[quote=“dobe12”]PBW or Oxyclean are good for all of the above. Stainless steel can obviously take more of a beating so a rough pad or steel wool works well, but usually not needed. For plastic buckets, I use paper towels because you don’t want scratches. For a carboy, an overnight soak of either cleaner is good. Some people have mentioned putting some sort of rag in the carboy and sloshing it around to help get it clean. But a long carboy brush works well too.
Just don’t use Oxyclean on aluminum.[/quote]
+1
On a side note after cleaning your kettle go ahead dry it and you can store it.
The fermenting bucket just need to be washed gently and let it dry completely then place lid back on the bucket once it is fully dry. You don’t have to snap the lid on, also I place a plastic bag ontop of the bucket to prevent dust from accumulating on the lid and sides.
Once carboy is clean I leave it upside down in my smaller stock pots to let the water drip out for a couple of days. I then dump the excess water in the stock pot after 3 days then i place a napkin/coffee filter and rubber band to cover opening to allow remaining moisture to escape and store it away as normal.
You don’t have to sanitize anything after using it, just before the object is going to touch cooled wort. I know some people that sanitize everything after usage, but i feel that it is a waste. I mean i would understand it you made a ~gallon of sanitized solution to rinse out and sanitize the inside of a carboy then let dry for long term storage though. I
