Smelly primary-problem?

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gnets99

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Well, I went into the closet today to begin getting everything for my brew session this weekend (2nd batch!!) and I think I have a little probelm.
I noticed that my primary fermenter (A 6.5 gallon food grade plastic bucket) still smells like the last batch is still fermenting in it!:(
I washed it out pretty good and sponged it down with some star san before I put it away last week. I'm wondering if this is a problem and if there's a way to correct it. Would it be okay to wash it out with regular dish soap before sanitizing it prior to putting everything in it? Thanks for the help!
 
gnets99 said:
Well, I went into the closet today to begin getting everything for my brew session this weekend (2nd batch!!) and I think I have a little probelm.
I noticed that my primary fermenter (A 6.5 gallon food grade plastic bucket) still smells like the last batch is still fermenting in it!:(
I washed it out pretty good and sponged it down with some star san before I put it away last week. I'm wondering if this is a problem and if there's a way to correct it. Would it be okay to wash it out with regular dish soap before sanitizing it prior to putting everything in it? Thanks for the help!
I noticed the same thing my first batch in.

Don't worry about it. The plastic will absorb the aroma, but not affect the beer.

If you want. Give it a couple hours soak in hot water with 1/2 cup of bleach. Otherwise, it'll be fine.
 
fill the bucket half way with cold tap water, add 1/4 cup of clorox unscented bleach, fill to the top with more cold tap water and let it sit for a couple hours or overnite.

if that dont work....get a new bucket (or better yet...glass carboy)
 
1/4 cup? 1/2 cup? OUCH!! You really only need 1 tablespoon of bleach in a full bucket of water.

DO NOT...I REPEAT...DO NOT WASH YOUR EQUIPMENT WITH SOAP!!!

There's no need to. Beer is basically only sugar water. A hot water soak/rinse usually cleans everything except the hop ring.

Do an overnight soak with the bleach water solution. Lightly scrub the ring away with a soft sponge (NO GREEN PAD) and air dry.

Do not put the cover on the bucket. Some of the odor will evaporate, but you will never get it fully odor-free.

Some of my buckets are over 13 years old and still look/smell great. :D
 
ha, ha....BM beat me to the punch.

one more thing, when using bleach....rinse, rinse, rinse, and rinse again. and just when you think you have rinsed enough....rinse again for good measure
 
Thanks for the help guys!! I got some sanitizer soaking in it right now. I figure I'll let that go overnight and see what happens. If the smell doesn't dissipate from that, I'll try the bleach.
 
Believe it or not, if stored dry, balled up paper towels or newspaper will absorb the smell. Just ball it up and leave some in the pail when you store the thing . You don't need much to do this.
 
As for the bleach, be sure you don't use anything scented. It was mentioned, but worth saying again. If the kid you send to get the bleach gets the wrong one, you wind up with a 6 gallon bucket you use to wash your car with. It wasn't me mind you, just .....some guy I knew...yeah..that's right.:ban:
 
I usually soak mine in warm water with oxyclean. It gets the smell out pretty well. Then just rinse well and sanitize and you're ready to go!
 
You might also try a solution of baking soda and let it sit over night. I don't usually do this and just go ahead and ignore the smell. I don't think it makes any difference. Just another thing to worry about...
 
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