Dont use use a carboy brush to clean your plastic carboys

[W Pappy]

I suggest not using a wire handled carboy brush to clean your plastic carboys with.The end of the brush will scratch the side walls and bottom leaving areas for bacteria to grow in.Instead put half a scoop of Oxiclean in and fill all the way to the top with hot water. And let sit for 30 to 45 min then rinse real well when ready to use sanitize and your good to go.The reason I brought this up the local brew shop told a fella they were fine to use on plastic I educated the fella before he left the shop.

[S-Cackalacky]

Good call Pappy. Might also be careful about putting them on rough concrete floors. They tend to develop leaks after awhile.

[W Pappy]

Good call Pappy. Might also be careful about putting them on rough concrete floors. They tend to develop leaks after awhile.

Thanks yea that's a good Idea too!I keep mine on a 6 ft folding table against a inside wall it's warmer than the floor,and I can rack into a bucket or secondary without disturbing yeast bed.

[MitchyBourbon]

And definitely don't put them in your wife's stall in the garage, she will run them over.

[Truckinbutch]

And definitely don't put them in your wife's stall in the garage, she will run them over.

And you were sneakin around my house to see what was going on when I was gone when?

[moosemilk]

Just went up into the attic of my shed a few weeks ago. Been living here almost 15 years, stored a lot up there, but never had a good look around. Did this time. Found two very well kept plastic carboys with the rubber stoppers in them and the airlocks stored in the stoppers inside the carboy. Quite the score left by the last owner. Also found a long coil of 1/2" copper, but in bad shape....seems the last owner had similar interests (old timer who the family actually knows, bought the house when he moved back to old country)

[W Pappy]

I have discovered that leaving Oxiclean in you plastic carboy over nite is a bad idea.The bottom will crack did this on 2 looked like the bottom was gonna fall out! Never had this problem letting it sit for half hour.

[Fiorello]

Yes, only use a carboy brush on glass.

I would never use Oxyclean in a carboy, glass or plastic. Get some PBW - designed for use in the food industry and no scrubbing/brushing required.

http://www.fivestarchemicals.com/brewer ... /products/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I also use Star-San, makes a great no rinse sanitizer. I probably would rinse after using Star-San for anything distilling/high ABV related though...

[greggn]

I use a 6 gallon PET carboy from Better Bottle. I do the following to clean it ...

Pour in a small amount of Star-San (~ 1/4 oz)
Add approx 6 oz water
Stuff in a small washcloth
If necessary, add enough water so that the cloth is fully soaked *and* there's just an ounce or two of residual liquid
Spin/shake the carboy (with the end stoppered of course) so that the cloth spins around the inside circumference

It only takes a few minutes to cover all internal surfaces and the weight of the wet cloth is enough to dislodge any stuck grains. This way, I clean and sanitize in one step. The key is to have only enough residual liquid that the cloth makes contact with the carboy and doesn't float. It only takes a shake or two to get the ratio just right.