How am I supposed to clean glass carboys?

[strawberrycow]

As title says. The opening seems too narrow to do any serious scrubbing.

 

[madscientist451]

Half fill with hot water, add PBW, add more hot water till full, scub with carboy brush after letting it soak. Rinse well.

 

[strawberrycow]

This book I'm reading is recommending Star San and mixing it with water (which I've gathered is an acid) and they said to use water softener first. Is there some food grade water softener? I honestly had no water could be hard or soft.

 

[Lampy]

I have a couple 1 gal carboys. For stuck on gunk, I soak it with StarSan and then put in some uncooked RICE and shake a bunch. This might not work for bigger carboys.

 

[strawberrycow]

Is uncooked a typo or just something I don't know. I'm not the brightest.

And I have one gal too, so I plan on that

 

[Agent]

So in the scheme of things, PBW is magical for cleaning most things. But for back when I didn't have jack, bleach and hot water takes care of things that soap doesn't touch.

 

[MaxStout]

PBW is a cleaner, Starsan is a no-rinse sanitizer. You need to clean first, then sanitize.

Mix PBW with hot water and let it soak several hours or overnight. This will dissolve the organic stuff. Then dump, rinse and sanitize with Starsan solution. You don't need a water softener for this--just mix Starsan at the mfr's ratio. Then invert the carboy and let it drain.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

PBW is a cleaner, Starsan is a no-rinse sanitizer. You need to clean first, then sanitize.

Is there some food grade water softener?

long story short (or tl;dr): don't use tap water that goes through a water softener when making beer.

 

[strawberrycow]

PBW is a cleaner, Starsan is a no-rinse sanitizer. You need to clean first, then sanitize.

Mix PBW with hot water and let it soak several hours or overnight. This will dissolve the organic stuff. Then dump, rinse and sanitize with Starsan solution. You don't need a water softener for this--just mix Starsan at the mfr's ratio. Then invert the carboy and let it drain.

Thank you for your wisdom

 

[mac_1103]

or

 

[madscientist451]

PBW is a cleaner, Starsan is a no-rinse sanitizer. You need to clean first, then sanitize.

Mix PBW with hot water and let it soak several hours or overnight. This will dissolve the organic stuff. Then dump, rinse and sanitize with Starsan solution. You don't need a water softener for this--just mix Starsan at the mfr's ratio. Then invert the carboy and let it drain.

If I’m not using the carboy right away, I don’t sanitize, because after it sits for a couple of weeks, months or years, I’m going to rinse it out and sanitize I when I need to use it.

 

[Beekeeper]

If you don't have PBW on hand (yet!) an overnight soak with Oxy- or any of the off-brand Oxygen cleaners will break up material on the inside of the glass, so that a swish of water inside can remove it.

 

[Lampy]

Is uncooked a typo or just something I don't know. I'm not the brightest.

And I have one gal too, so I plan on that

NO, I'm not the brightest because it should say uncooked rice!

 

[SFC Rudy]

1. StarSan is a sanitizer, not a cleaner

2. Use PBW or One Step to clean.

3. Get rid of your carboys, they are dangerous. Google carbon mishaps

 

[Brockness Monster]

I'll just put this here.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/broken-glass-carboy-horror-stories-compendium.376523/

 

[FloppyKnockers]

1. StarSan is a sanitizer, not a cleaner

2. Use PBW or One Step to clean.

3. Get rid of your carboys, they are dangerous. Google carbon mishaps

Damn... first result. Yeah, we don't want to lose lose any CO2. That stuff can get expensive. Plus, no one wants to suffocate. Better ditch the glass.

 

[MaxStout]

If you MUST use a glass carboy, have something robust to carry it in. Not the Brew Hauler, as the carboy can slip out between the straps. Not those handles that clamp on the neck--the weight of a full carboy can snap off the neck, due to the side-loading. Get a plastic milk crate. Not the cheap, flimsy imitations from the home organizing section of the store, but one of those real plastic crates.

Even with a sturdy carrier, at some point you'll be washing up the carboy and they are slippery when wet.

I used to use glass carboys, and luckily, I never broke one. Not everyone is so lucky.

 

[Brockness Monster]

I've broken two. Luckily, I was already well aware of the dangers and took precautions not to put myself in a dangerous situation. One broke while I was Picking it up by the neck, the bottom just fell out and I jumped away from it. The other broke while it was in my utility tub and I was filling with water that was maybe a tad too hot, but not really. Won't touch a glass carboy anymore.

 

[BRbarfanTimmy]

So in the scheme of things, PBW is magical for cleaning most things. But for back when I didn't have jack, bleach and hot water takes care of things that soap doesn't touch.

I've found this to be very true. My wife was complaining about the recycling bin in our kitchen (which was valid) and an overnight soak outside with PBW did the trick. That and a little scrubbing.

I use glass carboys for wine secondary and for beer in secondary when needed and find them pretty easy to clean with a brush and some cleaner. I try and avoid using them for primary as it makes for extra cleaning and soaking which is less fun. A carboy as a primary fermenter for beer is really rough to get clean. Also PBW and One Step both make things slippery which is not a great combo with glass. Be careful.

 

[mac_1103]

These always worked for my dad. Of course, he was a professional carpenter but only an amteur winemaker.



You can even put wheels on the bottom.

 

[MaxStout]

 

[Snuffy]

Thoroughly.

 

[strawberrycow]

1. StarSan is a sanitizer, not a cleaner

2. Use PBW or One Step to clean.

3. Get rid of your carboys, they are dangerous. Google carbon mishaps

Well damn. What am I supposed to be brewing in? Plastic? My diet is pretty plastic rich already.

(joking. no hate)

 

[sixstring]

Well damn. What am I supposed to be brewing in? Plastic? My diet is pretty plastic rich already.

(joking. no hate)

Stainless Steel sir

 

[strawberrycow]

Thoroughly.

I think I'll just bite the bullet and go with plastic. Broke as hell

 

[sixstring]

I think I'll just bite the bullet and go with plastic. Broke as hell

The plastic buckets are really good. But like you I wasn't happy with the plastic part. Just don't scratch the insides of them and you'll be fine. They're better than carboys that's for sure imho.

 

[strawberrycow]

The plastic buckets are really good. But like you I wasn't happy with the plastic part. Just don't scratch the insides of them and you'll be fine. They're better than carboys that's for sure imho.

Would I still use the Star san on it though?

 

[InspectorJon]

Everyone has different tolerances for risk. Some of us stupid folks with high risk tolerance have been using glass for decades. It has distinct advantages, particularly if you don't want to invest in stainless steel. Most won't admit publicly to still using it because they don't want to get ridiculed here. If you clean the carboy right after you empty it, a quart of hot tap water, a teaspoon or two of Oxiclean Free and a long bottle brush like the one in post 10 above will make it sparkling clean. Lay the carboy on it's side on a towel on the countertop next to the sink and scrub away. You can bend the brush and the metal handle around to get just the right shape to reach all the inside surfaces. Triple rinse with hot tap water and you are good to go. Starsan rinse when you are ready to use it again.

 

[sixstring]

Would I still use the Star san on it though?

yes, although I just used to use dish soap and give mine a good scrub and didn't have any PBW. Don't think the PBW is necessary for a plastic bucket, but the starsan is definitely necessary after cleaning (and before you put wort in it)

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Would I still use the Star san on it though?

Yes. You would treat it just like glass. I think the only difference is plastic can't go over 140°, or something.