Plastic fermentor still smells of last batch

[theTheme]

I have a 2 gallon plastic fermentor and I just racked off the most recent batch of strawberry. After scrubbing with soap and water (twice) and then soaking in Star San, my fermentor smells strongly of the last batch.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like if I can still smell things then that means there is something on the surface giving off that smell. Is there something else I should be doing to sanitize?

 

[jamesngalveston]

let it sit in the sun for a day...

 

[cmason1957]

Fill with oxy clean and let sit for 24 hours. I bet that smell will be gone.

 

[cpfan]

theTheme:

Just out of interest, where did you get this primary fermenter? If it was used, what did it hold before you got it? What kind of plastic is it?

Steve

 

[theTheme]

theTheme:

Just out of interest, where did you get this primary fermenter? If it was used, what did it hold before you got it? What kind of plastic is it?

Steve

It came with the fruit wine kit from Midwest.

I'm going to try the oxyclean, unfortunately my apartment doesn't get direct sunlight otherwise I would try that.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Wine Making mobile app

 

[Duster]

I have the same problem with my 2 gallon bucket, my 7 gallon bucket and two Brute trash cans. No matter what I do I can't seam to completely get rid of the wine smell. It made me a bit nervous at first but now I just clean well when finished with them, then give them another good scrubbing before I use them and lastly a good dose of strong k-meta about 30 min before I use them seams to calm my fears

 

[WI_Wino]

I have two plastic ale pails that I started out with roughly 10 years ago. Many different beers and wines have been through them. They do have a slight odor to them but I have never noticed any off flavors in the final product.

 

[theTheme]

Thank you everyone for all the responses! I soaked the bucket in an oxygen wash and it cut down on the intensity of the smell. I love this board though, there is no substitute for experienced wine makers sharing their knowledge. I'm going to continue to clean and sanitize well, but not worry too much about the residual smell.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Wine Making mobile app

 

[DirtyDawg10]

Mine always has a fermented wine smell of some sort but I never had any issues. Just clean and sanitize and you should be fine. Plastic is porous and tends to hold smells longer.

 

[MarLac]

My cousin always has a mess in his shed. Big containers of fermenting stuff all over the place. Although he told me that he uses a weak solution (10%) of muriatic acid (pool acid) to clean his stuff then lets if dry completely and rinses it with fresh water before using it again.

 

[GrapefullyYours]

I soak all my buckets in "pink" or also known as diversol. This stuff is a pink powder you add water to. Make the solution strong and you should get rid of the smell no problem.