Cleaning glass carboy.

[Straykiller]

So I brewed my first beer quite some time ago, it was a 5 gal citra ipa. Turned out great and the keg was killed in no time. At the time of kegging I didn't have a carboy brush so I lightly rinsed it out and put a cover over it. Long story short in the time it sat in the garage it grew a nice infection of mold. I finally cleaned it out, scrubbed everything and filled the carboy with a fresh batch of star San. Should I have cleaned the carboy out with pbw before sanitizing with a infection like that? Or do you thing it's ok just to jump straight to starsan. Thanks for the help.

 

[z-bob]

Starsan is an acid rinse. I would have soaked it with an alkaline cleaner first, like washing soda or TSP. (not sure if PWB is acid or alkaline) But if you had it scrubbed clean before you put the Starsan in, you're probably okay.

 

[day_trippr]

You can't sanitize something that isn't clean, so, yes, you should use something to cut through whatever crud was growing in there before sanitizing.

fwiw, normally I use two tablespoons of OxiClean Free (the unscented stuff), fill the carboy to the brim, let it soak for at least a couple of hours to overnight, then empty the carboy and give it a thorough rinse - almost never have to get out the carboy brush if I am patient enough.
Otoh if I'm in a rush I use a half tablespoon Oxi with about four inches of water and hit it with the carboy brush.
Either way that's a clean carboy ready for sanitation. If there's a mineral haze from the Oxi + water minerals the Star San rinse will cut it right out...

Cheers!

 

[RM-MN]

I'd probably clean it with a hammer and then replace it with a bucket. Much safer. Easier to clean too.

 

[Easycreeper]

I've taken to bleaching my glass carboys between uses. Star San is great, but I worry about its ability to take care of acetobacter and other bacteria that can survive a low pH environment.

Rinse well afterwards and follow up with Star San before you transfer your next brew.

Like others said, however, you're not going to get rid of the contaminants unless you get the surface clean of debris. Sodium percarbonate (the stuff in oxiclean) and TSP are your friends here. Straight sodium percarbonate is available and is stronger in concentration than what is in oxiclean.

 

[Br3w4u]

PBW or B Brite is the same as oxi clean free but oxi clean free is usually cheaper.

 

[Irishguy42]

I filled my carboy up to the brim with PBW+water and let it sit overnight, then flushed it and gave it a second rinse after that. Then put StarSan in and shook that around till it was able to cover everything.

 

[Straykiller]

I was able to remove all debris before I used star San. Just wasn't sure if I should have used pbw as well. Here's a photo of the carboy with starsan. Thanks for all the input.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

If your carboy gets really crusty, just toss a few handfuls of sand in it with some oxy clean or whatever cleaner floats your boat. "Play sand" from your favorite DIY store (a 10 pound bag is a few bucks) works great. Swirl it around and the crusty's go away pretty quick. Rinse it out and resume cleaning and sterilization as needed.

 

[Zekk]

I remember leaving a glass car boy full of water and it grew a bunch of algae. I scrubbed it with a carboy brush and dish soap. I've used it once since with no problem

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

After I finish fermentation this is my process.

1) Rinse out the carboy and get all visible debris out. If you don't have a brush just fill it with hot water and let it soak. This will loosen most of the caked on debris. After some time drain and rinse.

2) Clean with a cleaner. PBW, dish soap, or whatever. Honestly I just just use a little dish soap and a carboy brush and hot water. Just make sure you rinse it well if using dish soap.

3) I let it dry. Don't put a cap on the carboy till it dries or it will grow mildew.

4)
When I'm ready to brew again, I do a sanitized rinse with starsan and let it sit all day until I'm ready to transfer the brew to the carboy.

But I think the important thing to remember is Not to cover the opening until the inside is dry or mildew will grow.