Cleaning an old glass carboy

[geeeelok]

I'm new to secondary fermenting, and I borrowed an ancient glass carboy from a friend for the batch I'm working on now (started fermenting last saturday).

After cleaning with PBW and scrubbing vigorously with a carboy brush, there's STILL a thin white film on the inside of the glass. Anybody know what this might be? Or how to get rid of it? I'm pretty cautious with sanitation, and new to the secondary fermenter, so I'm hesitant to throw a batch in there.

Thoughts???

 

[WVHomeBrewer]

Back when I was making wine my carboys got stained like that. I put a PBW extra strong solution in them and left them for a couple weeks and all of that disappeared. Then I did a normal cleaning and sanitized and they are fine.

 

[geeeelok]

Hey, thanks -- I think I'll fill it up again with PBW and leave it for a few days, maybe see what that'll do.

 

[madscientist451]

I got rid of a film like that in my carboy by putting the PBW in there and forgetting about it for 2-3+ weeks, went away without any scrubbing. If you finish another brew and the 1st carboy is done, you can re-use the PBW solution, I guess I'm just cheap and try not to waste anything.

 

[cilestiok]

I buy citric acid powder from the restaurant store in a tub. One good soak with citric acid makes any carboy look like new.

 

[podz]

Acetone. End of discussion.

 

[geeeelok]

Thanks everybody!!

Podz - Any particular method to remove the acetone afterwards? And how much should I use? All the links I'm hitting just indicate its use as a nail polish remover.

 

[Jaybird]

I have used PBW for long soaks and I have also used Citric Acid. I like them both for cleaning glass. They both work very well IMHO.

Cheers
Jay

 

[podz]

Thanks everybody!!

Podz - Any particular method to remove the acetone afterwards? And how much should I use? All the links I'm hitting just indicate its use as a nail polish remover.

You can remove acetone residue with methanol.

I'd say half a litre of each, for a large carboy.

Don't light a match while you've got the carboy full of acetone ;-)

----- quote

I've been using the Meth from Home Depot. It's 100% methanol hydrate and has a pink label on it. You can find it in the chemical isle in the paint department, next to varsol and such things. I usually stock up a good 10gallons which gets the people at the cash worried!haha (I have a good story about that!!) As for price, it's a hair under $6/gallon.

Read more: http://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...where-you-can-buy-methanol.html#ixzz3xBl9dfH4

 

[grrickar]

I'd try white vinegar before switching to something like acetone, but that is just me.

 

[podz]

I'd try white vinegar before switching to something like acetone, but that is just me.

Acetone is what people who work in labs use to remove organic solids from glass. Like when they want to get the glass "quantitatively clean", which means that it is so clean that the amount of residue is so small that it can not alter measurements or chemical reactions.

 

[Frognostic]

I have had similar issues with old second-hand jugs I got from Gumtree.

After bleach and dishwasher tablets dissolved in water I tried VWP cleaner and that worked for some of them but not all.

After that I tried citric acid as well as red and white wine vinegar, scrubbed with part of a sponge and scourer tied to a stick.

On close inspection although the white stains were reduced I could never quite get rid of them entirely.

 

[podz]

I'd try white vinegar before switching to something like acetone, but that is just me.

The choice is yours - you can mess around and try to clean it, or you can get serious and clean it for real.

 

[NCSU_Brewer]

Acetone is what people who work in labs use to remove organic solids from glass. Like when they want to get the glass "quantitatively clean", which means that it is so clean that the amount of residue is so small that it can not alter measurements or chemical reactions.

Correct. Acetone will do a great job if that film is organic. If it is an inorganic scale (such as calcium deposits), an acid such as citric or acetic (vinegar) will do the trick.

 

[geeeelok]

You guys are awesome, thanks so much, everybody!

I think I'm going to go in order of what I've got lying around the house - I'll let it soak in some hot PBW until tomorrow, and if that doesn't work I'll hit some vinegar and THEN move to the heavy duty stuff. I'm definitely intrigued by the acetone (and really want to try it) but as we've been talking (and reading more) I think it's probably calcium deposits from hard water. If the first two don't work... I'll go full Walter White and let you know how it goes.

 

[podz]

There is also another way that might work:

ice cubes and salt.

Many decades ago, when I used to work in a restaurant, we used to clean the coffee pots every night in this manner. Fill with ice, pour in some salt, and swirl around vigorously for a few minutes.

 

[gt_andy]

I also have a question about cleaning some older carboys. Im not here to hijack....

I got a few smaller 3 or 4 gal carboys. I know a girl whos Ex husband who made home brew. She told me to come by and grab all his old equipment. These things are NASTY. I was told they were used for brew. However they look gross.

Its got like an oily residue inside. Im scared to try to use them? Should i try the Acetone method? or just call it a loss and toss them....

 

[ThomasPaine]

I also have a question about cleaning some older carboys. Im not here to hijack....

I got a few smaller 3 or 4 gal carboys. I know a girl whos Ex husband who made home brew. She told me to come by and grab all his old equipment. These things are NASTY. I was told they were used for brew. However they look gross.

Its got like an oily residue inside. Im scared to try to use them? Should i try the Acetone method? or just call it a loss and toss them....

Use a very strong solution of oxiclean free. Heat up water on the stove, put in oxiclean and stir til dissolved, then add cold water to cool solution down to close to room temp, and add to carboy. If most of the mess is on the bottom, just leave it for hours and hours. Then you can repeat only this time fill the carboy all the way up. Let it sit for days. Then scrub with a brush. Don't forget to rinse thoroughly with vinegar or star San to get oxiclean residue out.

 

[geeeelok]

Hi everyone, just wanted to give a quick update...

So I soaked it in PBW for about 24 hours, and that got rid of *most* of the residue. After that I threw a bunch of white vinegar in there and left it on its side. I rotated it every ten minutes or so, then rinsed it out multiple times... Looks perfect, like brand new!

I wonder if I had just done vinegar at the beginning if it would have fixed the problem immediately (or left it in PBW for longer than a day). In any case, thanks to everyone for your help! Moving my Two Hearted clone to secondary fermentation tomorrow!

 

[processhead]

In my experience, mineral deposits (inorganic) are are usually more difficult to remove than organic residues from fermentation.

Maybe that's just because most people wash with detergents or solvents for routine cleaning, and these are largely ineffective on mineral deposits?

As was mentioned, inorganic residue on glass responds well to acid treatment.