Carboy cleaning

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

EdGrog

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2011
Messages
23
Reaction score
3
Location
bloomington
Can this carboy be saved I have tried vinegar,starsan and comet and this is the best it looks
IMG_20220205_155905.jpg
IMG_20220205_155905.jpg
 
i hate to promote fancy buckets.....but do yourself a favor, bite the bullet...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/393795442299?hash=item5bb009967b:g:QEEAAOSwj5Fhuqb4
30L would be good for a 5 gallon batch, i just cleaned my 60L after it was sitting open uncleaned for a week or so, just gave it a 5-10 minute soak, grabbed a wash cloth drained, and it was like new! (and that was plain water soak!) :mug:
 
Use something alkaline. Do you have some PBW or scent-free Oxiclean? Pour a few scoops of that in, fill with hot water to the top and leave it to soak overnight. Drain and rinse well.
I will get PBW and try it never used it before thanks
 
Do you invert it and spray hot water up inside when you're done cleaning? IME (when I used carboys all those years ago) you could get better results by using a kitchen sink sprayer to ****** it inside.

I use hot PBW to clean, do a good rinse, then use Starsan to sanitize when getting ready to use the item. Flasks are cleaned, rinsed and then capped with aluminum foil and set aside. I sanitize when I'm getting ready to use those.
 
I've been using this one it is L shaped
View attachment 758523
Wow. That's some mean residue there. I bought a used one once that I soaked with warm bleach water for 24hrs. I still had to use a brush, but the stuff came right off after the bleach soak. I would stay away from comet or any other abrasives when cleaning brewing equipment to avoid scratches.
 
Do you invert it and spray hot water up inside when you're done cleaning? IME (when I used carboys all those years ago) you could get better results by using a kitchen sink sprayer to ****** it inside.

I use hot PBW to clean, do a good rinse, then use Starsan to sanitize when getting ready to use the item. Flasks are cleaned, rinsed and then capped with aluminum foil and set aside. I sanitize when I'm getting ready to use those.
^ What he said. I do exactly the same thing
 
Do you invert it and spray hot water up inside when you're done cleaning? IME (when I used carboys all those years ago) you could get better results by using a kitchen sink sprayer to ****** it inside.

I use hot PBW to clean, do a good rinse, then use Starsan to sanitize when getting ready to use the item. Flasks are cleaned, rinsed and then capped with aluminum foil and set aside. I sanitize when I'm getting ready to use those.
No I don't invert it just rinsed out 3 times then left inverted to drain
 
Wow. That's some mean residue there. I bought a used one once that I soaked with warm bleach water for 24hrs. I still had to use a brush, but the stuff came right off after the bleach soak. I would stay away from comet or any other abrasives when cleaning brewing equipment to avoid scratches.
I haven't tried bleach but am willing to try thanks for the idea
 
No I don't invert it just rinsed out 3 times then left inverted to drain
Rinsing isn't cleaning. ;)
Give it a good soak with hot PBW, rinse fully (inverted as mentioned) then let dry inverted and see how it looks.

I avoid using bleach whenever possible with my brewing/fermenting gear.
 
i want to point out this is a GLASS carboy!
Ouch... Then I'd just toss it and not look back. F glass carboys. Well, unless you like playing roulette when you carry them around. The injuries people get when those things break are no joke.

BTW, those risks is one of the reasons I stopped using glass soon after I started brewing (as soon as the mead came out, they went bye-bye).
 
I haven't tried bleach but am willing to try thanks for the idea
The book "how to brew" suggests 1 tablespoon of regular bleach per gallon. I use at least twice that amount on some things. I would not use it on plastic buckets or plastic fermenters tho. Just make sure you give it a hella good rinse upside down with a sprayer like Golddiggie says.
 
I use my homemade carboy washer works great on kegs, corney or keggle, also. 2 gal of warm water with homemade PBW. I usually let it run for 30 to 60 minutes, rarely have to use a bottle brush but sometimes the area just below the neck will need a simple pass with it. Put any small items in the bucket for a soak while running it also.
Do the same with warm water after the cleaning phase. Works perfectly. This is the pump I got from amazon

SAM_1900.JPG
SAM_1902.JPG
 
Back
Top