How do you clean the inside of the wine thief?

[jamina1]

So the water in my basement is apparently not hooked up to our water softener, which means a lot of minerals. So far, hasn't caused a problem (don't brew with it) but I've been using the utility sink down there to clean my stuff before and after brew day and make up my StarSan.

I had just rinsed off my wine thief but needed to use it quickly so I sprayed some Isopropyl Alcohol on it to do a quick sanitize and now it's got a really icky white film on the inside and out. I was able to scrub it off the outside and get most of the inside with my bottle brush, but it's not long enough to reach the last 1" or so of the bottom of the device.

The bottom of the device will not come off so I can't go in the other direction with the brush. I don't want to use this in my beer until I'm certain it's clean. I soaked it on Saturday for over an hour in warm water, and Star San, but the white film is still there.

Should I just chuck it and buy a new one?

 

[h22lude]

You could find a brush that fits in it. Big box home stores sell all types of different brush sizes. They are relatively cheap so you could buy a new one if you wanted. You can also try cutting a sponge to fit inside and using something to push the sponge into it. Probably be best to glue the sponge to a wooden dowel.

 

[Spludge]

Overnight soak in a more powerful cleaner such as PBW?

 

[jamina1]

You could find a brush that fits in it. Big box home stores sell all types of different brush sizes. They are relatively cheap so you could buy a new one if you wanted. You can also try cutting a sponge to fit inside and using something to push the sponge into it. Probably be best to glue the sponge to a wooden dowel.

A carboy brush would be perfect but they're all bent at the end!

I'll take it to home depot this weekend and see what I can find.

 

[inkman15]

Question - is the thief plastic or glass? If it's plastic, you've scratched the hell out of the inside of it with the bottle brush and it's now more likely to harbor bacteria and other nasties that you don't want to introduce to your beer when taking a sample. It's hard to sanitize a heavily scratched piece of plastic and given the relatively low cost of a new thief, I'd chuck this one and grab a new one.

With that one, I'd just get in the habit of cleaning it with your softened water so you don't run into this issue again. Thankfully, I don't have issues with my water's mineral content, so I haven't run into this. I'm able to just give it a good rinse after taking a sample and then sanitize again when I want to use it.

 

[m00ps]

I always rinse it immediately with nearly scalding hot water inside and out then dunk it into my starsan bucket, shake it around inside, then drain all of it through the bottom valve. Ive never had an infection from it, but I am on my 3rd one with the older ones getting handed down to my wild gear

if my wine thief had any sort of weird residue on it that i couldnt wash off I would DEFINITELY buy a new one. Whats worth more to you, the $6 that it costs or all the time effort and money that went into that batch of beer

 

[jamina1]

Question - is the thief plastic or glass? If it's plastic, you've scratched the hell out of the inside of it with the bottle brush and it's now more likely to harbor bacteria and other nasties that you don't want to introduce to your beer when taking a sample. It's hard to sanitize a heavily scratched piece of plastic and given the relatively low cost of a new thief, I'd chuck this one and grab a new one.

With that one, I'd just get in the habit of cleaning it with your softened water so you don't run into this issue again. Thankfully, I don't have issues with my water's mineral content, so I haven't run into this. I'm able to just give it a good rinse after taking a sample and then sanitize again when I want to use it.

I didn't "scratch it all to hell," it looks perfectly fine - it's literally brand new!

It's like spraying it with the isopropyl "set" the film somehow - has anyone come across this phenomenon before? It rubs off with soap and water, I just can't get down into the thing to scrub that part. Does alcohol leave a film when sprayed on wet objects?