Cleaning Glass Carboys

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kuziwk

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Hi Guys,

how are you cleaning your glass carboys?

If they are visually clean already from a rinse and dont smell like anything, would a quick spray of Kmeta for 10 minutes than rinse suffice before transferring?
 
I like to spray the interior with a 1% sodium hydroxide solution and scrub them with brush. Rinse. Then spray inside with a citric acid / k-meta blend and let drip dry. Note that the k-meta won't sanitize effectively unless it is in an acidic solution (just like wine), so citric acid is a cheap and food grade solution.
 
I like to spray the interior with a 1% sodium hydroxide solution and scrub them with brush. Rinse. Then spray inside with a citric acid / k-meta blend and let drip dry. Note that the k-meta won't sanitize effectively unless it is in an acidic solution (just like wine), so citric acid is a cheap and food grade solution.

I think this is one of those ask 10 people get 11 responses topics. I use only K-meta not that the addition of citric is bad.
 
I like to spray the interior with a 1% sodium hydroxide solution and scrub them with brush. Rinse. Then spray inside with a citric acid / k-meta blend and let drip dry. Note that the k-meta won't sanitize effectively unless it is in an acidic solution (just like wine), so citric acid is a cheap and food grade solution.
Interesting...never heard of that. I use K meta on all my wine theifs and spoons prior to a quick rinse before it touches the wine. Have not had any issues yet.
 
If I have emptied a carboy and immediately refilling it I don't do anything but rinse it clean. If that is what you are referring to.
yeah so basically if you just used the carboy for a few minutes to rack and bottle? Thats pretty much the only way i can see that there wold not be any caked on stuff inside the carboy.
 
yeah so basically if you just used the carboy for a few minutes to rack and bottle? Thats pretty much the only way i can see that there wold not be any caked on stuff inside the carboy.

In my experience a few rinses and shakes gets rid of any solids. I was referring to if you were refilling the same carboy with another wine immediately after racking. If I'm finished with the carboy I do scrub and add a little K-meta and cap.
 
meta solution with the use of the drill operated carboy cleaner -

After purchasing this - I threw out all my brushes
 
Carefully! I've already broke a glass carboy, while cleaning, and managed to cut myself in the process. Fortunately a minor cut and all the glass was in the sink so pickup was easy.

For cleaning I use B-Brite and the commercial equivalent of the carboy cleaner Fred showed in the picture above. I sanitize before long term storage and again just before using. For plastic carboys B-Brite and a white face cloth sloshed around gets the cleaning job done nice and quick.
 
I absolutely do just as bkisel said. As soon as the carboy is emptied, I clean with B-Brite , rinse, and dry upside down . Then I cap off only after it is dry.
 
Similar here - clean with oxy-green, rinse the clean carboy with Kmeta solution and let it dry upside down. I give it a second Kmeta when I'm prepping to transfer wine and I want to run Kmeta through my AIO equipment.

The solution vacuums into the carboy. One more swirl, dump and turn the carboy upside down again for about an hour.
 
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My 2 cents here:
You can't just rinse. You have to have some way of mechanically dislodging the biofilm that develops on the glass. That method might be brush, carboy cleaner, or other.
I've chipped the mouth of the carboy using a drill powered device. What I now use is long strips of old towels. I rip the towel up into 1-2" strips about 3' long. I drop the towel into the carboy with 1/2-1 cup of B-Bright cleaner, then I swirl it all around so the towel covers the entire inside surface of the carboy 3-4 times. Then turn the carboy over, grab the end of the towel strip and pull it out just with my fingers. Then rinse and Kmeta.
 
My 2 cents here:
You can't just rinse. You have to have some way of mechanically dislodging the biofilm that develops on the glass. That method might be brush, carboy cleaner, or other.
I've chipped the mouth of the carboy using a drill powered device. What I now use is long strips of old towels. I rip the towel up into 1-2" strips about 3' long. I drop the towel into the carboy with 1/2-1 cup of B-Bright cleaner, then I swirl it all around so the towel covers the entire inside surface of the carboy 3-4 times. Then turn the carboy over, grab the end of the towel strip and pull it out just with my fingers. Then rinse and Kmeta.

That's basically what I was doing when I broke my glass carboy. I now place 1-2 folded bath towels on the sink counter and a portion over the sink edge. All my sloshing is now done without lifting the glass carboy.

For those who might not know.. Hands wet with B-Brite solution become very slick. Slick hands and wet carboys together are an accident waiting to happen.
 
My 2 cents here:
You can't just rinse. You have to have some way of mechanically dislodging the biofilm that develops on the glass. That method might be brush, carboy cleaner, or other.
I've chipped the mouth of the carboy using a drill powered device. What I now use is long strips of old towels. I rip the towel up into 1-2" strips about 3' long. I drop the towel into the carboy with 1/2-1 cup of B-Bright cleaner, then I swirl it all around so the towel covers the entire inside surface of the carboy 3-4 times. Then turn the carboy over, grab the end of the towel strip and pull it out just with my fingers. Then rinse and Kmeta.

I’m trying to get a visual but don’t see how you get good swirling whipping action? I’m always looking for better ways.
If it works for you than great. I made a drill mount from a broken plastic spoon and those orange and white cloth mop strips. It’s long enough where the drill isn’t near the glass to damage. But it still sucks to use. And a struggle to insert which sometimes jacks up where it’s secured. Originally I bought the actual blue replacement flaps. They are weighted on the ends. But over time got beat up and stitches came loose.
There’s no quick easy way to get a good hard clean when needed- which isn’t all the time but often enough. Maybe when I build my wine room I’ll install a pressure washer on a retractable hose line in the wall with a spray setting. Yep. That sounds nice and realistic.
 
After use: I simply rinse 2 or 3 times and invert into a 5 gal bucket to drain. I then simply stack it for later use..

Before use: A little one-step and a bottle brush is all it takes. Rinse with k-meta solution and it's good to go.

My thinking is this.. Why clean the darn thing twice?
 

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