I just bought some used brewing equipment and one of the carboys has become the final resting place for a mouse. It been in there for a long time, and its pretty well stuck to the bottom of the jug. Is it worth my time to try and clean the carboy, or is it time to trash it?
Mouse in a carboy
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JLeuck64
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This forum is useless... without pics! LOL ( ;
kev211
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Someone on hbt made a cat hair beer not too long ago. Maybe you two can team up and do a Tom and Jerry thing haha.
All things considered, you could probably get it out and soak it in oxyclean, pbw, and star san for a while and get it clean. But if it were me, I would take the loss and pitch and replace it. I put too much effort and money into my beer to have it potentially get ruined by some Rat scuz. With that being said, I had a bad childhood experience with rats and am terrified of them so that could be influencing my decision too haha
All things considered, you could probably get it out and soak it in oxyclean, pbw, and star san for a while and get it clean. But if it were me, I would take the loss and pitch and replace it. I put too much effort and money into my beer to have it potentially get ruined by some Rat scuz. With that being said, I had a bad childhood experience with rats and am terrified of them so that could be influencing my decision too haha
Bowtiebrewery
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OK So speaking from direct experience... I had a mouse die in one of my open kegs... It WAS REALLY nasty... However I did clean it very well with PBW and star-san. I have a beer in that keg right now... It tastes fine to me.
QuadConPana
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If it's glass, I would say fine.
If it's plastic, I would worry more about scratches during the cleaning process than mouse residue.
If it's plastic, I would worry more about scratches during the cleaning process than mouse residue.
If glass, first pry it loose, shake it out. Put some Barkeepers Friend (or Comet), and a little water to make a scouring paste, and brush all the residue off. Add a bit more water and clean the whole carboy inside. Dump, rinse, add some PBW, washing soda, or Oxiclean, 1/2 gallon of hot water, scrub and let soak overnight. Brush well again and rinse. Sanitize. That should do it.
For science.
Pour in some neat starsan and watch the dead mouse disolve. Time-lapse pics would be nice, for science.
Pour in some neat starsan and watch the dead mouse disolve. Time-lapse pics would be nice, for science.
This has been here 9 hours and no one has made a Bob and Doug McKenzie reference?
I totally agree with Gavin. We did this with ozonated water once. Ate the little carcass up.
If its glass, give it a shot.
I totally agree with Gavin. We did this with ozonated water once. Ate the little carcass up.
If its glass, give it a shot.
Back in the old days of brewing I used bleach to sanitize equipment. It is a no no with metals, but not so with glass. I had a glass carboy stored in the basement for a number of years that also became the final resting place for a mouse. After a thorough cleaning, I soaked the carboy for a day or more in a strong bleach solution. Probably over kill but I wanted to be sure. Chlorine will kill most anything. Plenty of hot water to rinse and it will be good to go.
FloppyKnockers
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Throw a dead cat in there.
...I don't know how to get rid of dead cats.
...I don't know how to get rid of dead cats.
TungstenBeer
Well-Known Member
Haha, wow. Although I'm sure you could clean it 100% with enough effort, if it was me I'm pitching that carboy for peace of mind.
What's the stuff they used in Breaking Bad?
What's the stuff they used in Breaking Bad?
If it's a plastic carboy, throw it away. If it's a glass carboy, ship it to me and I'll take care of it for you.... 
drainbamage
Keep HBT weird.
I bet some kitchen tongs would get it out... 
Redlantern
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Actually, Liquid Plumber will do a great job. Basically caustic soda. In concentration, lots of stuff dissolves in that.......
GHBWNY
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You could always make a starter with the remains and call it --- what else?
"Three Mouskie Beers"
"Three Mouskie Beers"
kev211
Well-Known Member
Here is the little guy, he is very well stuck to the glass.
Did you say mouse? Or opossum? Cuz that definitely isnt a mouse. Might even be a deer. Too large to be a mouse
jekeane
Well-Known Member
that is wombat not a mouse. Seriously that is pretty vile... I'm not sure I could get it out of my head that mess was in the carboy I made beer in. I would consider cleaning it out but im talking like repeated bleach soaks kind of cleaning.
douglasbarbin
Well-Known Member
Sodium/Potassium hydroxide, a.k.a. lye. I was actually going to suggest that. It should take care of that mouse completely in a couple hours (if even that long). Just be extremely careful. Wear gloves, goggles, etc. You don't want that stuff getting on your skin and you definitely don't want it in your eyes.
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Agree with lye. Extremely dangerous to work with but it will liquefy that rat in no time.
Lye first. Then a strong bleach soak.
I used to pick up used carboys at a local flea market and I always did a strong bleach soak when I got em home.
treacheroustexan
Well-Known Member
I sat on page 1 for quite some time trying to think of something funny, only to realize my thunder has been stolen.... cheers.
ps... what the hell is that in the picture?
blow up the carboy, multiple times, and buy a new one.
GrainToGlass
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That is exactly the way I would want to go out.
stbob
Active Member
Dude! That's nasty.....or is it yeast nutrient?
NoIguanaForZ
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Dust off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
I would give serious consideration to dumping an entire jug of bleach in there, personally...
I would give serious consideration to dumping an entire jug of bleach in there, personally...
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Dust off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
I would give serious consideration to dumping an entire jug of bleach in there, personally...
Not the worst idea for sure. Bleach is cheap.
Here he is from another angle. This weekend I'll start with a lye solution and post some updates as it cleans up the mess.
As I wrote before, I'd pry it loose first and remove from the carboy if possible. That looks pretty big! Trying to dissolve the whole carcass will make you wanna puke even more.
kev211
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Pry it loose... With a jackhammer... And Fire
Redlantern
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Dollar store drain cleaner is a great source of lye. Pour it in, leave it overnight and no more mouse
MarshmallowBlue
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Good ole homebrew talk. Hope this thread finished out with results.
MarshmallowBlue
Well-Known Member
Is this why some sour beers are referred to as mousy? Dry mousing your beer?
Read the original post, not the rest.
Toss the carboy. At the very least, clean it out like crazy, sanitize, and repeat a few times. Then whatever you make in there, don't serve or share it with anyone else for at least 3 batches.
Toss it, ick.
Toss the carboy. At the very least, clean it out like crazy, sanitize, and repeat a few times. Then whatever you make in there, don't serve or share it with anyone else for at least 3 batches.
Toss it, ick.
