Cleaning 120 bottles in a tub...

[thebigo]

So I just submerged 120 bottles in oxiclean in my tub in VERY hot water. As I had expected they started to float so I had to hold them down with my hands...ouch. Thats what I get for doing all my bottles at one time.

Do the bottles have to be upright or will the oxiclean do its job as long as the entire bottle is filled with the solution?

 

[mosquitocontrol]

No should be fine. Just wait until you have to rinse. Your back will be so sore. Good luck,

 

[thebigo]

thank you mosquitocontrol...I tend to be overly concerned about cleanliness. I will have to see how this all comes out but my sore hands will be sure to let you know.

 

[Q2XL]

No should be fine. Just wait until you have to rinse. Your back will be so sore. Good luck,

You are right. Your back will be hurting. I just cleaned about 200 the past 2 days. I am tired of it.

 

[Wade E]

I dont bottle beer(Keg it baby!) But I do bottle wine and soaking them and delabeling them sucks but when you get them all fro free its worth it in the end! I usually do about 45 at a clip with OxyClean in there with them.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

I once cleaned six just received kegs in the bathtub. Filled the tub with hot oxy water and let the cornies soak, then scrubbed the crap out of them. They were NASTY.

I picked a weekend when SWMBO was out of town, and got all the nasty black crap cleaned up before she got back. She never knew...

 

[JVD_X]

I once cleaned six just received kegs in the bathtub. Filled the tub with hot oxy water and let the cornies soak, then scrubbed the crap out of them. They were NASTY.

I picked a weekend when SWMBO was out of town, and got all the nasty black crap cleaned up before she got back. She never knew...

So true.. my wife gets pissed every time I clean the cornies in the tub. She bought me a tub mat but haven't told her that I won't use it because it's a bacteria factory.

BTW - use a metal dowel (like a metal racking cane) to push the bottles down rather than use your hands.

 

[thebigo]

As for soaking cornies in the tub...

will the rubber handles on the keg start leaving black marks everywhere? If so what's the best way to clean the entire keg without this happening (or is this inevitable)?

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

As for soaking cornies in the tub...

will the rubber handles on the keg start leaving black marks everywhere? If so what's the best way to clean the entire keg without this happening (or is this inevitable)?

Not black marks so much as "black dirt". Little bits of black plastic or carbon.

It washes out of the tub just the same are regular dirt.

I generally wash new kegs outside, but I think that was last January and outside was a bit frozen at the time.

 

[Jumbo82]

I've done the tub thing before and found it to be a major pain in the .... back. Now I take bottles and set them upright in buckets. Then I heat up (usually I'm re-heating) some PBW in my electric kettle and fill the bottles and bucket (fill bottles first or they will float). The next day I empty the used PBW back into my kettle to be re-heated, rinse the bottles, and do another batch. I usually do three buckets at a time since my kettle is 15 gallons. This system works so well for me that I use it for every empty bottle, not just ones that need the label removed. Sure, its overkill, but I have piece of mind knowing that on bottling day there isn't a single speck of filth in any of my used bottles.

 

[Niederhofer]

I do mine in the tub too. I just let them soak overnight, drain the tub and then pull them out. Remove the labels rinse the outside in a bucket of clean water with a dish brush to remove the glue. Then dump and hit the inside with the bottle/carboy washer that I have set up in my bathroom sink. Then just dry and put in a case until I'm ready to sanitize. Goes pretty fast.

 

[thebigo]

alright...so I just got done delabeling and rinsing all the bottles that I had soaked in the tub. You were right...my back is sore; very sore. This leads me to my next question.

Is it best to sanitize the bottles right after washing so they do not get any spots? OR...is it ok to rinse them well and sanitize just before bottling? (1.Sanitize now AND before bottling or 2.just rinse now and sanitize before bottling?)

 

[greeneyed]

t...w...o...

 

[AnonyBrew]

Is it best to sanitize the bottles right after washing so they do not get any spots? OR...is it ok to rinse them well and sanitize just before bottling? (1.Sanitize now AND before bottling or 2.just rinse now and sanitize before bottling?)

I do both.

 

[thebigo]

I do both.

so as long as the cleanser hasn't sat long enough to leave a deposit (mineral or otherwise) on the glass it is alright to leave sanitizing until just before bottling. That is what I'm getting.

ALSO...does soaking cornies damage the rubber on the handle at all?

 

[passedpawn]

1) You don't need to use hot water to remove the labels. I don't.

