When cleaning is not cleaning or (cleaning without easy clean)

[Elmer]

Today I am racking, bottling and moving wine from carboy to carboy.

I racked my Tuscan out of a 5 gallon, where it had been for a month or so when bottling.

My DB is scheduled to go into the 5 gal carboy. I rinsed the 5 gal with water, but did not easy clean. There was no sediment, no dirt, no goop.
I intend to rinse with some kmeta solution.
But this raised the question in my mind, do I always need to clean with easy clean?
If I use hot water and there is no grim or anything left build and I sanitize,
Is easy clean always needed?

Thoughts?


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[LoveTheWine]

Is easy clean the same as oxi-clean?

 

[cmason1957]

I have occasionally, when trying to do more things than I should at once, and they're is very little lees on the bottom of the carboy skipped the cleaning step.

But I would never suggest that any one else do that. It is always best to follow good cleaning practices.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I use the carboy cleaner with sulfite and clean all interior of the carboy (after an initial water rinse) - unless there are stains or sediment that will not come off easily with the above method - then I would recommend using oxy clean and soaking.
Just transfered 9 carboys this morning using this method.

 

[Elmer]

This afternoon I racked some blueberry/raspberry into a clean/sterilized 1/2 gallon carboy.
I up using this to top up 2 other carboys.

So the blue/rasp was in there for a total of 5 minutes.

Why wouldn't a couple of Rinses with water & kmeta do the trick?

I don't want to be paranoid about cleaning but when is it not needed?
Or is it always needed?


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[NoobVinter]

I first don 24 inch gloves. You ever see Breaking Bad? They wear them in the lab! Lol that's where I got the idea to buy them. That way hair, skin, and any other chemical, biological, or radioactive contaminants don't mess with my wine. I'm a nuclear med tech, and work with isotopes so don't think I'm messing with radioactive materials the wrong way. Lol

For cleaning:

I use 12 table spoons of PBW and fill the 6 gallon carboy with scorching hot water. I let them sit there for about 45 minutes and scrub them with a carboy brush. Then rinse with hot water.

Then I use the bottle rinsing attachment on a hose bib for about 3 to 5 mins. I rotate the bottle during the process and get all the cleaner off the glass.

For Sanitizing:

I use 1 ounce of IO Star Iodine and fill the 6 gallon carboy with 5 gallons of water. I slosh that around for a minute or so, wait a couple more minutes, then slosh it around again. When that's done I dump all the sanitizer into a sanitizing bucket and let the carboy drain on a stand. By the way the table and stand is completely drenched with sanitizer from a spray bottle.

Is this overkill? I actually find this part of winemaking really enjoyable. I just want to do the best I can. That way, I will never worry about contamination. I can sleep easy knowing that my precious wine will never have any unwanted cleaners or microorganisms hiding in the microscopic imperfections of the glass.





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[Davolous]

Wow maybe I am under doing this. I just spray hot water in used carboys and dump lees/clearing agent in my yard. Spray with more hot water and dump it until it is crystal clear, and then rinse it again. I only use a carboy brush on the inside or a steel scrubbing pad on the outside if I have too. Turn it upside down to dry and sanitize it before use.

I never left sediment dry in my carboys either.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I guess in the beginning I was alot more cautious about cleaning and getting any bacteria in my wine.
Over time I only had 2 batches go bad - I believe that I did not sanitize my oak chips prior to pitching them into the secondary. It only took 4 weeks from very good wine to bad wine. I simply sanitize my carboys like mentioned in post #4

BTW - I add oak to vodka (let it sit for several weeks ) and then add to my wine -

 

[sour_grapes]

I first don 24 inch gloves. You ever see Breaking Bad? They wear them in the lab! Lol that's where I got the idea to buy them. That way hair, skin, and any other chemical, biological, or radioactive contaminants don't mess with my wine. I'm a nuclear med tech, and work with isotopes so don't think I'm messing with radioactive materials the wrong way. Lol

I don't know about that ... there's plenty of radioactive potassium in your k-meta!

