Glass carboy cleaning

[Opiate42]

Hey gang! OK so last night my SO and I are walking home and find a 3 gallon glass carboy on the sidewalk near our home. Two things occurred to me: 1) We live downtown Toronto in a whacky area and something this size would be a **** load of broken glass all over the street which is bound to happen.

And 2) i could really use that!!!

So first thing any suggestions on a good way to check for any possible fractures and cracks?

Also this thing is pretty filthy I'm not even going to guess what was on the outside and inside prior to finding it but any suggestions on a good way to clean it would be awesome. Can I use bleach on it? Thinking about hosing it down and letting the interior soak with bleach for a day or so then giving it a good scrub out.

The outside is grimy too like it was in an attic or basement unused for years. Could just use a good scrub down maybe?

Sliante!

 

[day_trippr]

You can certainly bleach-bomb the hell of a carboy - indeed it's almost a requirement with "found glass" (gawd only knows what might have been in it!).

But I'd first rinse it as well as possible with lukewarm water (do not subject a carboy to sudden temperature changes!) then wash it with a carboy brush and some OxyFree or equivalent, rinse well and finally fill it with some bleach and water and let it sit for at least a day.

And after all that, if you notice any remaining film, try a white vinegar & water soak to cut through mineral deposits.

Once you get the thing nice and clean, give it a solid inspection with good back-lighting.
Hopefully you won't find anything suspicious...

Cheers!

 

[Opiate42]

Much obliged!

 

[kh54s10]

3 gallons is approaching a manageable size. If it was me, I would recycle the glass and buy a plastic 3 gallon fermenter, but if you clean it REALLY well.....

Then get a bright light and inspect very carefully for any chips/cracks.... Be very careful, we do not need any more broken glass carboy horror stories......

 

[eightysixCJ]

Cool find! I found filling with hot water and free-everything Oxy Clean and soaking a few hours will get them like new. After rinsing you can see if there are any scratches or cracks. If real funky it might take a couple of soaks. Some Star-San etc to sanitize before use and you should be good to go.

Tom

 

[Opiate42]

3 gallons is approaching a manageable size. If it was me, I would recycle the glass and buy a plastic 3 gallon fermenter, but if you clean it REALLY well.....

Then get a bright light and inspect very carefully for any chips/cracks.... Be very careful, we do not need any more broken glass carboy horror stories......

Cool find! I found filling with hot water and free-everything Oxy Clean and soaking a few hours will get them like new. After rinsing you can see if there are any scratches or cracks. If real funky it might take a couple of soaks. Some Star-San etc to sanitize before use and you should be good to go.

Tom

Thanks guys , I've been bleaching the crap out of it a couple times now and got in there with a j-cloth to scrub around the insides. (oh it is a wide mouth too!)

Held it up to the light after the first good scrub out and other than some air bubbles in the glass itself I haven't noticed any other problems. Now that the initial layers of grime are gone, the damn thing is looking very pretty indeed!! :rockin:

Going to do another bleach soaking and scrub out over the next couple days time permitting before doing a final starsan rinse and a test brew in it

The lid that was included is a solid closer so going to bore a hole and slap a grommet into it for an airlock.

The SO and I have been chatting for a while now about finding a way to do larger batches in our tiny apartment (with multiple feline overlords presiding) now I don't have any excuse not to anymore

 

[Peruvian802]

Oxyclean is your friend. Drop a scoop in, fill with hot water, leave alone for 24 hours and rinse.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

I'd agree with others who mention OxyClean - bleach is great for disinfecting by killing things, but it isn't a great cleaner. You want something first to remove anything that is attached to the carboy.
THEN kill the remaining germs and bacteria with bleach or starsan or iodine or quatsan or ....

 

[Opiate42]

Oxyclean is your friend. Drop a scoop in, fill with hot water, leave alone for 24 hours and rinse.

I'd agree with others who mention OxyClean - bleach is great for disinfecting by killing things, but it isn't a great cleaner. You want something first to remove anything that is attached to the carboy.
THEN kill the remaining germs and bacteria with bleach or starsan or iodine or quatsan or ....

Cool will have to pick some up then. Don't think we have any at home.