How often to change siphon hose?

Oxiclean will clean it, but it will make the hose look permanently opaque. A hot water soak for a couple hours with some Dawn dissolves the hop oil. Followed by a rinse. No your beer won't smell or taste like Dawn.

 

awesome i'm going to try that. the hose alwasy feels sticky'

 

Oxiclean works but letting it sit for an extended period of time (hours) will make it go milky on you. There are also plenty of dish soaps out there with no added scents...that's what I use. Takes care of any chance of my beer coming out "lemony fresh" or tasting like "Mountain Breeze"

 

About 1 time a year. Tubing gets cloudy and regardless of what I attempt to clean it with the new tubing looks and cleans better, and the price is. Cheap

 

The 'milkiness' goes away after the hose thoroughly dries out - at least in my repeated experience. I thought I wrecked my hosing the first time that happened, and the next day all the hoses were clear and normal looking again.

 

A couple bucks for peace of mind is well worth it to me. I'd rather replace it regularly then end up *possibly* losing a full batch to infection. That would infuriate me, and I'd likely break something that costs more than $6.

 

I haven't replaced mine yet in a little over a year (and it was used before that), but I also never let it sit with beer in it. My one rule about cleaning is, no matter how tired you are at the end of a brew night, always clean the siphon right away. That said, my tubing is starting to get discolored, so I might replace it in the near future.