2) It's easier on the back if you just strip down and get in there with the bottles and/or kegs. Use an old shoe brush or tooth brush to really get the gunk out of the bung holes.

 

[GreenMonti]

It's easier on the back if you just strip down and get in there with the bottles and/or kegs. Use an old shoe brush or tooth brush to really get the gunk out of the bung holes.

WOW!!.......TMI.

Sorry I had too.

 

[Mongo64]

I soak mine in a cooler on the patio, sometimes two coolers. I find the less I annoy SWMBO with my hobbies the better.

 

[thebigo]

alright...so I just got done delabeling and rinsing all the bottles that I had soaked in the tub. You were right...my back is sore; very sore. This leads me to my next question.

Is it best to sanitize the bottles right after washing so they do not get any spots? OR...is it ok to rinse them well and sanitize just before bottling? (1.Sanitize now AND before bottling or 2.just rinse now and sanitize before bottling?)

I opted for sanitizing the bottles NOW and just before I use them. I came to this option because the spots that remained on the bottles after rinsing them bother me (as much as I rinsed I could see a light hazy film from the oxiclean).

After sanitizing, the bottles are coming out spotless (I picked this route because of what I read about the vinegar OR sanitizing solution thread used to get rid of dried on cleaner and mineral deposits).

I just didn't want any cleaner to continue drying on the bottles...ANY COMMENTS ON THESE POINTS?

 

[thebigo]

OK...so I have some confusions for you all. I am just getting a bit frustrated as I think I will have to CLEAN these bottles again before using. Here are some bullet points:

1) the cleaner slightly dried on the inside of the bottles after cleaning (I forgot to rinse the inside until 12 hours later).

2) after sanitizing the bottles, to get any leftover dried cleaner that was not removed by rinsing, I still see some haze at the bottom of a some of the bottles (I am assuming it is some stubborn dried oxiclean).

3) This is more of a question: I sanitized the bottles and after they dried (as I am not using them yet) there was a thin oily film over the bottles. Is this normal if you let Starsan dry?

Will any of this affect the beer (cause contamination)? Should I clean the bottles again? I am just FRUSTRATED since this has been a long process and I am not getting the results I expected.

**ps- I know starsan becomes ineffective when it gets cloudy from use. Just a note as I have been using the same 5 gal batch for all the bottles.** HELP

 

[Wade E]

Actually my wife likes when I do the bottles in the tub cause it does make a mess in there so I have to scrub the tun down, which she then doesnt have to do. It does bother the back and I have a bad back (2 herniated discs in which I have to get an epidural every 2 weeks) but I like to get a lot done at once and then relax with a brew or glass of wine.

 

[thebigo]

I think I need a bottle brush...

 

[Wade E]

I think I need a beer!

 

[ChshreCat]

Oxyclean works better when the water is hot, I've found.

And to keep bottles from floating, I start the water going and fill each one from the tap as the tub fills. They sink right to the bottom then. Once all bottles are in, throw in the oxyclean and finish filling the tub. The oxyclean will work it's way into the bottles just fine to clean the inside while they delabel themselves.

And I can get hundreds of bottles done without hurting my back at all. I have a special technique for this. I walk out in the living room and tell my 16 year old daughter that the bottles are ready for her to scrub and rinse.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

The slick feeling on the bottles is from the oxiclean not being fully rinsed off. If there is residue still in the bottles, yes, you need to clean them again unfortunately! At least using best practices that is.

 

[thebigo]

The slick feeling on the bottles is from the oxiclean not being fully rinsed off. If there is residue still in the bottles, yes, you need to clean them again unfortunately! At least using best practices that is.

So the slickness was not from the Star San? It only showed up after I sanitized them...

ps: is oxiclean always this difficult to rinse off?

 

[remilard]

I'm amazed at what people go through (with respect to removing scale) to save a little money on oxyclean vs PBW.

 

[remilard]

So the slickness was not from the Star San? It only showed up after I sanitized them...

ps: is oxiclean always this difficult to rinse off?

It's easy to rinse off, the scale it leaves behind is not.

 

[thebigo]

It's easy to rinse off, the scale it leaves behind is not.

What do I do about this scale? Do I sanitize it to rid the scale?

Will I not have this leftover scale if I use PBW instead of Oxiclean?

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Actually, depending on how hard your water is, oxiclean does take a bit more attention to rinse off... not hard, you just have to be thorough.