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Really Dirty 1 Gallon Carboy...is it worth it?

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YouGotRobes

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My dad had some left over Gallon jugs of Sangria he made (Carlos Rossi Jugs). That cleaned out well and I have oxyclean sitting in it for 8 hours now. That one is fine, not entirely worried about that.

The other one housed our Vegetable oil for our deep frier. I seem confident that with some oxyclean and other cleaning supplies I might be able to get this clean, but honestly am I pushing it here? I figure these things can get pretty nasty after a ferment anyways so cleaning it shouldn't be a crazy idea but am I wasting my time?

First time brewer and as it is harped upon I do the same and I am obsessive about sanitation.
 
Honestly? I would ditch the vegetable oil one. I know it's possible to clean but it wouldn't be worth the mental concern for me. For about 5 bucks at your LHBS you can probably find a 1 gallon glass jug.

The 1 Gallon fermenters aren't too bad of a bitch to clean, but I wouldn't risk a 10 dollar brew on something that may wind up with vegetable oil in it
 
You can definitely clean up the oily one. I would just take a bottle brush to it with some dish soap, rinse, then soak it in bleach or another sanitizer for an hour or so. You may not need to, but I would repeat that process just to be sure
 
Honestly? I would ditch the vegetable oil one. I know it's possible to clean but it wouldn't be worth the mental concern for me. For about 5 bucks at your LHBS you can probably find a 1 gallon glass jug.
Agree with this. If the oil has been in there for a long period of time, it will be difficult to ever get all the oil residue out. I am sure it can be done, but 1 gallon glass jugs are easy to find.
 
For the one with oil in it, I would first rinse with hot water just to get out what I could, then put hot water and Dawn or Palmolive in there and let it soak. Dish soap takes care of oil no problem.

After soaking in Dawn, rinse it out then do it again just to be sure. After that use oxyclean just to be sure, and it should get rid of it. I don't see any reason the oil would still be in there after that.
 
Without a doubt.. worth it if you try to keep the landfills less crowded. I T of Dawn.. or, better yet.. if you have it in your painting supplies.. TSP w/hot water. It's a great grease cutter.. Be sure to disturb it residue with a bottle brush. It may take an iteration or two to do it. Should come out squeaky clean.
 
For sure, take the Dawn route if you want to keep it. True, for $5 you can get another, but why not spend a buck on Dawn and clean it? If they use Dawn to clean animals and the likes after oil spills, surely it can tackle your frying oil. :D
 
For sure, take the Dawn route if you want to keep it. True, for $5 you can get another, but why not spend a buck on Dawn and clean it? If they use Dawn to clean animals and the likes after oil spills, surely it can tackle your frying oil. :D

Yeah - I was thinking about the time my cat got into a fight underneath a car a few years ago. He came back inside and was covered in grease/oil all over his stomach and legs. I filled up the sink with warm water, and put a mixture of Dawn and pet shampoo into it, and just rubbed it along his belly. It got rid of it easily, and he was squeaky clean after that. :)
 
Awesome, thanks guys. I'll definitely take the dawn/dish detergent route. I've used it for years on grease stains on clothes, shocking how great it works on clothes. Worst case scenario is that if I can't get it out completely I recycle the jug and start a new one. Just needed that peace of mind that it is doable.

I know it's cheap to buy a new one, but when it comes down to it, I've spent a good amount already in this new hobby so whenever I can save a buck I try to. Besides recycling this is a better idea to me. Wish I decided to take this up over the summer, my dad makes gallons of sangria for bbqs and those jugs all just went in the recycling those days.
 

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