Best Cleaning Options?

I'd get some new tube, it's cheap.
For cleaning plastic I soak in oxiclean free (green top)for 15-30 minutes and use a rag to get in there.
Don't use anything that can scratch it.
If it's that old your worried about it you can get a new bucket for pretty cheap.
There are brewers that have used their buckets for over a decade though.

 

As long as it's not deeply scratched or gouged, you should be able to sanitize it no probem. As for cleaning (an earlier and separate step), unless it was filthy when it went into storage, I don't see why it should be hard to clean.

What did you use before? I prefer oxiclean for cleaning and starsan for sanitizing.

Unless you stored it without cleaning it first, I wouldn't. How does it look?

 

Sun Oxy Cleaner to clean (1/3 of the price of OxiClean Free) and StarSan to sanitize. I would clean the bucket and fermenters with a long hot soak, and replace tubing if it were me.

 

I used B-Brite (it has no choirine or bisulfite) to clean, then B-T-F Iodophor Solution @ 25 ppm to sanitize which is a non rinse so just let air dry... IMO I dont want oxyclean or other store items coming near anything I am gonig to drink

 

I use an Arm and Hammer knock-off of Oxyclean. Cheap as dirt.

 

So I keep seeing people post about oxyclean, is it not safe to use this/really make something "food safe" clean? Or is this just a prefference issue if you will? I came across this: http://www.homebrewbeerhowto.com/cleaning-13-oxiclean-woes/ So is B-Brite / PBW not better?

 

Oxiclean is fine and perfectly safe to use. I clicked your link, but when I saw the still pic for the video, I did not watch it. But be careful about believing anything that nutjob says. He really is a lunatic.

 

Trust me I understand about seeing/reading everything with an open mind... being new to HB I just do not for the life of me understand why products like bbrite/pbw are around if something like OC will work just fine (cant be just marketing), but I also see some post from others that claim to have problems with OC.

If a product is made for brewing, it seems logical that would be one of the better ones to use and safe for items I will be consuming and giving to friends and family.

At the end of the day one product has to be a better product based on facts and not opinion, some times deciding this from "threads" online seems close to impossible. All opinions aside, not sure I understand factual differences in products the products. I sent a question into OC to see how they reply

 

The company will probably tell you that it hasn't been certified as food safe (no reason it would have been). But oxiclean (free) doesn't contain anything active that PBW doesn't. Some people even make their own "PBW" by adding TSP/90 to oxyclean. But now I'm confused. Are you concerned that oxiclean may not clean as well as PBW, or that it wouldn't be safe?

 

I guess in short it would be both, which one cleans better and is the safest.

Just not sure exactly how I test / confirm this. At the same time if OC comes back with a not being tested type comment I would wonder why / and ask them if its safe to use from a "serv safe" standard...

If they have not tested but PBW and BBrite have it seems some unknowns may be in place and they are willing to put their name behind the intended use, but honestly I am just speculating.

Just not sure saving a few dollars is worth an unknown--but I will continue to dig deeper into this one to locate just facts, out of curiosity, risk and respect of beer (after all she deserves the best )! Not sure why she is female though...

 

You could try conducting an experiment, for which the brewing world would be thankful. Something like:

Split batch with two carboys/buckets. One cleaned with Oxiclean (or equivalent) and the other with PBW (or equivalent). Both given the same amount of post-clean rinse. Both sanitized with the same product, in the same manner.

I actually might try this.

 

I like this idea but also wonder for testing... more may have to be done than just one cleaning it could be a long-term trait or item that comes out of the results, mmmm.....

 

I've never looked at my carboy for scaling, but I often throw glassware is the water that my pond pump is reticulating w/oxiclean. My glassware looks fine.

 

How about 5-star Saniclean or some of the other stronger products? I know that we hombrewers don't need the stronger cleaners? But why? How about something like a corney or taps?


edit: sorry Saniclean wasn't what I was thinking of. I'm talking about the stronger cleaners where you really need to know what you're doing. I've seen them mentioned on HBT Again, just curious why we don;t need them.

 

True and I can see this but still I think I am going to put together some type of FAQ/testing results that is facts based only.... then people can pick without opinion. I can say this, my floor looks clean but I would not eat off of it. Well maybe it was some pricey craft brew I might

 

"It rubs the lotion on its skin. It does this whenever it is told. "