Carboy Problem

[jay29]

I cleaned my carboy with oxyclean and it left "staining" on the insides. I tried bleach and water solution, soaking in more oxyclean, and scrubbing it out each time and it will not come out.

Should I rinse it out and use it or toss it and buy a new one even though I dislike the brew store in my area???????

 

[Dr Vorlauf]

How long did you let it sit? Use a scoop or two and warm water and let sit for 48 hours.

 

[rabidgerbil]

I cleaned my carboy with oxyclean and it left "staining" on the insides. I tried bleach and water solution, soaking in more oxyclean, and scrubbing it out each time and it will not come out.

Should I rinse it out and use it or toss it and buy a new one even though I dislike the brew store in my area???????

What kind of "staining" ???
What does it look like?
What color?
Can you take a picture and post it?

Not Enough Information....

 

[jay29]

What kind of "staining" ???
What does it look like?
What color?
Can you take a picture and post it?

Not Enough Information....

Sorry, a hard, white/crystal staining.

 

[Chriso]

From what I hear, the best trick with OxyClean is to use slightly warm water, and then rinse repeatedly until clear. Then sanitize.

If you used normal OxyClean with the blue crystals, and not the OxyClean free, I've heard reports that the blue crystals, when left to soak for more than a couple hours, will form a layer of crud on the sides that is hard to remove. As long as your OxyClean does not have blue crystals, you should be fine soaking for more than a few hours.

I would make sure not to over-do it when measuring OxyClean, as that could be a cause of excessive "streaking" like what you describe.

I may be wrong on this: But I would be careful about using bleach and OxyClean in close proximity. After using one, I would rinse MANY times with clear water before adding the other. Just an ounce of prevention...

If you add a pic, we might have more tips.

 

[rabidgerbil]

What is the water like where you live? If you were to leave a glass of water sitting out for a day or two, would it leave similar "staining" on the glass as it evaporates? Did you leave the carboy sitting around for any length of time with the oxyclean in it, so that it had some evaporation?

I know that I have a problem with my water leaving marks on things similar to what you describe. There are products such as Lime-Away that will remove things like that.

 

[Beerthoven]

You want to use plain old oxyclean, nothing fancy. No fragrance or "extra stain fighting power" or anything like that.

I've never seen oxyclean leave even a residue on any of my glassware, unless I didn't rinse well enough, so I'm having trouble imagining how it could stain a carboy.

More info and maybe pictures would help.

 

[rabidgerbil]

From what I hear, the best trick with OxyClean is to use slightly warm water, and then rinse repeatedly until clear. Then sanitize.

If you used normal OxyClean with the blue crystals, and not the OxyClean free, I've heard reports that the blue crystals, when left to soak for more than a couple hours, will form a layer of crud on the sides that is hard to remove. As long as your OxyClean does not have blue crystals, you should be fine soaking for more than a few hours.

I would make sure not to over-do it when measuring OxyClean, as that could be a cause of excessive "streaking" like what you describe.

I may be wrong on this: But I would be careful about using bleach and OxyClean in close proximity. After using one, I would rinse MANY times with clear water before adding the other. Just an ounce of prevention...

If you add a pic, we might have more tips.

I use the standard Oxyclean with the blue crystals it in. My normal procedure is to fill up a carboy with my hottest tap water, then pour in about half a scoop of oxyclean. Once it is done foaming up, I top it off so that it comes right up to the top of the carboy. I put a carboy cap on, and leave it for a few hours, then drain, and rinse repeatedly with luke warm tap water. That being said, I have left a full carboy to sit for as much as 24 hours, and never once had any type of problem from the oxyclean.

 

[Dr Vorlauf]

Sorry, a hard, white/crystal staining.

Most likely is Calcium Carbonate scale then you need to use an acid. Vinegar will do the trick. It sounds like your water hardness is high and that you overused Oxyclean. all the carbonates in the H2O plus those in the Oxyclean may have just precipitated out.

If it is another carbonate scale ( calcium oxylate etc) you may need to use a more aggressive acid.

 

[5 Is Not Enough]

If it is another carbonate scale ( calcium oxylate etc) you may need to use a more aggressive acid.

Like starsan?

 

[olllllo]

+1 Vinegar and water solution will fix it.

Don't soak overly long with the OXY andmake sure it gets into solution when you use it.
Warm water is the key.

 

[Dr Vorlauf]

Like starsan?

Star san would be a good choice depending on the scale. Phosphoric acid is good on almost all of the common scales.

 

[jay29]

I am trying that vinegar trick. I put all I had inside the carboy and filled the rest with warm water to soak. Let's pray it gets rid of it. I hate to go to my LHBS, the guy is a prick.

 

[jay29]

+1 Vinegar and water solution will fix it.

Don't soak overly long with the OXY andmake sure it gets into solution when you use it.
Warm water is the key.

The VINEGAR solution worked!!!!!!!! Thanks a lot! :rockin:

 

[TWilson]

I have gotten that white cloudiness in my transfer tubing before when soaked for too long in OxyClean Free. I tried rinsing them with hot and cold water but it didn't work. I then tried soaking them in Star San, and eventually pumped Star San through them with my auto siphon. The Star San got rid of the cloudiness in my transfer tubing.

 

[debaniel]

hey, this was a timely thread.

planned on brewing yesterday, but wasn't sure how to get rid of the white crust left on my carboy after letting oxiclean soak in it for a week (yeah, way too long)

just a bit of vinegar swirled around a couple of times dissolved the scale instantly.

:rockin:

you have no idea how long i scrubbed and scrubbed and couldn't get rid of the scale... why didn't i think of vinegar?!?!

i thank you for your advice, and my imperial wit thanks you.

 

[Joker]

Sounds like getting the job done is the prescribed method. Oxyclean doesn't take long to do its job so get it in, get it scrubbed, and get it out.

I have never left mine in that long I didn't know it would leave residue behind.