Cleaning New Stainless Steel Kettle

[JeffoC6]

My new kettle just arrived today. Stainless steel, 5 gallon. What would you use to clean it?

 

[unionrdr]

PBW solution & a Dobie brand scrubber. Gets it nice & shiny again. Been doing it this way since I got it some 4 years ago.

 

[atom]

is it dirty? soap and water should be sufficient.

 

[porterpounder]

Oxiclean or it's generic equivalent cures all.

 

[unionrdr]

Dish soap leaves residues that make water sheet off. Not good for head on the beer later, so I try to avoid it.

 

[fstfrd00]

I use soap and water to clean my stainless and star-san to sanitize.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Bar Keepers Friend is very good for stainless steel.

 

[flars]

Warm soapy water, same as you use for hand washing dishes. This will remove manufacturing residues.
Later clean with Barkeepers Friend if stains appear or there are mineral deposits. BF will also repassivate the surface.
Never use any scrub pads which can scratch, i.e. steel wool or stainless wool. Plastic scrubbies, sponges, or a Scotch Brite blue pad are considered safe.

 

[JeffoC6]

I don't currently have PBW or Barkeeper's Friend in house, I just have Oxyclean Free and Dish Soap. I guess I should go the Oxyclean route?

 

[unionrdr]

The oxyclean free would be fine.

 

[Epos7]

I scrubbed my new SS kettle down pretty well with a mild dish soap/water solution when I got it, and the sponge came off clean. I rinsed very thoroughly to get any dish soap residue off. When I filled it with water for my first brew, the water smelled a little metallic. After brewing, I did another cleaning, and the sponge came away with some black residue. Also noticed the same black residue on the end of my (wooden) mash paddle. I'm hoping it's clean by now and my first batch wasn't affected, but I'm a little nervous.

 

[petrolSpice]

Dish soap and a sponge, why anything else?

 

[unionrdr]

I shy away from using dish soap, as it contains an enzyme that makes water sheet off. It kills the head on the beer later. I know the wort goes through a boil first & all, but I don't know that the enzyme breaks down? So I use PBW & a Dobie.

 

[The_Bishop]

Wash with a sponge and TSP. Rinse well. Fill it to the brim with hot water and a couple tablespoons of citric acid for passivation.

 

[unionrdr]

Some lab tech or other on here told us that SS re-passivates by air drying after a wash & rinse. Been working fine for me all this time...

 

[MaryB]

Dish soap and water to cut the manufacturing oils, I don't think Oxyclean will remove them. Long as you rinse super well with hot water not much residue left behind.

 

[Addiktion]

My spikes kettle said it didn't need to be cleaned. They ship it clean. I still rinsed it out and after the brew day I used pbw to clean it and a soft cloth to wipe it down. Pbw with hot water works wonders

 

[unionrdr]

And a Dobie-brand scrubber gets it clean as new with hot PBW.

 

[tracyk]

Go Oxyclean! I use bar keepers friends after about the 6 brew in it, but always use the oxyclean after every brew.