Bottle cleaning question

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Robhaigh
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Bottle cleaning question

Post by Robhaigh » Sat Apr 07, 2018 6:39 pm

So.. i know its prob been asked and I have searched but.....

I rinse my bottles (PET and glass) immediately with hot water, several times.
I then let them soak with clean water for a while and then empty out.
Finally I give em a squirt of starsan leaving some in the bottle, screw the cap back on or cover the top with foil.

Question.... is it ok to leave the bottles like this long term, with a bit of starsan in or should i be turning em upside down and letting them dry out?




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Jocky
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Re: Bottle cleaning question

Post by Jocky » Sat Apr 07, 2018 7:40 pm

As long as the bottle is clean, you don't really gain much by leaving starsan in it.

I used to do your procedure, but then found that after a couple of uses there would be yeast left on the sides of the bottles. So now I clean the bottles with PBW and a bottle brush.
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Re: Bottle cleaning question

Post by chefgage » Sun Apr 08, 2018 9:18 am

I do the rinse with hot water straight after pouring the beer. If i look into the bottle by holding it up to the light there does appear to be a deposit inside the bottle. I think in my case this is a hard water deposit from the rinsing as i have very hard water. If i use oxyclean on them it makes it worse because of the hard water.

So i just stick with rinsing with hot water and let them dry. I put them in plastic crate type boxes to store. When ready to use i just then give them a rinse in cold water to remove any dust then a couple of squirts of star san from a bottle plunger washer thing, the bottle then goes on a bottle tree untill ready to use.

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Re: Bottle cleaning question

Post by scotsloon » Sun Apr 08, 2018 9:30 am

Yes, rinse the bottle after emptying, but what then matters is how well you sanitise the bottle before you fill it the next time.

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Re: Bottle cleaning question

Post by Jocky » Sun Apr 08, 2018 10:22 am

Here's the yeasty deposit I've had in a bottle after a couple of uses - despite hot water rinse and starsan.
4321CED9-9928-4397-9F75-8283F3DD617A.jpeg
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Robhaigh
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Re: Bottle cleaning question

Post by Robhaigh » Sun Apr 08, 2018 7:43 pm

Thanks for the help guys..
Will give the bottles another wash and let em dry out.
Bought some beer crates with the idea of turning bottles upside down and leaving on crate ... Kinda works but the bottle 'fall through ' the crate !...
Have a thought to design a 3d printed 'crate Topper' to allow upside down bottle draining / drying.

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Re: Bottle cleaning question

Post by TheSumOfAllBeers » Sun Apr 08, 2018 9:28 pm

+1 to percarbonate cleaners with a combination of plunge bottle washer and bottle brush

Star san to sterilise and shift any residue

Finally look into the fastrack upside down bottle holder, they are great

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Re: Bottle cleaning question

Post by Fil » Mon Apr 09, 2018 12:38 am

i wouldn't rely on rinsing alone myself to clean bottles..

I would suggest adding a cleaning stage involving a soak in a weak and warm generic laundry oxi solution too.

rinsing may not be sufficient to uncover all the inner surface of a bottle and if left covered in a thin film of crud, unwanted microlife could survive a starsan rinse.
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Re: Bottle cleaning question

Post by Meatymc » Mon Apr 09, 2018 2:02 pm

Rinse out with hot water after pouring contents then do a dishwasher batch. This is only to clean up the tops and outsides.

Thoroughly clean sink and draining area and spray with start san. When wanting to clean for bottling (or storage) dunk in VWP for 3 minutes then rinse twice in clean water. Leave stood on their ends to drain on sink drainer (which has alreday been sprayed). Finally, shake out any excess and give the whole lot a spray of star san.

Tend to do mine in batches of 90 or 130 (for botting batches of 40 plus spares) so the rest go into storage. These are 'stoppered' with a double layer of cling film. As the bottles are still warm and assuming you've cling filmed effectively you'll find when you come to want to use them - having given the whole lot a spray of star san, the cling film should be slightly concave. They will also open with a distinctive 'sucking' noise as air pressure equalises.

If the film isn't concave and/or no noise, I put them back into the cleaning cycle.

Brought this in after losing a batch in February and reviewing everything. No problems since although never did identify the root cause of the problem.

Robhaigh
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Re: Bottle cleaning question

Post by Robhaigh » Mon Apr 09, 2018 3:02 pm

Liking the fastrack idea. Picked one up from t'ebay.

Using oxyclean.. what's the recommended dosage for a 'weak' solution?

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Re: Bottle cleaning question

Post by HTH1975 » Tue Apr 10, 2018 12:26 pm

I always find that oxyclean leaves a white residue. I’ve had better results with PBW, or just a hot caustic soak, then rinse. I tend to give my bottles a rinse on bottling day in a PAA solution.

Simply rinsing and shaking with some hot water immediately after use shifts the majority of the yeast in the bottle. If you do it st this stage you save yourself a whole load of work later on.

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Re: Bottle cleaning question

Post by orlando » Tue Apr 10, 2018 3:23 pm

Invest in one of these and bottling will shift ever so slightly into less of a chore, but only just. :wink:
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Re: Bottle cleaning question

Post by Kingfisher4 » Wed Apr 11, 2018 2:20 pm

I also live in a hard water area and find Oxy clean leaves a white residue. PBW is good for the cleaner, then rinse and drain dry before storing.
A really useful tip from this forum was to use silicone beer bottle caps from AliExpress on the dried clean bottles. Much easier and quicker than cling film, a few pence each and reusable. I then store in 35litre Really Useful Boxes with lids that stack. 23 x 500 Ml bottles fit in each.
On bottling day silicone caps off then starsan from yellow squirting bottle steriliser and drain but no need to rinse.

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Re: Bottle cleaning question

Post by Brown beer » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:54 pm

I plan on bottling tomorrow. I've got used glass bottles from shop purchased beer. I rinsed each bottle straight after drinking the beer with water and they look visibly clean. Is starsan enough or do I need a dose of vmp and a brush first? I'm keen that beer doesn't taste of vmp also...

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Re: Bottle cleaning question

Post by Kingfisher4 » Wed Feb 13, 2019 6:04 am

Brown beer wrote:
Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:54 pm
I plan on bottling tomorrow. I've got used glass bottles from shop purchased beer. I rinsed each bottle straight after drinking the beer with water and they look visibly clean. Is starsan enough or do I need a dose of vmp and a brush first? I'm keen that beer doesn't taste of vmp also...
I would definitely use a brush. Your choice of cleaning agent too, Starsan excellent for pre bottling sterilising and is no rinse which is great, but it won't shift any residue which could harbour contaminants.

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