Cleaning my buckets

[blackbear219]

I'm in secondary fermentation now and I used a sponge and dish soap to clean my primary bucket after I racked out of it. A couple days later I gave it a whiff and it still smelled so I washed it again. Now it doesn't smell anymore but I can see a yellow tint to the inside of the bucket from the wort that was in it...and this is after just one batch.

How many batches can you get out of a plastic bucket before it becomes too permeated? I'm worried about old flavors seeping into my future batches. Is there something I can do to clean this sucker more thoroughly?

 

[Germelli1]

I have about 60 batches split between 4 buckets and they are all brown from the wort. It happens and doesn't hurt anything. If it really bothers you try an overnight oxyclean soak or buy a glass carboy!

 

[shanecb]

They'll be fine for awhile, really. What I typically do is soak overnight with EasyClean (it's more or less Oxyclean), then in the morning give it a good spray with StarSan, then pour that out and let it dry. It's still stained, but it cuts down on the smell a ton and leaves me feeling confident it's clean enough.

 

[Shooter]

Don't worry about the smell, worry more about scratching the bucket. That's why an Oxi soak and/or a cleaning with a soft, non-abrasive cloth are the way to go.

 

[broadbill]

my bucket has smelled of beer/wort from the first batch....I clean it and reuse regardless of the smell.

 

[blackbear219]

Ok, sounds good. Thanks guys.

broadbill, fellow Mainer!!

 

[IXVolt]

I clean my buckets with Oxyclean. Keeps them white, and sanitized!

 

[broadbill]

I clean my buckets with Oxyclean. Keeps them white, and sanitized!

No it doesn't. Oxyclean is a cleaner not a sanitizer. You need to follow up with a properly diluted sanitizer in addition to cleaning.

 

[onipar]

I had the same problem. I soaked in oxyclean, but it still has a stain and even a small bit of hop smell. Nothing to worry about as far as I can tell.

 

[Lucky137]

I'm in secondary fermentation now and I used a sponge and dish soap to clean my primary bucket after I racked out of it. A couple days later I gave it a whiff and it still smelled so I washed it again. Now it doesn't smell anymore but I can see a yellow tint to the inside of the bucket from the wort that was in it...and this is after just one batch.

How many batches can you get out of a plastic bucket before it becomes too permeated? I'm worried about old flavors seeping into my future batches. Is there something I can do to clean this sucker more thoroughly?

Make sure, if you use a sponge, that you use the soft, puffy side, not the abbrasive side. I ruined my first bucket this way... Although you CAN still use it if you use the abbrasive side, it seems to be strongly unrecommended.