Oxyclean ruined my bottles!

[bierhaus15]

Last night I soaked 3 cases of new beer bottles in a very mild Oxyclean solution and even after washing them out multiple times today, they have a white, sandy residue on them. The bottles look and feel OK when in water, but once dried are covered in a white powdery crap and feel like they have gone through a sandblaster.

Also, some of the bottle are really brittle and have been breaking while I have been washing them.

Has anyone else had similar issues with their bottles after soaking them with Oxyclean??? I know the bottles are not the issue as they are brand new and as the bottles that I didn't soak are fine.

 

[flyangler18]

You have hard water, don't you?

Give those bottles a soak in a vinegar solution and the scale will be gone.

 

[Revvy]

Vinegar, lemonjuice, or starsan in water will get rid of oxyclean scale...it happens to a lot of us actually...in other words, any weak acid will get rid of it.

 

[bierhaus15]

The water I used was softened, but I will definitely give the bottles a good soak in a vinegar solution. Thanks!

 

[MSUConrad]

The acid wash trick works great, but as far a making you bottles brittle, that would not come from Oxyclean. When you are taking them out of the Oxyclean solution to wash them is there a large temp change from the water they were in to the water you are using?

 

[iamjonsharp]

bottles shouldn't break when you wash them....new, old, oxycleaned, or whatnot

 

[bsay]

You'll need to sanitize eventually anyway, so just use starsan as mentioned. I actually welcome the white power residue, since then I know which bottles in my storage closet are clean.

 

[Limited Visibility]

would oxyclean make your bottles brittle? I have had no prob with this

 

[duridsr4fite]

So...i am actually having the same problem. How strong should I make the solution? Also, would a good rinse get rid of the vinegar smell? would idophor work, or is that not an acid?

Thanks in advance.

/not a chemist

 

[fratermus]

I have generally given up on oxy soaks because my water does this, too. Vingerwater always got it off but it annoys me.

 

[DrinksWellWithOthers]

This same thing just happened to me with a couple bottles. I've been using Oxy Clean for almost as long as I've been brewing and probably have 500 bottles and have never had this happen. It's almost like they became frosted glass. It was only a few so I just ended up tossing them.

 

[BargainFittings]

Starsan will take the film off.

It really sounds like you got some defective bottles if they are breaking when washing them.

 

[MajorTom]

I got this in a carboy lately. Didn't know about the lemon juice to remove it. Nice to know that now. Anyway, rinsed it the best I could, sanitized and went ahead and fermented in it. Didn't seem to have any negative affect.

 

[polecreek]

The water I used was softened, but I will definitely give the bottles a good soak in a vinegar solution. Thanks!

better check the salt level in your brine tank.