Cleaning old equipment

[Brewing1976]

I’m looking to get back into brewing. I had old brewer best kits. It been sitting in my basement for few year. It’s all dusty and dirty. What’s the best way to get it clean so I can start brewing again. Thank you for the help

 

[balrog]

For me, it would depend on how beat up everything was. Brew kettles are easy if they're not rusty. If it's a bucket and vinyl tubing, and the bucket had held rocks, or was all scratched up, I'd get a new one. I'd always get new tubing. If buckets, fermenting and bottling, are in good shape, clean them WELL with PBW, bleach bomb them, StarSan them, and you're off to the races. If it's a glass carboy, you can PBW soak and carboy brush the snot out of it, literally and figuratively, and it'll be good to go. What are the various bits and baubles you've got that you're thinking of cleaning?

 

[Brewing1976]

For me, it would depend on how beat up everything was. Brew kettles are easy if they're not rusty. If it's a bucket and vinyl tubing, and the bucket had held rocks, or was all scratched up, I'd get a new one. I'd always get new tubing. If buckets, fermenting and bottling, are in good shape, clean them WELL with PBW, bleach bomb them, StarSan them, and you're off to the races. If it's a glass carboy, you can PBW soak and carboy brush the snot out of it, literally and figuratively, and it'll be good to go. What are the various bits and baubles you've got that you're thinking of cleaning?

Only thing I see is little black stains but they cleaned right out.

 

[Calder]

Let all plastics soak in a mild bleach solution for a week and then rinse with hot water. Replace anything that looks suspect.

Replace all tubes/hoses.

I stopped for 7 years and started right up with the same equipment. I still use a couple of 35 year old HDPE fermenters.

 

[IslandLizard]

Welcome back to the brew hobby!

Depends how bad it is. On stainless use Oxiclean or Homemade PBW* and a stiff nylon hand brush. For any stubborn spots, scale, rusty areas, etc. Barkeeper's Friend (BKF). BKF also helps repassivate the Stainless.

For plastic, use Oxiclean or Homemade PBW and a stiff non-scratching nylon brush or a non-scratching (nylon) pad. If there's any mold (usually black spots), remove with same, and perhaps a soak in a bleach solution. Good rinses afterward to remove cleaners and bleach, and let air out, especially after bleach. I prefer in direct sunlight as the UV will kill microorganisms too.

If there is any residue, mold or other stuff in racking canes and plastic hoses that will touch your wort or beer, I'd toss them and buy new ones. Stainless racking canes can be cleaned though, you need a long draw brush and use BKF. Acrylic is smooth and can be cleaned with same brush, but just use Homemade PBW, no abrasives.

Presoak everything.

*Homemade PBW: 30% TSP/90 + 70% Oxiclean free

 

[Brewing1976]

How about if the plastic buckets look like it had little mold?

 

[IslandLizard]

How about if the plastic buckets look like it had little mold?

Look at #5

 

[NeverDie]

Welcome back to the brew hobby!

Depends how bad it is. On stainless use Oxiclean or Homemade PBW* and a stiff nylon hand brush. For any stubborn spots, scale, rusty areas, etc. Barkeeper's Friend (BKF). BKF also helps repassivate the Stainless.

For plastic, use Oxiclean or Homemade PBW and a stiff non-scratching nylon brush or a non-scratching (nylon) pad. If there's any mold (usually black spots), remove with same, and perhaps a soak in a bleach solution. Good rinses afterward to remove cleaners and bleach, and let air out, especially after bleach. I prefer in direct sunlight as the UV will kill microorganisms too.

If there is any residue, mold or other stuff in racking canes and plastic hoses that will touch your wort or beer, I'd toss them and buy new ones. Stainless racking canes can be cleaned though, you need a long draw brush and use BKF. Acrylic is smooth and can be cleaned with same brush, but just use Homemade PBW, no abrasives.

Presoak everything.

*Homemade PBW: 30% TSP/90 + 70% Oxiclean free

Why TSP/90 rather than straight TSP?

 

[IslandLizard]

Why TSP/90 rather than straight TSP?

They're 2 entirely different products. But either would work.
TSP is 100% TriSodium Phosphate and has been on EPA's sh!tlist for decades (phosphates). TSP/90 is 100% Sodium Metasilicate.

The brand original PBW contains what I listed, ~30% Sodium Metasilicate.

