Is dish soap bad to use for cleaning boil kettle?

[TkmLinus]

I have always scrubbed my kettle with dish soap and hot water to clean it after brewing. Never really thought about it before, but I have seen it suggested to use an alkaline cleanser (PBW) for kettles. Does it really matter? Thoughts?

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed some tasty homebrew!

 

[MaxStout]

Buy some unscented Oxyclean. That will work well, and no worries about soap film in your kettle.

Edit: there's a thread on making your own PBW clone.

 

[Jayjay1976]

I have a bottle of unscented natural dish soap on hand, sometimes I'll use a few drops of that to clean up after scouring my kettle with barkeepers friend to eliminate the white residue that BKF tends to leave. I then rinse thoroughly, using a (non-soapy) sponge to wipe down the surfaces to make sure no soap film remains, then rinse again, because any detergent residue left behind will affect the head retention of the beer.

 

[Coastalbrew]

I always use Dawn free and clear or the Palmolive equivalent and it works fine.

 

[Falstaff]

I use hot water and a designated sponge that never touches soap. As long as you rinse it well you are fine. The only time I use anything is when I make bochet and some of then honey burns on the bottom. Even then I only ever use oxi.

 

[TkmLinus]

I have a bottle of unscented natural dish soap on hand, sometimes I'll use a few drops of that to clean up after scouring my kettle with barkeepers friend to eliminate the white residue that BKF tends to leave. I then rinse thoroughly, using a (non-soapy) sponge to wipe down the surfaces to make sure no soap film remains, then rinse again, because any detergent residue left behind will affect the head retention of the beer.

Never thought about the head retention, since you mentioned it I realized that my beers do lack head, though they taste just fine. This is most likely the culprit.

 

[dwhite60]

I use Bon-Ami. Works well to get the beer stone off. Some say it removes the passivation, I don't stress on it.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

I've always used Barkeeper's Friend to clean my kettles. Works great.

 

[Miraculix]

+1 more for cheap oxi clean. Even the scented ones don't leave any of that scent, at least not the one I used.

 

[GrowleyMonster]

I just use water and a stainless steel pot scrubber. Lots of water.

 

[cubalz]

I use BKF with no issues to the kettles for years and I brew often