Left PBW in SS Kettle for a week...

[wepeeler]

And now I have a coating of roughness around the bottom going about 4 inches up. It's stubborn and doesn't want to come off. It's very gritty. I've tried more PBW, Dawn, and Star San. If I rub it with my fingers it sort of comes off like wet paper towel. I thought at first I was rubbing my finger prints off, but it's actually a coating. Any one else experienced this? Easy way to clean it up?

 

[day_trippr]

Try white vinegar - in this case, straight-up...

Cheers!

 

[wepeeler]

Try white vinegar - in this case, straight-up...

Cheers!

All cleaned up! Thanks! I now never want another salt and vinegar potato chip in my life!

 

[day_trippr]

lol! Yeah, that's a treatment side-effect we try not to talk about...

Cheers!

 

[Bobby_M]

Hot water and double strength starsan has definitely dissolved that problem for me.

 

[KYBLUE]

All cleaned up! Thanks! I now never want another salt and vinegar potato chip in my life!

With the mere mention, for the time being, I fill the void of want of salt and vinegar chips.

With three beers down it will be tomorrow.

Cheers

 

[wepeeler]

Hot water and double strength starsan has definitely dissolved that problem for me.

I figured it might be a passivation issue, but it was definitely a film. Came right off with the vinegar. Hopefully that helps someone else down the road!

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

To the OP and replies, what is this residue? Calcium? Beer stone?

 

[wepeeler]

To the OP and replies, what is this residue? Calcium? Beer stone?

No clue, but I hadn't deep cleaned the kettle in awhile. I figured I'd let the PBW sit for awhile to do its job. The film was super gritty. Cleaned up in 2 minutes with white vinegar...

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Sounds similar to a toilet problem we had. Not trying to sound gross, but we have hard water around my location. Toilet had something in the bowl that just would not scrub off. Turn off water valve to toilet, flush and pour in white vinegar. Problem solved!

BTW, white vinegar and water is good for removing collar stain from shirts. (better than bleach and water). Don't ask how I know.

 

[Bobby_M]

PBW is most effective at 150-160F and doesn't need to soak for much longer than 30 minutes at those temps. The key is to rinse it off with equally hot water right away and don't let the PBW cool down.

 

[wepeeler]

I routinely use PBW way lower than 150-160. Basically only as hot as our tap water gets, so 115-120ish? Works great to clean the kettle right after brew day. This last time I was lazy and figured I'd let it soak. Good to know about the temps and the rinsing. I'll keep that in mind moving forward!