Cleaning and drying siphon tubing

[sbrandon724]

What is the best way to clean and dry out all of the various siphon tubing, and all of the other tubing that gets used in the process of siphoning, and bottling? I can never seem to completely dry it out and some of my tubing appears to be getting mildew on the inside.....HELP!!

 

[rodwha]

I bought a scrubbing brush meant for keg lines.

Prior I had just run Oxyclean through my siphon and hose, but eventually it didn't look so good. I replaced the hose and bought the brush.

 

[Desvio]

Always always ALWAYS rinse it out immediately after using it!!!

I rinse mine out in the sink right after using it, but I also rinse mine before and after using it with Sodium Bisulfite (I work in my friends winery and have access to lots of neat stuff) to kill any bugs that are loitering.

 

[blaster_54738]

I just run water through mine or soak it in oxiclean if dirty then hang it over a hook. Then sanitize as normal when using. Never had an infection (knock on wood)

 

[rodwha]

Brush

 

[gilstein21]

I just run water through mine or soak it in oxiclean if dirty then hang it over a hook. Then sanitize as normal when using. Never had an infection (knock on wood)

same here. I run water through it right after using it and then usually oxiclean it with whatever other equipment is soaking in oxiclean. Rinse out good with water, hang on hook, then run StarSan through it prior to next use.

 

[bumstigedy]

PBW soak

rinse with hot water

Run star San through to prevent mold

Hang and let gravity it's thing

If you have an air compressor you can blow air through prior to hanging

 

[gcdowd]

Another vote for running hot water through it right after use. That's basically all I do. Just soak in star san before the next use. So far, so good

 

[feinbera]

You can spin it over your head like a lasso -- the centrifugal force will pull most of the water right out of the hose, and the droplets left behind will be so tiny they'll evaporate even in the nearly-closed environment of the tubing. Be sure to spin both ends!

 

[MannyZ]

I scrub any gunk out with a long brush like rodwha linked. Rinse with hot water, then rinse again with starsan from my spray bottle and hang to dry. I always make my starsan using distilled water so there are no water spots left in the lines. Works great!

 

[DaNewf]

My prefered method for cleaning most of my brewing gear (the glass and plastic stuff anyway) is a long soak in really hot oxiclean solution (15 minutes+ depending on whatever else I happen to be doing) and a really thorough rinsing in really hot water. Anything I can dry completely gets dried with paper towel and everything else gets hung up to drip.

My personal rule for brewing, bottling and racking is that I'm not finished until everything is clean and put away or hung up to dry.

For tubing it would help if you hang them full length. I hang mine bent ower a towel rack in my laundry room. Sometimes the whole tube may be completely dry inside except for a little bit of condensation right where the tube bends over the bar. This concerns me a little but so far no problems and it really is the most convienient place I have to do the job.

A final suggestion to dry the tube is to maybe get a piece of string, put a small weight on one end and tie a piece of clean rag to the other. Feed the weight through the tube and then pull the rag through. I've never felt the need to do this on siphon tubing but it works a treat on shotgun barrels it you don't have a cleaning rod handy. Concept is the same.

 

[Jsheaffer25]

You can spin it over your head like a lasso -- the centrifugal force will pull most of the water right out of the hose, and the droplets left behind will be so tiny they'll evaporate even in the nearly-closed environment of the tubing. Be sure to spin both ends!

Ok glad to hear I'm not the only person on earth to do this

 

[unionrdr]

I like to rinse them out asap, or if it's dirty, like a blow-off tube, then I use this 66" keg line cleaner; http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/cleaning/brushes/NHCB38.html Fill the tube with PBW & brush away the gunk, rise & sanitize with Starsan. Then hang over one corner of my wire shelf to dry till needed.

 

[estricklin]

I do the same thing about everyone else has stated, except i rinse it with water, THEN Star San immediately. Bugs find it hard to grow in residual star san.

 

[Spartan300man]

The important part about hanging it so that both ends hang down like an upside-down U is key. I use two big binder clips to weigh the tubing ends down. This serves two purposes, not only allowing the water to drip down and out, but also reduces the memory of the tubing, so it doesn't want to curl up on you. I noticed mold growing when I had a lot of tubing for an aquarium, but after using hot water and Oxyclean and then hanging over a coat hanger (don't let it kink) and weighing the ends down I've had good luck. The hot water helps reduce the memory in the plastic.

edit: When I used to let aquarium tubing lay 'clean' but coiled up, the water would pool up in the low spots and it would still mold, regardless of being 'clean'. I would throw that tubing away and buy new lengths from the hardware store or the aquarium shop.

 

[Natdavis777]

I keep my brewing hoses in star san throughout the brewday, and during cleanup. Then once everything is put away, I just hand all the hoses and let them air dry.

As for siphon tubing, I immediately rinse/soak in hot water, then do the ole Crocodile Dundee outside (twirl the hose for a few min to aid drying out the inside of the hose).

 

[C-Rider]

As soon as the siphoning is over I move to the sink and w/a jar full of soapy water I begin pumping it thru the siphon. Then switch to plain water to rinse out the soap. Just hang it to dry in the room.

 

[andrewmaixner]

I do the same thing about everyone else has stated, except i rinse it with water, THEN Star San immediately. Bugs find it hard to grow in residual star san.

This. (optional PBW rinse/siphon, then) hot water rinse, and starsan. hang it up till next time.