I have several which are clean but they have a white film ( calcium) on them which will not come off.
I totally agree with 4 score!
Let me ask this.. Would you clean your dinner dishes using muriatic acid?? (Yes) Would you eat off of them if you did (Yes, after rinsing)?
If you answer the above with a "No", then why would you feel ok about doing the same thing to your carboys??
Alternatives...
1) Try PBW
2) try a squirt of automatic dishwashing detergent (the oxy type)
3) try distilled vinegar or lemon juice
4) Just ignore the calcium deposit. It may not look nice, but I doubt that it is doing any harm to your wine.
5) toss the carboy and get a new one. Life is too short.
Hey, chemists, what about nitric acid?
I always use sulfuric on organic gunk, and HCl or Nitric on inorganic gunk.
the toxicity of nitrates.
I hate to disagree - but I am a chemist and can speak to this.
HCl (muriatic acid) is not a bad option to remove calcium deposits as they will be dissolved in acid. And the stronger the acid, the better. You may be ok with acetic acid (distilled vinegar), but HCl is stronger and will do a better job.
You do not need to worry about the chlorine issues that folks are speaking about. The Cl in hydrochloric acid is chloride (not chlorine). It is just as innocent as the chloride ion in sodium chloride (table salt). The cork taint issues folks are worried about with chlorine are caused by elemental chlorine (Cl-Cl) or other types of oxidized chlorine species (chlorite, chlorate, etc).
Because it is a strong acid, please be careful not to get it on your skin and clothing or breath any vapors. Rinse very well with lots of water when you are done.
I came across some carboys and demijohns,... later,... after the purchase and before using them myself, I was informed that the seller had used BLEACH to clean. Being super paranoid of bleach I want to clean them to strip all possible residue of bleach. Here is the process I want to use.
1- Use a dilution of Muriatic Acid and water while brushing, rinse, then....
2- Use PBW while brushing, rinse, then....
3- Use Starsan while brushing, rinse then dry. Then store until use.
Then before using for wine making, brushing with starsan, rinse, then pouring K-Meta solution into vessel, sloshing around with a solid bung, drain vessel then use.
I have the time and don't mind the work.
How do you feel of this process for removing ALL chlorine residue.
Thanks for your help!
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