# Products for carboy deep clean & brush rust removal



## Ajmassa (Nov 3, 2017)

I picked up a few old carboys and BB's off craigslist and gave em a quick rinse and scrub. (One seems to be 7.5 gal too) But they need a deep heavy clean. 
I've Always used carboy brushes or a homemade drill-mount cleaner (like the one with the blue flaps). My typical routine for dirty carboys has been:
Rinse and blast with garden hose
Shaking around some Piping hot water
OneStep with brush or drilling
K-meta
... but something more is needed here.
I figured 2+ days soak in oxyclean would get the job done. But if anyone knows of a better system I'm all ears. 
And while I'm at it, I've got multiple carboy brushes that have rusted. Any suggested product to soak and remove rust? There's lots of home remedies for rust so I'm just curious who's had success with what. I've used wd40 for rust in the past.


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## fivebk (Nov 3, 2017)

There is A product called CLR (calcium lime rust remover). Use it, then wash with hot soapy water and rinse several times.

BOB


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## sour_grapes (Nov 3, 2017)

I am a big fan of PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash).


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## Ajmassa (Nov 3, 2017)

CLR is sold all over I see. I'll give that a shot. Thanks.

I've got PBW, easy clean, and one step. But the carboys have some stains in the glass sitting open for 5 yrs in a garage. I don't think it's mold, but tough to get to. Still can't upload pics. 
I found this thread https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/very-dirty-carboys.51388/#post-582513. 
And it's agreed in that thread (by you too Paul) that an oxyclean soak in warm water for a couple days is the way to go.


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## Johnd (Nov 3, 2017)

For me, regardless of which cleaner is used, the rubber meets the road with some good old fashioned elbow grease, gotta get in there and exert some cleaning pressure on the interior of the carboy. My tool of choice for the last several years has been the drill mounted cleaner, which puts a lot of contact cleaning on the inside, more than I could ever do with a brush. With hot water and some B-Brite in there, it does great on my carboys.


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## GreenEnvy22 (Nov 3, 2017)

The pink bleach powder sold at many wine supply stores works well if you let it soak for several hours.


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## Ajmassa (Nov 3, 2017)

John that's always been my thoughts as well. Especially for the difficult areas. The carboy brushes are too gentle for the stubborn crud. And the flapper thing has the advantage there. I made my own but rarely use it since I'm not letting glass get to that point. 
But I gotta soak to soften it up since even the flappers with cleaner couldn't get it. I'm gonna do the oxyclean soak tomorrow and see how it goes. I haven't seen that pink granulated stuff since I was a kid , but I'm gonna look into to that now as well. Thanks.


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## Donatelo (Nov 3, 2017)

fill half full of water with dawn dish cleaner. Add marbles . Use the drill mounted agitator You can use pea gravel, ect..


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## Sage (Nov 4, 2017)

I've used gravel with cleaner and shook the bottle or carboy. Gravel has sharp edges. I keep a container of BBs, like for an air rifle, to use with cleaners also. They are less abrasive but do work very well for light crud.


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## LoveTheWine (Nov 4, 2017)

Oxyclean (scent free). Soak 24hrs, quick scrub and you are good to go


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## Johnd (Nov 4, 2017)

If you’re really in a bind, you can use this old waiters trick for cleaning coffee pots: Put crushed ice and rock salt in your carboy and start sloshing it around, works like a charm.


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## Ajmassa (Nov 4, 2017)

Johnd said:


> If you’re really in a bind, you can use this old waiters trick for cleaning coffee pots: Put crushed ice and rock salt in your carboy and start sloshing it around, works like a charm.



No bind. Rather than attempting one of those remedies with items I didn't have on hand I just made something real quick so I could get a legit scrub on those on areas. 
I was able to knock down all the stubborn nastiness with it and now soaking in oxi-clean 
Heavy duty scrub pad, an old stick ruler, electrical tape and zip ties. No judgements. Went for function over fashion here.


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## dralarms (Nov 4, 2017)

This is what I use.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Clean-Bott...rush-and-Wine-Beer-Bottle-Brush-/180731656561


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## Ajmassa (Nov 4, 2017)

dralarms said:


> This is what I use.
> 
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/Clean-Bott...rush-and-Wine-Beer-Bottle-Brush-/180731656561



I have one similar a as well as the brushes. Neither were able get the stains without soaking first. These were used carboys sitting open in a dirty garage for years. 
I went overkill and scrubbed em off first. Now soaking before scrubbing again. But I mean, my wines gonna be in there right? And I gotta be able to sleep at night.


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## Julie (Nov 4, 2017)

I agree with using OxyClean, you would really surprised on how clean the carboy will get with only a couple of hours of soaking in OxyClean.


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## Ajmassa (Nov 6, 2017)

Test photo. Files too large using standard upload. 


Same exact photo using mobile app selecting "optimized" option



2nd photo selecting "best" option mobile app


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## Mismost (Nov 6, 2017)

I went over board and built a bottle/bucket/carboy washer using a sump pump, PVC pipe, and a big plastic storage tub. I put the nastiest carboy on it, hot water Ox-clean, turn it on and come back in 30 minutes and it's clear as well...Glass! I will admit that it is one of those things that doesn't get used often now. I have a bottle supple and clean as soon as emptied. Carboy and buckets are always cleaned right away. But, sump pumps are handy to have around the place for other things.


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## TomC (Nov 6, 2017)

Mismost said:


> I went over board and built a bottle/bucket/carboy washer using a sump pump, PVC pipe, and a big plastic storage tub. I put the nastiest carboy on it, hot water Ox-clean, turn it on and come back in 30 minutes and it's clear as well...Glass! I will admit that it is one of those things that doesn't get used often now. I have a bottle supple and clean as soon as emptied. Carboy and buckets are always cleaned right away. But, sump pumps are handy to have around the place for other things.



I like this! Could you post some pictures? Did you drill holes in the pvc pipe? I take it that the carboy sits upside down on the sump pump. Does the pipe go all the way up. Lots of questions; pictures would answer most. TIA.


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## Alan tate (Nov 6, 2017)

Ajmassa5983 said:


> I picked up a few old carboys and BB's off craigslist and gave em a quick rinse and scrub. (One seems to be 7.5 gal too) But they need a deep heavy clean.
> I've Always used carboy brushes or a homemade drill-mount cleaner (like the one with the blue flaps). My typical routine for dirty carboys has been:
> Rinse and blast with garden hose
> Shaking around some Piping hot water
> ...


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## Alan tate (Nov 6, 2017)

Bleach its cheap and gets the job done, just make sure you rinse really good.


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## Ajmassa (Nov 6, 2017)

I saw some similar sump pump diys online while googling. Crafty idea. 
oxyclean worked great. Filling 6 vessels (was 7. See pic below) I didn't bother using warm water, just hose water. Scrub-soak-then drill attachment. 
I've got at least 7 different sized brushes with rust on the wire. They're useless until removed since the rust jacks up the carboys neck. One brush developed this corrosive black buildup on the metal every time. Would get everywhere!
I bought the CLR for them. A job I could do tomorrow or in a year. I used my really small brushes a lot for many things so I'll get to it. 



This reminds me of Mel brook's History of the world. When Moses comes down from the mountain to present the 15...crash..errr...10 commandments.


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## Mismost (Nov 7, 2017)

TomC said:


> I like this! Could you post some pictures? Did you drill holes in the pvc pipe? I take it that the carboy sits upside down on the sump pump. Does the pipe go all the way up. Lots of questions; pictures would answer most. TIA.


I will try TomC....never posted pics before. IT is very simply, a Harbour freight 20 dollar pump...a big old plastic tote for a tub....made a PVC rack for bottles just drilled into the supple lines and expoxied in place...reducer bushing to get down to a hose size....a few hose clamps. Add hot water and I have a hot stick i use when brewing to keep the water hot. Drilled holes in the sides of the tub sit the bottle rack on...dowels through the holes...fill it up and let her run. The bucket carboy washer is just a taller straight piece of PVC with a cap and holes drilled in it. Everything breaks down and fits in the tub for storage.

I also saw a very cool one made out of an old dishwasher....guy used a manifold coming off the existing pump with high temp tubing zip wired to the dish washer rack uprights.


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## Alan tate (Nov 7, 2017)

Ajmassa5983 said:


> I saw some similar sump pump diys online while googling. Crafty idea.
> oxyclean worked great. Filling 6 vessels (was 7. See pic below) I didn't bother using warm water, just hose water. Scrub-soak-then drill attachment.
> I've got at least 7 different sized brushes with rust on the wire. They're useless until removed since the rust jacks up the carboys neck. One brush developed this corrosive black buildup on the metal every time. Would get everywhere!
> I bought the CLR for them. A job I could do tomorrow or in a year. I used my really small brushes a lot for many things so I'll get to it.
> ...


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## Alan tate (Nov 7, 2017)

That black substance is iron oxide you may think of it as a form of rust, not good for wine or beer, you might want to consider plastic handled brushes.


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## Alan tate (Nov 7, 2017)

Alan tate said:


> That black substance is iron oxide you may think of it as a form of rust, not good for wine or beer, you might want to consider plastic handled brushes.





Alan tate said:


> That black substance is iron oxide you may think of it as a form of rust, not good for wine or beer, you might want to consider plastic handled brushes.


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## TomC (Nov 7, 2017)

Mismost said:


> I will try TomC....never posted pics before. IT is very simply, a Harbour freight 20 dollar pump...a big old plastic tote for a tub....made a PVC rack for bottles just drilled into the supple lines and expoxied in place...reducer bushing to get down to a hose size....a few hose clamps. Add hot water and I have a hot stick i use when brewing to keep the water hot. Drilled holes in the sides of the tub sit the bottle rack on...dowels through the holes...fill it up and let her run. The bucket carboy washer is just a taller straight piece of PVC with a cap and holes drilled in it. Everything breaks down and fits in the tub for storage.
> 
> I also saw a very cool one made out of an old dishwasher....guy used a manifold coming off the existing pump with high temp tubing zip wired to the dish washer rack uprights.



Thinking outside the box! I really need to come up with something other than the roll and slosh bathtub method. This old back isn't getting any younger.


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## Ajmassa (Nov 7, 2017)

Alan tate said:


> That black substance is iron oxide you may think of it as a form of rust, not good for wine or beer, you might want to consider plastic handled brushes.



A couple of my brushes developed this iron oxide after only a couple uses. Stuff is impossible to clean and gets everywhere and stains everything. . They eventually developed regular rust in time. I don't use any of the rusty brushes. 
I assume the iron oxide stemmed from letting dry outside possibly


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## Alan tate (Nov 7, 2017)

The oxide will grow even more when in contact with sulfides ie metabi sulfide.


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## rustbucket (Nov 7, 2017)

I just tried a product made by Craft Meister called Keg & Carboy Cleaning Tablets. To use it, you fill up the carboy with hot water then plop 2 tablets in. The tablets fizzle like Alkaselzer. After an hour of soaking, the better bottle plastic carboy I had just racked wine out of was crystal clear. 

Another go-to product that I use on porcelain cups that get coffee stained is false teeth tablets. Like the carboy cleaner described, you plop one tablet in each cup and the white porcelain gets perfectly clean. I haven't tried false teeth cleaning tablets in a carboy but it should work. I'm afraid, however, that it would take a lot of tablets which would result in it becoming a very expensive cleaning method.


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