Waxing bottles, dumb question

[turtlescales]

Tomorrow is the big bottling day for me, and I plan to use sealing wax. Just had a quick and dumb question before I do it-

If I soak the corks, either by heating them up in a pan or dipping them in starsan or whatever... is it a bad idea to use sealing wax right after bottling or does it not matter?

 

[Yooper]

Well, don't soak the corks! If you feel you absolutely must sanitize them, you can do that but don't soak them. You can spray them with star-san if you want. If I have some corks that have been stored for a while, I make a "cork humidor" type of set up. I dissolve a campden tablet in 1/4 cup boiling water in a pyrex measuring cup and put it in a tupperware boil (cup and all). Then I stick the corks around that and put a lid on the boil so the corks "steam" in that sulfite steam. But I don't get them wet.

Anyway, I'd wait on the waxing. For the first couple of days, you leave the bottle upright for the cork to de-compress, and then you can seal with wax and lay on the bottle on its side after that.

 

[NineMilBill]

I've been leaving my bottles upright as well for the first 2-3 days after bottling because of what I read on HBT, but a few days ago it struck me that I couldn't remember its purpose. Thanks for the reminder/clarification, Yoop.

 

[turtlescales]

Thanks Yooper! I've got a brand new bag of corks, not worried about sanitation more so ease of getting them into the bottles. Might have to hold of on the waxing then until I get back to Marquette. Last thing I want to be dealing with the day I leave town is sealing wax.

 

[biochemedic]

Well, don't soak the corks! If you feel you absolutely must sanitize them, you can do that but don't soak them.

Can you explain why? I toss my corks in a pan of water and heat to simmering just before I put them in. Never seemed to have any issue, and it definitely is easier to insert them after this process.

I should clarify that I use semi-synthetic corks rather than natural...

 

[ExoticMeadMaker]

from my understanding corks(natural) have a thin wax coating to keep them soft and moist during pre-use storage and to keep them "tacky" and soaking them washes it away. I was always told to place them in a steamer basket and that goes over a bowl of sanitizing solution since its the fumes(sulfur dioxide) that does the sanitizing.

 

[Yooper]

from my understanding corks(natural) have a thin wax coating to keep them soft and moist during pre-use storage and to keep them "tacky" and soaking them washes it away. I was always told to place them in a steamer basket and that goes over a bowl of sanitizing solution since its the fumes(sulfur dioxide) that does the sanitizing.

That, and soaking them can ruin them since cork will start to sort of fall apart and get "mushy".

I don't often use synthetics, so that's probably a different story.

 

[Atek]

Do you have to leave them upright for a couple days? I did not do this with my first bottling and it seems fine. I bottle two gallons last night and they are on their sides on my wine rack. Is it too late for these or should I pull them out and let them sit upright for a day or two still?

 

[gilliam]

The idea of leaving the bottles upright for a couple of days is to let the compressed air, which is the result of the corking, escape.
Whether this works or makes a difference - I have no idea.

 

[Yooper]

When you insert the corks, you compress them to get them in. Laying them on their sides immediately is probably ok, but sitting them upright for a couple of days first means that the cork has time to relax and fill the bottle tightly so it doesn't leak when you put it on its side!

 

[biochemedic]

That, and soaking them can ruin them since cork will start to sort of fall apart and get "mushy".

I don't often use synthetics, so that's probably a different story.

Yeah, I guess it's the difference between the natural corks and the composite cork I use...the composites don't get mushy at all, just soft. They do take up a small amount of water (you can dry the outside and still squeeze out a tiny smidge of water), and honestly, I think they may even seal better afterwards, although it could be my imagination. I can say that I generally keep the cases upside down right away, and I've never even a hint of a leak. After a week or so upside down, I generally keep them upright, and even a year or two later, when I pull a cork the lower third to 1/2 of the cork still has evidence of having been soaked in the mead.

 

[dummkauf]

As far as laying them down right away, I did that with the first batch of mead I bottled and wound up with getting some sticky honey around the tops. Not a full blown leak, but some honey managed to seep though. Ever since I've been leaving them upright for about a week before laying them down(couple days would probably do, I usually just bottle on the weekend and then lay them down the following weekend, no real reason) and I haven't had the problem since.

 

[turtlescales]

Bottled today, didn't bother to soak the corks or sanitize in any way as it was a fresh bag. Even using my cheap hand corker, had no issues getting the corks in. Kind of irregular on the tops, some stick out a tad and others are dented, but I figure part of that is the tool and the rest lack of practice. Corks are in, and since I'm waxing them anyways not overly concerned with how the tops look so long as they function properly.

Anyways, I plan to leave Tuesday morning, would waxing them on Monday be alright, or is that still too soon?