They’re a pain. how you you clean 'em? PBW? long hose brushes? then Star-san?
Any other quick tips?
Run HOT water through them, maybe a PBW soak if there’s something dried inside. Hang to dry and starsan before next use.
I mix up a very hot solution of PBW/Oxy-clean in a quart or gallon jug and feed the hose slowly into the jug, so that the liquid flows into the hose. Tuck the end down into the mouth of the jug so that I can grab it easily afterwords. Comes out looking brand-new the day after.
And I agree, it is a pain!
I also run hot water through them immediately after use and visually inspect them to ensure there’s nothing clinging to the inside. I hang them to dry and soak in Starsan solution prior to reusing them.
This +1. I am cleaning up materials as I am brewing. I am always trying to at least give items like this a good thorough rinsing almost immediately after use if possible. It’s harder if you are a one person show.
Put your hot water/oxyclean and hold both ends up, gently rock back and forth then rinse. If they are real dirty fill them with oxyclean water and hang them up with the ends level to soak.
I siphon my strike and sparge water into the mash tun through my hoses.
If you are lucky enough to have a Mark’s keg washer, then you can clean it on that, too. I do a thorough cleaning day every once in a while, heat up a boil kettle with pbw, clean fermentors, tubing, kegs, everything.
I find that when I’m cleaning my brewery I can drink way more than I would if I was actually brewing, too. Don’t have to worry about missing that hop addition. :cheers:
Don’t use a brush! It can create scratches inside the tube that will give the unwanted things a “foothold” to stay in the tube. Tubing is cheap compared to a batch of beer so when in doubt replace it.
