Cleaning glass carboys

[StimVino]

Took suggestions from the group, but Ohio Bob may be correct that carboy is permanently etched. Tried 'chlorine free' oxyclean with the 'mark II' carboy pump cleaner. Ran pump for 45 minutes with a steady stream of cleaner rolling down the sides of the carboy. Used my drill mounted rotating paddle brush and doubled down my scrubbing effort. No luck. As a last resort, I moved the carboy upstairs away from my wine making area and tools and let it soak with bleach for 48 hours. I was very careful not to use any of my tools while trying the bleach far away from my winemaking area. Scrubbed by hand with a sacrificial brush. Didn't work. Man that was a stubborn stain. The carboy is probably fine to use, but its the only one in my fleet with a cloudy haze. I'll probably store it as a backup to my backup. Thanks for the input and suggestions.

 

[wineview]

Experienced the exact same problem. I posted photos of my carboys too.

 

[Hazelemere]

your carboys are etched. Once you follow Winemaker 81 your carboys should be chemically clean. i.e. even if they are slightly opaque from being etched they should be useable for storage of any of your wines. Whatever deposit you had is inorganic. Bleach would destroy an organic deposit.

 

[StimVino]

your carboys are etched. Once you follow Winemaker 81 your carboys should be chemically clean. i.e. even if they are slightly opaque from being etched they should be useable for storage of any of your wines. Whatever deposit you had is inorganic. Bleach would destroy an organic deposit.

Makes sense. Never had this issue before because I take good care of my equipment and clean after each use. I suspect the original owner let stuff sit without cleaning, perhaps for years. Thanks for your input.