Cleaning plastic carboys

[Billy8998]

Hello folks

So here we go, my thought of the week arrived at work the other day when I washed my plastic sports water bottle. I hadn't used it in a while and water had sat in it. I emptied the water and washed in hot soapy water. I then ran my finger inside the bottle and felt the slime residue coating the inside of the bottle ( i know gross ) anyway, I rinsed with boiling water and so it remained, I took the bottle home and put it in the dishawasher and it cleaned the bottle. That got me worrying about my plastic carboys when not in use.

When my PET corboys get a bit of rare time off I fill them with water and VWP solution until next time I need them when they get a rinse to remove any bleach traces. I know you can but those drill brushes etc but I have never bothered.

Since I can't get my hands in the carboys to feel the inner walls, will they also retain a residue?? which obviously may impact on the wine or will the VWP be enought to keep them clean?

Anyone with any knowledge of this; I would be interested to know whether I should be investing in a drill brush or not?

Thanks

Billy

 

[Duster]

ok, I'm game, what is VWP?

 

[Billy8998]

It's a bleach powder. It's a UK product so not sure of the USA equivalent.

 

[Runningwolf]

Bleech is a big no no around any wine. I would keep a meta solution about an inch high in it for sanitizing purposes.

 

[deboard]

I use oxy-clean (unscented) for cleaning up the carboys after racking, (plastic or glass). I let it soak a bit and then rinse and let it dry. Then before I use them the next time I sanitize with k-meta solution.

 

[Billy8998]

So no brushes?

 

[DoctorCAD]

No brushes...

Put a washcloth and 2 inches of cleaning solution and shake, shake,, shake. The washcloth won't scratch and gets everywhere. I keep the cap on mine when not in use, no liquid at all.

 

[Billy8998]

Yep I buy into that good idea

 

[robie]

Hey, the wash cloth is a good idea!!! Never thought of that, because I know you are not supposed to use the carboy brush on a PET bottle.

I generally just put in some B Bright (oxyclean) and shake it well. I don't leave it in because oxyclean can cause a thin film to form. Next, like Runningwolf, I rinse it well and add the cup or two of Kmeta solution, shake it well to get the fumes going, and leave it sealed until I use the carboy next.

 

[smcalli1]

Similar question. I just bottled my Traminette after 3 weeks of cold stabilization. There was a lot of tartrate crystals all over the PET carboy. A thick layer on the floor and some clinging to the sides. It took a while and the use of a carboy brush to get all the crystals out. My concern is that the acid crystals may have harmed the inside of the carboy or that using the brush has harmed it. Thoughts?

 

[robie]

Similar question. I just bottled my Traminette after 3 weeks of cold stabilization. There was a lot of tartrate crystals all over the PET carboy. A thick layer on the floor and some clinging to the sides. It took a while and the use of a carboy brush to get all the crystals out. My concern is that the acid crystals may have harmed the inside of the carboy or that using the brush has harmed it. Thoughts?

The crystals are not going to harm the carboy at all. The brush can easily scratch the insides of the carboy and bacteria can hide in the scratches. Your carboy is likely just fine; just don't make a habit of scrubbing it with a brush... let it soak, or use the wash cloth idea from above.

If you put warm water in the PET carboy and shake it really hard, especially after a soaking, most anything will turn loose.

 

[Tom_S]

I usually spray mine out really well, and then a tiny drop of dish soap (I know a lot of people will say "no-no" on this since the perfumes in the soap could get into the plastic and therefore into wine, but I use very little and have never noticed any problem with smell afterward) and shake the jug really well, more spraying until it's clean & rinsed, then left upside down to drain a while. Then before storage I pour in some strong K-meta solution and shake it well to coat the entire interior and then seal the jug to keep dust/mold/other impurities out Then before using the jug I do another rinse with the K-meta.

 

[smcalli1]

What strength K-meta do you use?

 

[grapeman]

No worry about the tartaric acid crystals harming the inside, but the bottle or carboy brush can scratch the inside of the carboy (plastic).

 

[greyday]

What strength K-meta do you use?

Not the person you asked, of course, but I use two campden tabs and enough water for them to dissolve. I usually store them open and emptied and rinse/spray down with starsan when ready to use again.

 

[Dend78]

if the insides have some nasty crystals stuck to them dump some uncooked rice in there with your cleaning solution then shake it should take everything off the sides

 

[Tom_S]

What strength K-meta do you use?

I have a half-gallon jug that I filled with water and put in 3 or 4 campden tablets and let them dissolve.

 

[MurphyTexas]

The better bottle website discusses cleaning. I haven't had anything really stick to the inside of a better bottle including beer gunk.

Like other posts before, I just toss in a white washcloth with some b-brite then seal w a bung cork and swish the washcloth around. Then a quick rinse w k-meta water.

Only use the PET1 plastic carboys.

 

[smcalli1]

The better bottle website discusses cleaning. I haven't had anything really stick to the inside of a better bottle including beer gunk.

Like other posts before, I just toss in a white washcloth with some b-brite then seal w a bung cork and swish the washcloth around. Then a quick rinse w k-meta water.

Only use the PET1 plastic carboys.

Thanks. I have only one 6 gal glass bottle. Then I have 5 6-gal Better Bottles and 2 3-gal Better Bottles and a host of glass jugs 1-gal and smaller. So the BBs are my choice. It was a combination of weight and price that tipped the scale in their favor. I can get them locally for half the price of glass.