Cleaning mold inside corny?

I have two corny kegs I use for fermentation. I cleaned and sanitized one after use and I guess some water or starsan got left in the bottom in the little indention in the very bottom and it developed a half ring of green mold/fungus.

I tried soaking in a strong oxiclean solution but so far only some of it has come off. I tried reaching in there with a bottle/carboy brush but I can't seem to get all of it off that way either.

Any suggestions on what I could use to scrub out the mold or what will dissolve it without damaging the keg?

 

guess Im lucky, my arm will fit inside mine. you could drop in a green scrubby and take a long spoon and scrub it that way.

 

Since it is mold, kill it first then take it off then sanitize it again.

Boiling water then vinegar then chlorine then rinse then a warm PBW soak and let it sit there for a day.

Rinse then sanitize. If there is still mold, you didn't do the PBW right. Do it again until it is gone.

Overkill? Yup, but then again it's mold in a stainless fermenter. If you do not get it clean you'll have strange problems in your beer until you get rid of it.

 

Just a serious heads up: Do not ever use chlorine (bleach) on Stainless Steel.
This will result in the develoment of pin holes through the SS over time.
How To Brew - Appendix B - Brewing Metallurgy

 

30 seconds of chlorine solution is the least of your worries if you've got an infected fermenter.

 

Get a NEW toilet brush with a long handle. (No potty jokes please).

I used one scoop of oxyclean for 3-4 hours (sprayed) and ALL of the gunk inside a 5-year+ old keg was gone.

M_C

 

Bleach for short term use is fine. Restaurants do it all the time in a triple sink sanitation set up. Just take a broom handle or long stick with a cloth or old sock tied on the end and scrub it with some bleach, then rinse.

Bar Keepers Friend might be your best bet.

 

I personally haven't seen the gunk that boiling water/PBW can't remove from a corny. I would pour boiling water (using an aluminum pitcher...be safe) in, mix some PBW and let it sit.

 

Bleach is ok if done quickly. You do NOT want to let it sit there for a while though. And make sure to rinse VERY well. We all know bleach is nasty tasting in beer!

I've kept a small amount of starsan in my kegs lots of time, for months, and have never had a single sign of any fungus. Are you sure you rinsed it out after the last use??