Bottles Bleaching HELP

[Bpts_finest13]

Whats going on everyone at HBT.
I acquired some bottles from a restaurant and a liquor store. I got home and rinsed them with really hot water and now I have close to 30 of them in a big bin which I filled with water and then added BLEACH & VINEGAR solution. I plan on leaving them in this water for a couple days before switch the water to make sure I kill every possible GERM. Is this an ok thing to do? I don't know if the bottles would get ruined in any shape or if it will smell like bleach for a long time? Thanks every one for looking and please, all the help is appreciated.

 

[MalFet]

I hate bleach, but it's a perfectly competent sanitizer (assuming you used proper concentrations). Make sure you rinse it very well, unless you like bandaid flavored beer. If you have a faucet bottle jet, a good blast should work. I'd do a couple rounds of cleaning just to help. For the future, though, just get some starsan. StarSan is king.

 

[birvine]

http://chemistry.about.com/b/2007/09/26/the-killing-power-of-bleach-and-vinegar.htm

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

That girl doesn't like bleach and vinegar does she!

I've never used vinegar in any of my brewing endeavors. Just the right concentration of water + bleach is fine.

M_C

http://chemistry.about.com/b/2007/09/26/the-killing-power-of-bleach-and-vinegar.htm

 

[pericles]

You said that you used a bleach and vinegar solution, but you didn't tell us the ratio of bleach to vinegar, or if you diluted the solution at all with water.

A teaspoon or so per gallon of bleach is a no-rinse solution, so you can throw your bottles in there, pour them out, and then let them drip dry. If you used more than that, then you will need to rinse your bottles after they've been sanitized and, unless you're using cooled boiled water, you'll be introducing new bacteria from the water. So more than a teaspoon of bleach per gallon of water doesn't really work as a sanitizer: sure you'll kill all the germs in the bottles, but you'll add MORE germs when you rinse them afterward.

I personally don't like using bleach. It leaves smells, it's bad to drink if you use it improperly, and it's hard to convince friends to drink the beer you have to admit you made with bleach. Instead, try star-san or iodophor - or just plain iodine diluted to about a teaspoon and a half per gallon.

As for vinegar. . . in itself, it's not going to be deadly to you, since it's a food-product itself. The Answers.com article is correct that using it to lower the pH of bleach is harmful if you breathe it in, so I wouldn't do that. And yes, the smell is going to be impossible to get out without additional washing which, as with the bleach, will introduce additional bacteria.

Think of what you're doing now as a CLEANING step - which is important, although I usually use Oxyclean. When you think the bottles are free of gross particulates, rinse them carefully, and then sanitize them in iodophor or star-san. I wouldn't drink from them without rinsing them - A LOT - first though.

 

[Bpts_finest13]

You said that you used a bleach and vinegar solution, but you didn't tell us the ratio of bleach to vinegar, or if you diluted the solution at all with water.

A teaspoon or so per gallon of bleach is a no-rinse solution, so you can throw your bottles in there, pour them out, and then let them drip dry. If you used more than that, then you will need to rinse your bottles after they've been sanitized and, unless you're using cooled boiled water, you'll be introducing new bacteria from the water. So more than a teaspoon of bleach per gallon of water doesn't really work as a sanitizer: sure you'll kill all the germs in the bottles, but you'll add MORE germs when you rinse them afterward.

I personally don't like using bleach. It leaves smells, it's bad to drink if you use it improperly, and it's hard to convince friends to drink the beer you have to admit you made with bleach. Instead, try star-san or iodophor - or just plain iodine diluted to about a teaspoon and a half per gallon.

As for vinegar. . . in itself, it's not going to be deadly to you, since it's a food-product itself. The Answers.com article is correct that using it to lower the pH of bleach is harmful if you breathe it in, so I wouldn't do that. And yes, the smell is going to be impossible to get out without additional washing which, as with the bleach, will introduce additional bacteria.

Think of what you're doing now as a CLEANING step - which is important, although I usually use Oxyclean. When you think the bottles are free of gross particulates, rinse them carefully, and then sanitize them in iodophor or star-san. I wouldn't drink from them without rinsing them - A LOT - first though.

I used about one teaspoon per gallon of both and they have been soaking for a day and i plan on leaving them there for at least another day. These bottles are going to be used in the future because I WAS able to get them on a freebie term I WANTED to make sure I got them. I have them there and when I remove i will be rinsing them thoroughly and just keep them in my basement until I AM READY TO USE THEM IN ABOUT 3 or 4 weeks. So I plan on re cleaning them and sanitizing right before I use them. I just want to make sure that they are all 100% clean since i really don't know who really touched these babies b4 me... Ps am I over killing the process??!!

 

[Bpts_finest13]

I hate bleach, but it's a perfectly competent sanitizer (assuming you used proper concentrations). Make sure you rinse it very well, unless you like bandaid flavored beer. If you have a faucet bottle jet, a good blast should work. I'd do a couple rounds of cleaning just to help. For the future, though, just get some starsan. StarSan is king.

No I don't like Bandaid flavor??!! lol
I will make sure to rinse them well a couple times b4 I use them

 

[Mad_Milo]

Ps am I over killing the process??!!

Yes. Yes, you are - however we all have our own levels of comfort.

If I score bottles, I usually just fill my laundry tub with hot tap water and a scoop of Oxy Free or equivalent. Soak to get the labels off, and the miscellaneous from inside out (an hour or six.) Rinse. Store or Sanitize for immediate use.

 

[Bpts_finest13]

As long as I'm not doing damage to the bottles I'd rather make sure its all 100 % clean

 

[Mad_Milo]

Something to consider in your quest for clean. Bleach and other sanitizers are great for sanitizing. A product like PBW, One Step or Oxy is a cleanser - it acts on organic particles and breaks them down.

I don't see your method hurting the bottles (metal would be another story) at all, but just be sure to rinse extremely well to prevent off flavors and contamination.

 

[pjj2ba]

Years ago I used to use bleach. It does work well and it does take a lot of rinsing. I found that I would first do several rinses with cold water. That was never enough though, so after that I would give them several rinses with HOT water, then after cooling a little, back to cold water. That would do the trick. Another option if were are talking about freshly acquired bottles of questionable sanitation, is to do the bleach treatment and then run them though the dishwasher to remove the last bits of bleach

 

[Bpts_finest13]

Yeah I plan on ringing them really well.. and as far as the dishwasher that sounds like a great idea

 

[MalFet]

Yeah I plan on ringing them really well.. and as far as the dishwasher that sounds like a great idea

Except make sure you don't have jet-dry or the like in your dishwasher. That stuff is hard to get off, and it kills head retention in your beer.

 

[azscoob]

I soak my bottles for 24 hours in oxy-clean, then rinse well and store, when I need them I give them a good rinsing in hot water and sanitize them with star-san just prior to use, never had an issue yet.

I have to admit, I keg my beer, so there is no bottle conditioning going on, I bottle off 6 or 12 to stash for later, or to enter in comps.

 

[Bpts_finest13]

Except make sure you don't have jet-dry or the like in your dishwasher. That stuff is hard to get off, and it kills head retention in your beer.

Just tried the dishwasher for the first time ( we own our house for almost 2 years and we never used it b4) anyways I put a case in there no chemicals or detergent and it worked really well.. I wil deff sanitize them and use my dishwasher to since them right b4 I bottle..

 

[Bpts_finest13]

Azscoop... I used that quote the other day in my FB status.. ppl loved it