Cleaning glass carboys

[cmason1957]

ok

I'm with you, I don't use it, but one of the local wineries near me said they use it to clean many things, then rinse the heck of of it

 

[winemaker81]

I'm with you, I don't use it, but one of the local wineries near me said they use it to clean many things, then rinse the heck of of it

That works every time except the last one ....

 

[Rocky]

Thank you to all who responded to this thread. Some really great ideas here. I truly appreciate it.

 

[Rice_Guy]

interesting comment. I use bleach all of the time cleaning carboys with no problemos ever

The industry point of view, run an alkaline cleaner followed by an acid rinse. (the bishaun dog can get decolonized by washing with vinegar) Tanks are not built to have a brush in them. Chlorine is an oxidizer, the compatible with wine version would be an oxidizing cleaner. This doesn’t necessarily remove the organics but removes the color so the stainless looks clean, ,,, metabisulphite decolonizes lots of pigments.

 

[ibglowin]

I have never bought any "used" carboys off CL but every one of my carboys that when finally drained when you get around to bottle that red wine that has been in the glass for up to 2 years and has what appears to be tough/impossible stains that are not going anywhere anytime soon has been cleaned to like new condition with the use of some hot water and oxyclean. It really is amazing stuff.

 

[wineview]

I have had the same issue on a few carboys. No matter what I did, including soaking with a strong PBW solution for a week rotating the carboy on its side. The haze never went away.
Could be etching. Here is what I found.

Etching occurs when the causes of colored film are allowed to continue. Signs of this condition are a cloudy appearance that cannot be removed by washing with vinegar (acid), bleach or water. The cloudiness can be uniform over the surface of the glass or it can be spotty.

 

[wineview]

I posted this back in March.

I have a whole variety of carboys some I purchased new, some are used and some date back to 1965. I believe the older ones were my dads. The photos enclosed are from a Mexican made carboy with Carisa stamped on the bottom. No date but I’m guessing it’s not that old and I probably acquired this...
Cloudy carboy

 

[distancerunner]

Low tech answer: Abrasives.

Cleaner, with sharp masonry sand added. Swirl like crazy. Works every time.

 

[wineview]

Is this what you’re referring to. Mix with PBW solution? About volume. Two quarts?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kolor-Scap...d7_Xz59ew-nvEcNPg-RoCpc4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[tullamore]

interesting comment. I use bleach all of the time cleaning carboys with no problemos ever

wow - interesting - not in my rotation! sorry - i make a lot of wine - i can't take any chances
only time i use bleach is when i do laundry for my whites -lol!
works for u ? then let it ride!

 

[winemanden]

Low tech answer: Abrasives.

Cleaner, with sharp masonry sand added. Swirl like crazy. Works every time.

If it's not too bad, cleaner and eggshells will do the trick!

 

[StimVino]

I recently acquired some old carboys from an ex brewer. I got most of them clean with the usual dose of PBW and drill-attached rotating cleaning pads. The water smelled like piss, but the PBW did the job and the glass is clear. However, two of the carboys still have a hazy cloud that does not meet my standards for cleaning and sanitation. I also tried K-Meta with a heavy dose of Citric Acid, no luck. I was reading this old thread and for my next step I was going to try bleach-free Oxyclean to see if that does the job. I also have one of those carboy cleaners with the pump and sprayer but I cant imagine that would be better than the rotating cleaning pads? I may try both as a last resort before giving up.

 

[Rice_Guy]

Minerals can deposit on glass creating a pearly look. I use glass that has gone through a soak with acid for a week followed with a detergent cleaner. It is good enough to accurately rack off lees.

 

[Hazelemere]

put 1/4 cup of bleach in each 1 and fill them up with water to soak for 48 hours

 

[wineview]

put 1/4 cup of bleach in each 1 and fill them up with water to soak for 48 hours

I tried that for the same issue. Didn’t work.

 

[Hazelemere]

I tried that for the same issue. Didn’t work.

you don't know if its exactly the same issue or not.

 

[wineview]

you don't know if its exactly the same issue or not.

You are correct. Let me know if it cleans the glass.

 

[Ohio Bob]

If all the cleansing protocols haven’t corrected the issue you may have a permanently etched surfaced. If you’ve done both base-based and acid-based cleanings, I would guess, and to emphasize, its a guess, you have an etched surface. It may be perfectly usable for wine making, just might require a strict cleaning protocol moving forward. An etched surface MAY be more susceptible to hiding material which will require a diligent cleaning regimen.

In contract, I get lazy sometimes and I simply give my crystal clear carboys a good jet rinse, then set aside for a few weeks until I can give a deep cleaning to multiple carboys. That might not be good enough for cloudy looking carboys.

 

[winemaker81]

It may be perfectly usable for wine making, just might require a strict cleaning protocol moving forward. An etched surface MAY be more susceptible to hiding material which will require a diligent cleaning regimen.

I am in the habit of doing at least a brief soak in One Step. Folks get antsy about scratches in the plastic holding bacteria, but a good liquid cleaner like One Step gets into all the nooks and crannies, so I don't worry about it.

 

[wineview]

I’m reading all this stuff about deep cleaning. Do you use the 90* carboy brush? When I first started brewing beer I did. Then I noticed scratches just below the neck opening. Didn’t like the look of that. My routine now is to give the inside a good blast of water, shake, dump and repeat several times. Then before storing I swish StarSan dump and let it dry upside down. When I go to use it, I give it another StarSan rinse. All these years never had an issue. Maybe I’m just lucky.