# Carboy mold - HELP



## leelanau (Dec 6, 2006)

Hi all. Well, I visited my idle wine making equipment (idle for 3 months as my 1st batch was tiring and I was busy) and having not stored my carboy upside down after cleaning, I have a small area of white, cottony looking mold on the bottom of my carboy. How to clean? I will be storing it upside down from now on. Leelanau *Edited by: leelanau *


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## masta (Dec 6, 2006)

Since it is mold or some organic growth you should use a chlorine based product to clean thoroughly. I would suggest using C-Brite followed by hot water.


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## PeterZ (Dec 6, 2006)

Assuming this is a glass carboy, save the money on C-brite. Go to the grocery store, get some cheap unscented bleach, and put it in full strength. Scrub with a carboy brush and rinse, rinse, and rinse until you think you are going insane. Then rinse again with k-meta. The k-meta will neutralize any residual bleach.


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## jsmahoney (Dec 7, 2006)

I agree with PeterZ.
Sanitation beinga part of my daily routine the bleach will kill anything. Using one cup bleach to one gallon of water is sufficient. And, of course rinse.


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## Waldo (Dec 8, 2006)

I make it a habit to store all of my carboys and fermenters with some 
k- Meta in them.


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## grapeman (Dec 8, 2006)

I think I would rather use C-Brite or B-Brite and save some of the time from rinsing myself. The important thing is to get it clean and keep it clean. As a side note- where do you store unused airlocks and bungs? After I clean my carboys, I drain them - but then Waldo's solution seems good. I then clean the airlock and bung and fill with K-Meta solution. I upright my carboy and put the airlock back in it like it was full. It keeps the carboy clean and free of critters and moldspores. When I'm ready to reuse the carboy, rinse it with K-Meta and you are all set to go.(Refeill the airlock with clean K-Meta). *Edited by: appleman *


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## leelanau (Dec 8, 2006)

Leelanau here - thanks for the posts. I was hoping a good cleaning would solve the problem - and better storage. I like Appleman's idea that relates to Waldo's - store with the airlock in, filled with k-meta. Good idea! Time to get to cleaning the carboy w/c-brite or bleach...


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## bmorosco (Dec 8, 2006)

White cotton like ...sounds like a spider got in there and made a nest..Sure it's mold? It might have been a egg nest ...Either way the bleach and HOT water will work..


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## Wade E (Dec 8, 2006)

If its a spider you mighthave to sacrifice the carboy, it could be an
endangered specie. You better send that empty carboy over to my house
for examination!


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## jsmahoney (Dec 8, 2006)

Wait a minute wadewade, I am a food inspectorand my duties are to make sure everything is clean and sanitary. I think I have preference over this.Send it my way leelanau.


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## Wade E (Dec 8, 2006)

JS, are you really a CSI inspector as in Crime scene?


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## jsmahoney (Dec 9, 2006)

Yes wadewade I really am a CSI. But dealing with food. This is my actual title: USDA/FSIS/FO/CSI/IIC. There are a few others that I can't mention on this forum. I have several business's I inspect and have several different names. Inspector Gadget, Little Richard, and ?&amp;*(*&amp;^%. And yes we do use the Crime scene Inspector in several places. You just can't imagine what some people will do to save $$ no matter what it does. I thought real seriously about becoming a vegetarian until the out break of spinach and now onions. *Edited by: jsmahoney *


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## Wade E (Dec 9, 2006)

Yes, I guess junk food is the only safe food anymore between the Mad
Cow and salad and all other veggies, the good ole twinkie still
survives.


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## jsmahoney (Dec 10, 2006)

Twinkie's~~~!



Nothing better than a nice glass ofred wine, a package of twinkies with a bowl of chololate dip!


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## Country Vines (Dec 29, 2006)

Wow - I've had a nagging question and I'll bet you guys will have the answer. Is there any way to have our finished product tested for purity or perhaps just the lack of bacteria or other untoward little creatures? We do everything we can to insure good sanitation practices (my background is in emergency medicine), but my husband is just concerned about the fact that we are producing a food product. Any words of wisdom??


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## smurfe (Dec 30, 2006)

I use these to store my carboys.


http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=5167


I dry my carboy after cleaning and sanitizing. After the carboy is dry I either put a piece of foil or saran wrap over the opening and just leave them setting in the dryer which acts like a rack. You can even stack them. I have one for every carboy I have. I found them from a place going out of business for $3.99 a piece and got 10 of them.


Smurfe


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## Angell Wine (Dec 30, 2006)

I've never used these company, In fact I've never tested any wine but here's the address:
http://www.etslabs.com/pagetemplate/allAnalyses.asp?pageid=174


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