Moldy Fermentation Bucket

[Bear85]

Hey all,

We're just midway through a brewing session, and on taking the fermentation bucket out of storage there was a little bit of mold on the bottom.

Is a good clean with PBW and StarSan enough to kill it off and make it good for using?

To be honest we don't really have much of an option at this time! Someone say it's ok!!!

 

[jamesampm]

I would say give it a good soak, like hours not minutes.

 

[C-Rider]

While brewing I always have my fermenting bucket full of StarSan. Then when the wort is cool enough I put the Star San in another bucket and pour in the wort. So it could be full of Star San for an hour or more depending on the brew. Over kill or what?

 

[cuttsjp]

I would say give it a good soak, like hours not minutes.

+1

Long PBW soak for sure. StarSan does its thing after two minutes and doesn't need any soaking beyond that, so feel free to do your StarSan as little as two minutes or as long as you like.

 

[oscar127]

As long as there is not a lot of scratches in the bucket starsan will work. I would mix bleach with hot water scrub the bucket really good then rinse. Then let the starsan sit in the bucket for a good amount of time.

 

[NWMOBrewer]

I've had this before. I cleaned with water and just wiped the mold out and washed out the washcloth. Then filled with starsan and swished it around to sanatize. Didn't have an infection so I assume it worked. You'll be fine, be sure to check for scratches.

 

[dan0804smith]

pour straight bleach on to the mold. this will kill it. let it sit for a couple of hours. try and scrub it off. if it doesnt scrub off with the brush then it wont come off in the brew. the mold will be dead because you poured bleach on it, this it will not infect your brew.

 

[Bear85]

Thanks for all the tips. We first scrubbed it off with water, then PWB soaked, then StarSan soaked, then more PBW soaking and more StarSan for a final few minutes. Hopefully this got it ok! The bucket didn't seem scratched at all, it had only been used once or twice before. I hope we nixed it ok!

 

[unionrdr]

You pretty much did what I was going to relate. But,as a side note,never scrub the fermenter with anything that might leave small scratches. Bacterium love to hide in those scratches,however small they seem to you. I've even cleaned glass bottles with something hairy coming to life in the bottom from someone not rinsing them before storing.
The PBW soaks it loose very quickly,so star-san right before use will finish the job. I think you're good to go,since that system always works for me.
Is there anything PBW can't clean up? :rockin:

 

[ruralbrew]

Is there anything PBW can't clean up?

If there is, I haven't ran across it. I was soaking a bunch of bottles in a big plastic container in the bathtub. I noticed that the PBW that splashed on to the tub and shower surround pretty much dissolved the stubborn soap scum. So when I was done with the bottles I cleaned the tub and surround. SWMBO was impressed. "You must have worked hard to get the tub that clean." I told her I did, and it was a lot of work. And after all that work, I needed to relax and have a home brew. After all, who was I to shatter her illusions?

 

[unionrdr]

lolz,good one,man! Kinda like my wife,when I spent a couple of days cleaning out the computer room. Now also my make-shift man cave. Anyway,I was sitting there cleaning out our large,old printer stand to use as a brew stand. So she walks up behind me as I was doing so,smiles,& says "oooh! your cleaning!". "Yeah,I'm gunna put all my brewing stuff in here,FV's,bottles,& all!". Needless to say,she's pleased.
So,there's def something to be said for localization...