PBW and slimy glass

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jkuhl

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A few days ago I bit the bullet and bought a tub of PBW from my local home brew shop. It was $30 so I was hesitant.

Stuffs potent, took some blueberry stain off the cap of a wide mouth carboy in seconds.

But yesterday I decided to remove the labels from some Allagash White beer bottles so I could use them on my own and so I soaked them in PBW, labels came off easy and then it was just a bit of scrubbing to get the glue off. As I did, the bottles felt . . . slimy? Is that normal with PBW? It went away after I rinsed them a bit.
 
A few days ago I bit the bullet and bought a tub of PBW from my local home brew shop. It was $30 so I was hesitant.

Stuffs potent, took some blueberry stain off the cap of a wide mouth carboy in seconds.

But yesterday I decided to remove the labels from some Allagash White beer bottles so I could use them on my own and so I soaked them in PBW, labels came off easy and then it was just a bit of scrubbing to get the glue off. As I did, the bottles felt . . . slimy? Is that normal with PBW? It went away after I rinsed them a bit.

If you get that sliminess on your hands, a few squirts of starsan from your squirt bottle will clear it right up. I keep a bucket with old starsan that I can dip my hands into if I'm cleaning with it.
 
Am I misunderstanding or does PBW leave a residue on things that you need Starsan to remove? Or are you talking about the way your finger feel slippery when you get PBW or other strong cleaners on them?
 
Am I misunderstanding or does PBW leave a residue on things that you need Starsan to remove? Or are you talking about the way your finger feel slippery when you get PBW or other strong cleaners on them?

The latter. Rinsing alone should do it, but Starsan assures that you get it all. If something else is causing it, like the gumminess from the label glue then that is something else. I've worried about this when removing labels. Namely, if the glue is drying back onto the bottle all over it. Not sure how to fix that. Is it tacky when it dries?
 
I don't bottle now days but when I did bottle I was annal about how I removed labels. I would fill the bottles with very hot water. Put a cap on the bottle then submerge them in supper hot water for a few minutes. I capped them to prevent any glue or residue from getting into the bottles. The labels then slid right off. I would then wipe them down to ensure all glue was removed and give them a good hot water rinse before removing the cap and dumping out the water. After that into the dishwasher for a complete wash and sanitize. I let them dry in the dishwasher and stored them in closed boxes until ready for use. Then of course I'd dunk them in starsan prior to bottling. And that is why I don't bottle now. Too much work.
 
PBW essentially turns the oils on your skin into soap, through a process known as saponification.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SaponificationWhile they claim that PBW is skin safe, I mostly wear gloves when working it or other alkaline cleaners.

This!!!

https://www.piwine.com/media/Products/Safety-Data-Sheets/SDS-PROFESSIONAL-BREWERS-WASH.pdf
They do have: Precautions for safe handling : Wash hands and other exposed areas with mild soap and water before eating, drinking or smoking and when leaving work. Provide good ventilation in process area to prevent formation of vapour.

They also have: Personal protective equipment : Avoid all unnecessary exposure. Hand protection : Wear protective gloves

I use gloves as well. Exposure won't kill you on first contact, so I'm not being alarmist. But - gloves are easy and not getting alkaline cleaners on your skin is generally a good idea. I'd definitely suggest them.
 
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A good rinse should always be done with water after using pbw. Using star san or saniclean on surfaces coated with pbw will just neutralize the acidic effect of the sanitizer and make it much less effective at actually sanitizing the surface. somewhere in the recommended use for either pbw or saniclean it warns of this.
 
A good rinse should always be done with water after using pbw. Using star san or saniclean on surfaces coated with pbw will just neutralize the acidic effect of the sanitizer and make it much less effective at actually sanitizing the surface. somewhere in the recommended use for either pbw or saniclean it warns of this.

PBW is usually my last step, clean up after racking or bottling. Usually let the used carboy soak a while in PBW, a few minutes if it's nothing more than yeast and debris (after rinsing with water to get rid of the major sediment bits left) to a few hours if it's some actual stain or something.

Might rinse with water and then star san to get rid of the slimy feel, but I know I'll be doing a proper star san sanitation when I use the carboy again.
 
I don't bottle now days but when I did bottle I was annal about how I removed labels. I would fill the bottles with very hot water. Put a cap on the bottle then submerge them in supper hot water for a few minutes.
Similar situation. I do still save bottles periodically, you know, for a rainey day or if I want to gift some to one of my adult kids.
I have been stymied with label removal lately because some brands are using a different adhesive that is not PBW soluble.
Most of the time the labels they use also seem to be Mylar or something similar so most cleaner cannot soak through it anyhow.
The hot water step helps soften the adhesive so you can peel but you still need a petroleum based solvent or equivalent to get the residue off.
 
Similar situation. I do still save bottles periodically, you know, for a rainey day or if I want to gift some to one of my adult kids.
I have been stymied with label removal lately because some brands are using a different adhesive that is not PBW soluble.
Most of the time the labels they use also seem to be Mylar or something similar so most cleaner cannot soak through it anyhow.
The hot water step helps soften the adhesive so you can peel but you still need a petroleum based solvent or equivalent to get the residue off.
Yepper, some labels require denatured alcohol to properly clean them off . Just another reason I don't bottle anymore. Lol, I recently gave some melomel samples in used Frambrois bottles that I only rinced out with hot water. Reused the same caps. Apparently mead don't care. I'm just too old and too lazy to do all the work. I just keep everything on tap.
 
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