Dried bleach in carboy

[Rebecca541]

I think I have a problem..
We made our wine, we cleaned our carboys with the pink cleaning solutions from the brew shop. (Bleach and I’m not sure what else) we were told to rinse 6-7 times. The carboys are now dry and there’s a white film in the carboys. I’m assuming this is solution residue aka bleach. Is there a way for me to remove this? I’ve rinsed with hot hot water so far and it’s still there.

 

[myndflyte]

Does it smell like bleach? Because if it doesn't smell and scrubbing isn't getting rid of the film, I'm inclined to say it's fine to use but I've never used that solution before.

 

[Rebecca541]

No it doesn’t. No odour

 

[November]

I've gotten a residue before if I leave bleach solutions in for too long (many days). I'm not sure what the reaidue is, personally I've always chalked it up to something to do with hard water, but I've found that hot water and citric acid usually dissolve it. Sometimes a little light scrubbing is needed as well.

Good luck.

 

[Rebecca541]

Ok, I’m going to try the vinegar now. It’s worth a try!

 

[MaxStout]

Sounds like the film you get on glasses that have been through the dishwasher. If you don't want to use gallons of vinegar, just fill it up with mixed Starsan and let it sit a day or two. The acid should remove the film. Then you have a batch of Starsan for your next winemaking.

 

[StonesBally]

I leave bleach water in my carboys after fermentation sometimes for a month. It always rinses clean. It must be a film from something else.

 

[jgmillr1]

I think I have a problem..
We made our wine, we cleaned our carboys with the pink cleaning solutions from the brew shop. (Bleach and I’m not sure what else) we were told to rinse 6-7 times. The carboys are now dry and there’s a white film in the carboys.

The film is probably just hard water deposits and any acid such as vinegar or citric should dissolve it, especially if you can heat it up. In the future you may want to devise a way to let the carboy sit upside down to drain out residual water so you don't get this again.

And you really should not be using bleach anywhere near your wine. Presence of chlorine can lead to cork taint in your wine. Your brew shop should have plenty of santizing options available to you that do not use chlorine.