Ultra cleaning glass carboys

I have multiple brushes and a carboy cleaning drill attachment…but I still have some little bits in the ribs of the glass that I can’t seem to get off. Typically I clean with PBW…is there something else that might eat this stuff off a little better?

How long did you soak in PBW? Worst buildup I’ve had forced me to soak overnight twice but the PBW finally got it off.

I jet rinse my carboys after I harvest the yeast. Add a tablespoon of PBW and fill the carboy about one-third full with tepid water to cover the krausen ring when inverted. Usually finish the cleaning the next day, (most often). I’ll leave the PBW solution in the carboy and scrub with a brush for about two minutes and then jet rinse. Inspect and invert to dry.

Some say no need to brush, but I don’t take chances. Dumping a beer would be embarrassing if a speck of crud was missed and caused an infection

I typically fill up with water to above the krausen ring…then brush it off…then fill up with pbw and let sit overnight…then brush again…after that and a few rinses I can still see some little spots I missed and just can’t seem to get :frowning: maybe I can rinse with battery acid :grinning:

I love the L.L.C. that’s from 5 Star. A little consecrate goes a long way. I use it for all my carboy cleaning.

Glass is a very tough material that is resistant to deep scratches. Any local hardware store sells wire brushes that will reach into the neck of the carboy and scrub off the fine areas you are trying to reach. As others have said, use PBW along with 100 degree water to soak for a while. For peace of mind, you will experience some haze or imperfections in the glass over time… That is expected. You just don’t want solid gunk caked to the walls.

As for other cleaners, I’m not sure of any others that will clean as GOOD and as SAFE as PBW. It sounds like the problem is reaching the gunk with elbow grease. Go to the store and find metal wire brushes that will reach. For the future, I always buy Big Mouth Bubblers. You can reach your entire arm into them and scrub as much as you want. Just for future sake, not that it will help you right now.

Do jet rinse and use a brush. Than soak in bleach water. And final step overnight rinse. Use starsan maybe anal or overkill. But for me it works

I’ve never had any issues just using PBW. I use an ounce by weight per gallon that the carboy is meant to hold and fill it to the top. After the powder starts to dissolve I add water to fill back to top. I always rinse a bunch before using PBW to get most of the junk out. I slowly fill the carboy with warmer and warmer water ending at the hottest my tap water gets about 120° and let it soak for an hour.

I have done a final rinse with CLR before if the glass looked hazy. Just like using it on a coffee pot. Rinsing well after.

I think clr is what i might need.

It sure seems as tho there is a lot of water being used on this process. I brew in the laundry room, so I put a towel on the dryer, put about 2 gallons of water with PBW, lay it on its side. From there, I can reach in with my carboy brush and detail the gunk. Roll it a quarter of a turn and repeat. So when I’m brewing I would use the same process but using star san, well maybe not using the brush but… Sneezles61

@uncdeo How much PBW are you using? It has never failed to get my glass carboys completely clean when I follow the recommended concentration of 3/4 oz (by weight) per gallon. That’s 1/4 of a one pound container in a 6 gallon carboy filled with hot water. First I jet rinse, then brush what comes off easily and rinse again. The PBW soak sometimes takes a few hours but it completely dissolves whatever is stuck on and a final rinse leaves the carboy sparkling. Yes it does seem like a lot of PBW but for about 2 bucks, it saves a lot of work.

The more i look at them…it may just be from our super hard water…how much clr do you use?

I don’t remember how much I used. I want to say I poured a small amount of full strength into the carboy and swirled it around to wet everything and rinsed throughly. I don’t think I let sit just a rinse with the swirl. I would read the instructions on the back probably similar to the coffee pot cleaning. Maybe 50/50 first? But I wouldn’t worry about filling it full. I would make a small amount and swirl it.

I use a tablespoon of PBW in the two gallons of water that covers the krausen ring when the carboy is inverted. The krausen doesn’t fall free but sloshing the solution around with the carboy brush takes it off.

Heavy doses of PBW will precipitate minerals form the water which can be hard to remove from glass.

Give your carboy an overnight soak with plain water to loosen stuff up before going with PBW or Oxyclean.

I made a carboy washer using a 5 gallon bucket with lid, a carboy dryer stand, and a submersible pump with a 2 foot section of half inch PVC pipe. It works great and I have not had to scrub any carboys since. I usually let it run with warm water first then run it with a teaspoon of PBW in about 2 gallons of warm water, rinse and let dry.

I made one awhile back as well. However I didn’t like that the water looked oily even with a couple pbw cycles. I think it was coming from the pump.

You guys are working way to hard. Get some buckets or big mouth carboys and make your life easier.

I cleaned my last one by dropping it into a cast iron bathtub. No more stains or residue on that sucker!

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Considering the big mouths…will get some duct tape for the lids :slight_smile: