids are hard to clean. I Q-tip out all the indentations before I reuse them. They are air tight unlike some of the ones homebrew stores sell. Fortunately this one will be easy to clean.

 

[Bigbeavk]

Use the 7.9 gal buckets for 5 to 6.5 gallon batches. Unless I'm using a real ferocious yeast I've never had anything come close to the top of the bucket.

 

[BBBF]

I just chuck mine in the dishwasher with oxy clean! Comes out nice.

Why have I never thought to do that?

Most of the time, my lids don't get dirty or I leave them in the bottom of the sink while I wash other gear and I can just give them a quick scrub. The times that they do get dirty, I throw the lids in a larger, wine making bucket and give them an oxi soak.

I also got rid of the little black gasket and now just use a #2 stopper for my airlock. One less thing to clean and one less thing to fall into the fermenter.