Cleaning a grape press

[Wild Duk]

I picked up a used 25# ratchet press on eBay. It's in pretty good condition and fairly clean, but I still want to clean it before I use it. How do u guys clean and sanitize these things before you press???
And is it normal to just throw the grapes right on or use a strainer bag???

Thx

 

[Julie]

I use a strainer bag and I normally rinse of and just sanitize.

 

[ibglowin]

No strainer bag for me. Just dunk it in a BIG plastic bucket with Iodophor solution and let it dry.

 

[djrockinsteve]

My press which is large ill rinse off with a bucket of soapy water. Rinse then quick k meta spritz. Let it dry well in sun.

When its time to press ill just rinse off with water, k-meta then rinse again. Press.

 

[joea132]

The best thing I've bought for cleaning the press is a power washer. You can blast the dirt and skins from between the slats and be reasonably sure the surface of all materials are cleaned from dirt. I then use a spray bottle solution with k meta to spray the wood parts down and let it soak in for about 15 minutes. Another quick rinse followed by another spray of k meta and I go to work.

When I put it away I just power wash the heck out of it. I don't get closer than about 4 inches with my 3000psi washer and it doesn't do any damage to the wood.

 

[joea132]

And don't forget the threads on the stem of the press. You can have some majorly gross stuff hiding in there. Use a sponge soaked in k meta solution and a gloved hand to clean it out. Or the power washer. Another place people overlook is the bottom of the spout. When your wine flow starts to dwindle, it runs along the bottom of the spout a bit. Clean that up nicely too.