oxyclean residue

[craigd]

When I came back to brewing last year I had to go back to bottling until my CO2 equipment can be rehabbed. I have had a funky flavor in my last brews that was sharp and biting and I think this may be because I have soaked them too long in Oxyclean and not gotten that white residue completely out of them. I know some folks say only soak them overnight but the stubborn labels sometimes take several days to a week to work loose without a bunch of scrubbing so I have been leaving them a week on average. (OK, it's also because I'm lazy and leaving them in there until I want to deal with them is easy.) I then use the bottle sprayer to flush them out and a quick brush inside to dislodge any stubborn gunk that I may not see followed by another spray. Then I use the dishwasher to sanitize (also a potential culprit.)

I have some bottles sitting in the solution now and want to use them for my next batch but when I pulled one out and rinsed it with a sprayer I let it dry and came back later to see there was still some white inside the neck. How do I get this crap off? Overnight soak in clean water or soapy water?

I also intend to use a sanitizer solution dunk instead of the dishwasher to eliminate that potential cause but after looking at those bottles closely I'm fairly convinced the oxyclean is my issue. My next batch to bottle is a high gravity Saison that I have aged since Big Brew so I don't want to screw this one up.

 

[camiller]

An acid rinse will get that residue off. Vinegar and water solution or star-san.

 

[knightbeer39]

I have had BAD experience with Oxyclean. I foolishly got busy and left a carboy filled with Oxyclean for a week while I was out of town. It PITTED the interior of the carboy and it is pretty much ruined. I'm afraid this will collect bacteria etc., so I can't trust it for brewing anymore.

I searched everywhere on the internet and found that nobody reported anything like this. You may be experiencing the same thing. If you can't scrub the white out of the bottle with a brush and soap and water--then TOSS them in the garbage and give up on them. They are not worth ruining a good beer over.

I strongly recommend against Oxyclean. There is no point in using it when there are a million other products, like soap, that work just as well.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

That is the first time I have ever heard of issues with oxyclean.

It pitted GLASS? Is that even possible?

 

[Revvy]

That is the first time I have ever heard of issues with oxyclean.

It pitted GLASS? Is that even possible?

Not likely that oxclean would pit glass.....

The glass wasn't pitted. That was the precipitate forms when you mix oxyclean with hard tap water and let it sit for more than 24 hours. The stuff is hard to remove but will come off with a weak acid solution, like winegar or lemon juice in water or like many have already said, starsan.

It takes a strong acid to etch or pit glass.....

 

[HomerJ]

I find the Oxyclean works great for removing labels. I sometimes leave the bottles in the solution for as long as a week. I was concerned about the possibility of unwanted residue inside the bottles. So what I did was filled the bottles with straight tap water and sunk them into a bucket of oxyclean solution up to the neck of the bottles. This allowed for full contact with the labels and no risk of oxyclean residue on the inside. Once the bottles had the labels removed I proceeded with my normal cleaning routine for bottles.

my 2 cents

 

[JVD_X]

It's funny you mention this... I also had this experience using oxyclean in the dishwasher. My Entire batch tastes like s**t - I never used oxyclean (or the dishwasher) again.

I am convinced that the dishwasher simply doesn't do a good enough job getting inside of bottles and it left residue behind. Normally, I just use a light spray of starsan so I am pretty sure some residue was left in the bottles... oh well - live and learn.

 

[craigd]

I find the Oxyclean works great for removing labels. I sometimes leave the bottles in the solution for as long as a week. I was concerned about the possibility of unwanted residue inside the bottles. So what I did was filled the bottles with straight tap water and sunk them into a bucket of oxyclean solution up to the neck of the bottles. This allowed for full contact with the labels and no risk of oxyclean residue on the inside. Once the bottles had the labels removed I proceeded with my normal cleaning routine for bottles.

my 2 cents

Well that's kind of a "head slapper" moment! Not sure why I didn't think of that... Great suggestion!

 

[Whiskey]

I find the Oxyclean works great for removing labels. I sometimes leave the bottles in the solution for as long as a week. I was concerned about the possibility of unwanted residue inside the bottles. So what I did was filled the bottles with straight tap water and sunk them into a bucket of oxyclean solution up to the neck of the bottles. This allowed for full contact with the labels and no risk of oxyclean residue on the inside. Once the bottles had the labels removed I proceeded with my normal cleaning routine for bottles.

my 2 cents

That is pretty much what I do. I fill a big coleman cooler about 1/3-1/2 full of really hot tap water and oxy, then add the bottles already full of hot tap water. It has the added benefit of keeping the bottles from floating.

I can fit 48 12 oz bottles in the cooler and it keeps the water hot all night. I have yet had a label that did not come off after about a 24 hour soak.

In the event you do get the white Oxy haze, star san will take it right off.

 

[Rich711]

What is your normal cleaning routine? None of my bottles have labels, so I Just have to clean out the yeast residue.

I find the Oxyclean works great for removing labels. I sometimes leave the bottles in the solution for as long as a week. I was concerned about the possibility of unwanted residue inside the bottles. So what I did was filled the bottles with straight tap water and sunk them into a bucket of oxyclean solution up to the neck of the bottles. This allowed for full contact with the labels and no risk of oxyclean residue on the inside. Once the bottles had the labels removed I proceeded with my normal cleaning routine for bottles.

my 2 cents