Cleaning Carboy That Held Change

[BoxofRain]

Hi there

I came across an old 6 gallon carboy that has held change in it for years. There's also gum stuck inside as well. Any suggestions on cleaning? Should I be concerned about money sitting in it all these years?

 

[ChshreCat]

I would think that the glass would be pretty scratched up on the inside. As for cleaning, I'd soak it with oxyclean (the answer for everything) and see how it looks after that.

 

[bearkluttz]

plus one on the oxuclean(STRONG mix), a nice long soak, and a close inspection for scratces, though i don't imagine change would do too much damage. Good Find!!!

 

[billtzk]

Check the silver change for actual silver. Any 1964 and earlier silver coinage is worth quite a bit more than face value. It's 90% silver by weight. $10 face value in 90% silver is about 7.15 troy ounces, currently worth about $12.65 per troy ounce, or roughly $90. The spot price of silver fluctuates a lot. It hit $20.69 per troy ounce back in March. Imagine if you had $1000 face of 90% silver coin (715 troy ounces) and sold it on that day? You'd get a little less than spot if you sold it, but say you sold at $20 an ounce, that 715 ounces ($1000 face value) of 90% coin would have brought you $14,300. It sort of makes you want to go break any old piggy banks you can find.

 

[Bytor1100]

I used an old 5 gallon carboy that was half full of pennies and I haven't had any issues. Even though there was change in it, there wasn't really any scratches, probably because it never really got moved.

 

[m_crews]

Good question, my grandmother gave me a 5 gal carboy that used to hold coins and I was wondering the same thing.

 

[onipar]

I have a similar problem.

I was given a 5 gallon glass carboy that has some blue/green stains where pennies sat on the inside. I soaked it with oxyclean for nearly a week, but the stains are still there.

Unfortunately I don't have a long enough scrubber (I'm planning on fashioning something to try giving it a scrub). But beyond another oxy soak and scrub, any other tips to getting rid of the stains?

 

[JuanMoore]

Try a mild acid like vinegar for the blue/green oxide stains. You can also remove stubborn stuck on stuff by adding a handfull of rice or sand or a washcloth to the cleaning solution and shaking the carboy around a bit.

 

[wired247]

a strongish solution of hydrogen peroxide and vinegar. 3 cups of each in 5 gallons of water in a DARK place It will remove anything but stainless steel. It will dissolve copper , lead and rust.

 

[onipar]

Thanks so much for the replies. I'll try those ideas. Cheers!

 

[onipar]

Just to follow up, I ended up using vinegar with salt. It took the green right off. Thanks again!

 

[Germelli1]

Small amounts of metals are good for yeast! Not sure which ones or in what quantities, but I know copper is one of them!

 

[rollinred]

If you want to get that thing spotless, including all little microscopic metal particles use ammonia. It completely dissolves copper very quickly. But I would only do that if the you have off flavors in the fist batch as ammonia is quite a harsh chemical.