How to clean carboy after racking

[dpalme]

I ran some tap water into the carboy and sloshed it around dumped it, and repeated the same thing four or five times and it appears I got everything out.....

Is there a better way to wash these things and any good way to dry them to prevent mold from starting in the carboy?

 

[iambeer]

I am just a noob but I use a carboy brush and soap, then dry. I use one step to sanitize before use. Gotta love glass.

 

[YeastHerder]

I use a carboy brush and water for the first couple passes and then use starsan for the last couple rounds of scrubbing. The starsan has the sudsy action in there and the acid keeps the glass grippy so I don't feel like I'm at as much risk of dropping it. Regular soap makes the glass feel pretty slippery to me.

 

[HopSong]

I fill the carboy 1/2 full with a hot Oxyclean mixture. Put my hand over it and shake side to side like crazy for 30 sec. Then I put a stopper in it.. usually one with a hole. Lay it on it's side in the shower on the rubber pad.. and roll it. It's usually quite clean by then. If not, I leave it on it's side and give it a turn every hour.. in a couple of turns, it's usually sparkly clean.

As for the danger part.. I still have glass carboys.. which I'll sell. I'm now using the non-BetterBottle carboys.. both 6 gal... no fears. and with nothing inside to scratch the plastic, I'm a happy camper.. er Brewer.

Do the same thing a few times with clear hot water.. and you are jammin

 

[1Mainebrew]

I fill mine with PBW overnight and then dump and rinse until clear. That kills any yeast that may be in the carboy and prevents it from affecting my next batch. Use a carboy brush if there is really persistent krausen adhered to the sides. Otherwise let it soak and you'd be amazed at what it'll do.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

carboy cleaner attached to my cordless drill. ZZZZZZZIIIIIIIIIPPP and its done

 

[erkwist]

+1 on the carboy cleaner

 

[dpalme]

I like that idea of filling it with PBW overnight and then washing it out.....I could do that right outside LOL and in this heat? that thing would dry out fast with no mold.

 

[BrewScout]

I mix a half gallon of water with PBW, put in a small towel, then shake the s*** out of it. Then remove towel, add starsan solution, and shake the s*** or of it again. This leaves my carboy very clean and ready for the next batch.

 

[D_Nyholm]

I too mix up some pbw and fill it to the top and let it sit overnight. Then I rack the pbw out through my auto siphon to clean that out as well. If I am going to be kegging another beer within a few days, I will re use the pbw mixture and just rack it from one carboy to the next.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I fill mine with PBW overnight and then dump and rinse until clear.

^this^

I use one step or oxyclean for the soak, usually and hour or so does the trick. A really sticky carboy may need to soak overnight. No shaking or sloshing or anything that risks breaking, just a nice soak and it comes sparkly clean. After that, I just put a couple quarts of star san solution in them, cover with foil and wait til brew day. Those ~2 qts of star san get used on brew day, and the carboy's clean, sanitized, and ready to go.