Bleach smoke from carboy??

[JOHN51277]

I was rinsing out after a secondary ferment in a glass carboy. I rinsed with straight water. brushed it clean, and rinsed out again. I then poured about 2 cups of bleach in and started filling with water. A cloud formed and started coming out the top. I stood upwind and filled it the rest of the way up and rinsed a few times more.

What could have caused the gas?

 

[scinerd3000]

is it possible there was some sanitizer residue on the brush from the last batch? if a cloud formed then im guessing it mixed with something. odd

 

[kladue]

Were you refilling with hot water?, if so then the chlorine was coming out of the bleach as a gas as it got hot.

 

[Brew-boy]

People still use bleach? Try not fearing the foam.

 

[JOHN51277]

It was cold water from the hose. I store clean carboys in my garage with bleach water in it to keep any nasties from growing. THEN I rinse very well and starsan it. The brush I used was used with starsan last time I used it. It was dry though.

Still strange!

 

[TerapinChef]

Cant tell you why it happens, but I've seen it a time or two. Ususally when you put bleach into the water though, not usually the other way around...

 

[kladue]

Interesting chemistry there, the 3 players I can think of are the Phosphoric acid, sodium lauryl sulfate in star san and the sodium hypchlorite bleach. I am not sure how the phosphoric acid and hypochlorite play together, might have been a reaction with hypochlorite and the detergent component of the starsan for a H2S release.

 

[samc]

Don't know about smoke, but 2 cups of bleach sounds like way too much. Think in terms of 1 cap full per gallon, safer cheaper and will do the job. Also less rinsing to get the residue & odor out.

 

[Cliff897]

2 cups of bleach is an awful lot of bleach.

Foaming??? Did you happen to have a low pH (acid base) sanitizer in it before you added the bleach?
That might have been a reaction between the two.


As to the bleach: Use less and mix in some vinegar.
Charlie Talley says to use One OZ bleach & One OZ vinegar in 5 gallons water to make a stone cold killing sanitizer that is also no rince.
Always remember what Charlie says: