Cleaning Glass Carboys

[Scooter68]

ANY plastic container is going to get scratches over time. They may be small but regardless they will catch stains at the least. The problem with a wide mouth container is that for aging it's a lot harder to minimize air exposure - you have to really top it off very close to the top to reduce the volume of air.

I can manage getting a brush inside my carboys and if you do a good cleaning as soon as it's emptied, it's far less likely to collect anything. If you let what was in there dry....then it's scrubbing time for sure.

 

[hitchiker]

any body tried alka seltzer to clean carboys

 

[Bill Pet]

I rinse the carboy immediately after use and then swish with an unscented oxyclean solution. I sometimes need to use a brush for the very upper part of the carboy which gets dried foam on it. End result: an absolutely spotless carboy. Been doing it for four years and haven't had a problem.

 

[aabshire]

I rinse the carboy immediately after use and then swish with an unscented oxyclean solution. I sometimes need to use a brush for the very upper part of the carboy which gets dried foam on it. End result: an absolutely spotless carboy. Been doing it for four years and haven't had a problem.

Same here, turn them upside down in a carboy holder until dry then store upright with paper towel in opening. When ready to use again swish with sanitizer

 

[Ignoble Grape]

Same here, turn them upside down in a carboy holder until dry then store upright with paper towel in opening. When ready to use again swish with sanitizer

Same. Get all my carboys second hand. Mostly from home brewers who never bother to rinse - caked with gunk. A nice overnight soak with oxyclean and they sparkle. Minimum elbow grease. I'm always a skeptic when it comes to the newest chemical cleaner, but even my mom who used the oxyclean on her clothes when she came over is a convert.

 

[crushday]

I use PBW, let it soak overnight and then rinse. I then store them upside down in a milk crate with a 2/4 jammed in the corner to keep it upright. I don't add Kmeta any longer. When I did I would spritz, as to conserve, the inside of the carboy. I would then install a stopper and put it away. What happened to me was the kmeta dried and left clear deposits on the inside of the carboy, only noticeable when they were re-filled with wine. Soaking them and using a carboy brush was not help. PBW cleared it right up.

 

[Scooter68]

1) This is essentially a dead conversation. Read for info but if you want to ask a question or have a comment about cleaning - Start a new thread. You can paste a reference to this thread but start a new one. Wading back through the old comments is not something anyone wants to do unless they need to glean some info from it.

Show some initiative and start a new thread - You are far more likely to get responses that way.

 

[Johnd]

1) This is essentially a dead conversation. Read for info but if you want to ask a question or have a comment about cleaning - Start a new thread. You can paste a reference to this thread but start a new one. Wading back through the old comments is not something anyone wants to do unless they need to glean some info from it.

Show some initiative and start a new thread - You are far more likely to get responses that way.

Dang. Scooter is grumpy today...........................LOL!!

 

[Ajmassa]

1) This is essentially a dead conversation. Wading back through the old comments is not something anyone wants to do unless they need to glean some info from it.

@Scooter68 - who are you speaking to? I honestly couldn’t tell because there’s been a handful of replies here since being bumped.

Compared to most others, this was a pretty interesting thread IMO. And was thoroughly entertained wading back through the old comments. And i was perfectly ok with it.
Plus I think it’s kinda cool to have an ongoing thread where everyone’s chiming in with their personal carboy cleaning techniques.
I can’t be sure but I’m thinking you may have misinterpreted something along the way here.

 

[Scooter68]

nah.... Not me.

 

[Mario Dinis]

I know I'm a few months too late, but here's something interesting and cheap that i came across awhile back in this forum,

http://brulosophy.com/2016/12/22/brublaster-keg-carboy-washer-do-it-yourself/

 

[SpoiledRotten]

I rinse mine immediately, put some k-meta in it (about a cup full), and put an airlock on it. Rinse again just before use.

 

[cmason1957]

I rinse mine immediately, put some k-meta in it (about a cup full), and put an airlock on it. Rinse again just before use.

You only rinse?? Never apply some elbow grease to remove the biofilm that builds up on the inside of carboys? (The Home Vintner - The Home Vintner Monthly Newsletter - May 2014 - search for biofilm on that page.)

I give mine a good dose of oxyclean Free, then hit them with this Boun Vino Turbo Brush Carboy cleaner (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N6YR235). rinse several times to remove all the oxyclean, add some K-meta solution and a bung without a hole in it. Then rinse, squirt some more K-meta inside, dump and use.

 

[pete1325]

On the ones with that purple film I fill and soak with some Straight A, cleaner. after soaking overnight the film disappears. When racking from one carboy to another I just fill half way, swish and refill. Not much more and never had any issues. Of course it all depends on how far I am from the sink. I never dropped one....yet.

 

[SpoiledRotten]

Good info, cmason. I’ve got some work to do!

 

[winemanden]

K-meta or Sodium-meta + acid releases SO2 gas, which is one of the reasons it is effective in wine.

 

[Boatboy24]

I'm in the rinse camp. Anything that might be stuck on there is hit with the carboy brush. If I have stains, I'll fill with water and oxyclean and let it sit a while. Some are stored empty, many are stored with half a cup to a cup of KMeta solution and a solid stopper.

 

[Rocky]

I have not had a problem over many, many years and my MO is to rinse carboys with hot water immediately after emptying, inspect for any residual stains or debris, brush off if necessary, rinse again, invert on my rack to dry and to insert a wadded up paper towel in the opening. When I am ready to use, I rinse with hot water, pour in about a 1/2 cup of K-meta solution, insert a paper towel plug, let it sit for a while, slosh the solution around in the carboy, then rinse with hot water and use.

 

[user 36973]

I would summarize this thread as that while there are many methods people use to effectively clean and sanitize carboys, it really speaks to the robustness of wine+sulfites to spoilage.

On the other hand, some methods here explain the subsequent threads of "what is this floating on my wine?"

 

[hounddawg]

hum, very many ways, i've always just used potassium metabisulfite
(k-meta) for several years, but when i empty a carboy i rinse and then rinse with k-meta, put a exame glove on the top, then reuse come time,
Dawg