 

[NoobVinter]

@vaccumpumpman: Soaking oak chips in Vodka.... That's awesome, I'm going to do that. Thanks for sharing that trade secret.

@Sourgrapes: haha, K with some additional neutrons......wonder how that would decay.......hmm...might impart some unique flavors never tasted before. I read an article on here yesterday. A picture of Runningwolf's lab was used under the head line however it was written by a knowledgable female vintner. She uses Kmeta for equipment and work surfaces. I hope the IO Star iodine doesn't alter an off flavor in the wine. If it does I will explore different options and alternatives. By the way, Wolf's Lab is hooked up! He's got some really nice testing equipment. That mad scientist picture in his profile suites him well.I want a lab now. dreams....


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[Turock]

There is really no need for using cleaners and a carboy brush if it rinses clean. We do this all the time in our winery--rinse it out and dose it with meta. It's all you need to do. Some people are obsessive with cleanliness and it's just not necessary.

 

[NoobVinter]

My passions are driven by occasional equal feelings of love and fear. I love my wine, and want to nurture it through every step in its life. I also fear what can damage and compromise it's health. Extreme, maybe. But I know I did the best I could for the wine, and will never have guilt or those wouda, couda, shouda moments. I like to eliminate those types of variables in the reality I find myself living in. Lol in a pinch though, I'll use Kmeta, hot water, and all it a day though.


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[BernardSmith]

Noobvinter, Your cleaning technique and chemicals suggest that you have come by way of beer making. Not sure that what you are doing and using is "overkill" but I suspect that iodine and PWB is perhaps more often used to clear the gunk left by trub and wort. The advantage of using K-meta (I think) is that it not only works to sanitize glass and metal AND plastic (not sure that iodine can be used on plastic without it staining) ) but it is also used in wine to weaken or kill wild yeasts and bacteria and inhibit oxidation. But that said, I think that one can be too obsessive about cleanliness. After I use any vessel or tool I simply wash them and allow them to dry and then before I use them again I spray or soak them in a K-meta solution: clean after use, sanitize before use.

 

[Elmer]

I have actually cut back on my use of One Step cleaner over the last few weeks.
I find that some hot tap water, many many rinses and the carboy is quite clean.
I then dose and store with some K-Meta.

Of course cleaning my equipment after racking my Jalapeno/Apple, required 2 applications of One Step, many rinses of hot water and lots of K-meta, just to get the burning, hot smell out!!!

 

[sour_grapes]

@Sourgrapes: haha, K with some additional neutrons......wonder how that would decay.......hmm...might impart some unique flavors never tasted before.

Sorry, since you were a rad tech, I figured you would understand the reference. Potassium-40 (40K) is a long-lived, radioactive isotope, with a natural abundance of 0.012%. (The stable isotopes are 39K and 41K, so I guess I wouldn't say 40K has extra neutrons.) To answer your question, 40K is weird because it can decay three ways: electron capture, beta- emission, AND beta+ emission.

You have tasted it many times before! A potato contains about 1 g of potassium, so about 0.12 micrograms of 40K. A banana has about half that amount; your body contains about 150 g of K, so about 18 mg of 40K. The 1 g of K in a potato gives rise to about 30 decays per second (Bq); the 150 g in your body gives rise to about 4600 decays per second. This makes it the largest source of the exposure to radiation for almost everyone. (Check out the "Banana equivalent dose.")

 

[NoobVinter]

It sounds like I'm doing way to much work, and wasting money. Not to mention that I should go back to school. Lol I am so lucky to be surrounded with people smarter than me. There's nothing worse than not knowing what you don't know. Haha this has been great. Thanks for all the suggestions.

Sourgrapes: You command some respect sir! reading your post made some dormant brains cells start firing again. wow!


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