Cleaning

[Catfish]

I need a sanitizing agent to clean my carboys and hydrometer\wine thief. I see a lot of you have different things you use. Could you post me up a link of where I can order some please? Thanks everyone

 

[JohnT]

I like PBW. Oxyclean is also pretty good.

 

[winemaker_3352]

The vendors on this site all sell these sanitizers/cleaners.

 

[Catfish]

Ok Ill check out the Oxyclean thanks guys

 

[kirbyclk]

the best lesson I have learned from making wine so far is a SPRAY BOTTLE. Whatever cleaner/sanitizer you choose, 1 step, Star San, etc. MAKE A SPRAY bottle. It makes things so much easier to sanitize on the spot!!

 

[Luc]

For cleaning I always use hot water and soda ash (household soda) works best, is dead cheap, everywhere available and is non toxic.

Then rinse with a sulphite solution.

Luc

 

[Minnesotamaker]

For cleaning I always use hot water and soda ash (household soda) works best, is dead cheap, everywhere available and is non toxic.

Then rinse with a sulphite solution.

Luc

I shy away from hot water in glass carboys (Don't want temperature fractures and lost wine). I like the PBW and Diversol cleaners; they work very well, dissolve easily, are very cheap per use, rinse clean, don't leave odors, and last a long time and can be reused.

 

[Tom]

for cleaning = A "oxy" cleaner
For Sanitizing = K-Meta and a spray bottle

 

[St Allie]

Warm metabisulphate for sanitising, then rinsed the warmed glass with boiling water. Basically I use the same system for wine as I do for glass preserving jars.

When I have been completely out of metabisulphate, have used bleach as a stop gap.. if well rinsed and then rinsed with boiling water, it's fine.. haven't had any issues with bleach residue tainting anything.

Allie

 

[RoastedChestnut]

I'm new to wine making just picked up a kit on impulse.

Regarding, K-Meta I understand that (1/4 teaspoon K-Meta:6gallon batch wine) is to kill off wild yeast and microorganisms and that (3 tablespoons K-META:1 gallon) is effective sanitizing solution. K-meta uses the fumes to sanitize I read up on.

I looked on the web that the wine can have an acceptable 40-60 ppm of sulphite.

I was wondering what the concentration of the sulphite is when making a proper sanitize solution.

Also is it acceptable to use a spray bottle with the 3tbsp:1gallo k-meta solution to sanitize my bottles without rinsing? Every spray bottle has different 'nozzle adjustments', but I recon I only leave just a thin mist inside the bottles is that safe for the wine? (I don't think I want to buy the sulphiter bottle sanitizer)

Will the sulphite levels evaporate if I aged my bottled wine(4weeks), like if CO2 was released from bulk aging? I understand I can't completely remove the sulphite as it is an anti-oxidizing thingy to protect the wine, just wondering if there will be a obvious smelly sulphite taste/odour.

Thanks!

 

[Minnesotamaker]

I'm new to wine making just picked up a kit on impulse.

Regarding, K-Meta I understand that (1/4 teaspoon K-Meta:6gallon batch wine) is to kill off wild yeast and microorganisms and that (3 tablespoons K-META:1 gallon) is effective sanitizing solution. K-meta uses the fumes to sanitize I read up on. You are correct, keep in mind though that with kits, you won't need to add K-meta at the start because the juice is already sanitized and sulfited. Most sanitizers used on equipment will ask you to wet the entire surface and then leave the two in contact for a specified amount of time. You'll need to read the instructions on what ever sanitizer you choose to use for equipment.

I looked on the web that the wine can have an acceptable 40-60 ppm of sulphite.

I was wondering what the concentration of the sulphite is when making a proper sanitize solution. Winemaker Magazine has a good read on sulfites and should answer most of your questions. Here's the link: Sulfites

Also is it acceptable to use a spray bottle with the 3tbsp:1gallo k-meta solution to sanitize my bottles without rinsing? Every spray bottle has different 'nozzle adjustments', but I recon I only leave just a thin mist inside the bottles is that safe for the wine? (I don't think I want to buy the sulphiter bottle sanitizer) I would think the spray bottle might have trouble coating all surfaces inside a bottle. I'd either go with the sulfiter (I have one and really like it) or use the method of funneling some into the bottle, shake, and move it to the next bottle.

Will the sulphite levels evaporate if I aged my bottled wine(4weeks), like if CO2 was released from bulk aging? I understand I can't completely remove the sulphite as it is an anti-oxidizing thingy to protect the wine, just wondering if there will be a obvious smelly sulphite taste/odour. If you sulfite to proper levels, you shouldn't really detect sulfites. You mention aging 4 weeks.... if you plan to drink your wines with little aging, you can probably get away with less than normal sulfite levels. If you plan to age a wine a long time, years and years, sulfites are more important.
Thanks!

See my answers above in red. Cheers