 

[Soulshine2]

I’m looking to get back into brewing. I had old brewer best kits. It been sitting in my basement for few year. It’s all dusty and dirty. What’s the best way to get it clean so I can start brewing again. Thank you for the help

warm water and oxyclean

 

[mongoose33]

Good advice above. The question is how big a chance do you want to take with your equipment and beer? I personally would start with new plastic stuff, stainless can be cleaned.

And if you have mold on something? Out it goes. Maybe, depending, it might/could be cleaned, but in brewing, cleanliness is next to godliness.

If we were talking about brew equipment worth hundreds of dollars, maybe there'd be a reason to take a risk. But to replace buckets and tubing? Maybe $30 or so. Not worth the risk, IMO. YMMV.

 

[NeverDie]

Oxyclean Free works better at higher water temperatures. I use 160F based on another forum member's recommendation. Maybe higher than that is better still? Anyhow, 160F is far more effective than even 120F.

 

[IslandLizard]

Oxyclean Free works better at higher water temperatures. I use 160F based on another forum member's recommendation. Maybe higher than that is better still? Anyhow, 160F is far more effective than even 120F.

It does, but you also lose the oxygen much faster.
After the oxygen has dissipated, what's leftover is... tada... Sodium Carbonate (commonly known as Washing Soda).

I do 90% of brewery cleaning in washing soda or Oxiclean. PBW where it really counts, mainly for the Metasilicate component (TSP/90).

 

[NeverDie]

It does, but you also lose the oxygen much faster.

Does it matter that the oxygen leaves much faster (somehow too fast?), or does liberating the oxygen faster just get the job done much faster?

Once the oxygen is done bubbling, it seems like the show is over and it's done.

 

[NeverDie]

Also, what's a good rule of thumb for how much oxyclean to use? Or does that vary depending on how dirty the thing being cleaned is? Up until now I haven't been measuring, but just eyeballing the amounts, and I'm now pretty sure I've been using more than I needed to.

 

[IslandLizard]

Does it matter that the oxygen leaves much faster (somehow too fast?), or does liberating the oxygen faster just get the job done much faster?

Once the oxygen is done bubbling, it seems like the show is over and it's done.

Oxygen has sanitizing properties and bleaching power (like the oxygen in Hydrogen Peroxide). I think it's overrated in a product like Oxiclean. Makes for a compelling show on TV, but yeah, once she has dissipated, her show is over.

Now the washing soda solution that's left behind is a very good general cleaner and degreaser, highly alkaline, ~pH11. It was used liberally before 'modern day' cleaners and laundry powders came around.

 

[IslandLizard]

Also, what's a good rule of thumb for how much oxyclean to use? Or does that vary depending on how dirty the thing being cleaned is? Up until now I haven't been measuring, but just eyeballing the amounts, and I'm now pretty sure I've been using more than I needed to.

1 tablespoon a gallon, 2 for more heavy duty cleaning?
6 tablespoons in a brew bucket full with water sounds like a real lot for a basic soak and clean. 2 tablespoons should do it.

 

[IslandLizard]

1 tablespoon a gallon, 2 for more heavy duty cleaning?
6 tablespoons in a brew bucket full with water sounds like a real lot for a basic soak and clean. 2 tablespoons should do it.

That said, I'm from the scrubber tribe.

I'd rather use 1 gallon of more concentrated warm or hot cleansing water and a brush to remove the krausen ring over letting a bucket soak, filled to the brim with a more diluted cleanser. But sometimes a good long full volume soak is just needed.

 

[NeverDie]

That said, I'm from the scrubber tribe.

I'd rather use 1 gallon of more concentrated warm or hot cleansing water and a brush to remove the krausen ring over letting a bucket soak, filled to the brim with a more diluted cleanser. But sometimes a good long full volume soak is just needed.

Oh! I thought the main advantage to oxyclean is that you walk away and let it do the work for you without having to scrub.

 

[balrog]

Always scrub. No free lunch. Elbow grease builds character. Stay off my lawn. Am I missing anything? Seriously, a soak does wonders. But I’m from the scrubbing tribe also. And the rinse too many Times tribe. But that’s just me.

 

[Brewing1976]

So yesterday I just bought all new equipment. I can’t wait to start brewing again

 

[balrog]

And welcome back to the obsession!