Sorry, I'm not up on my household cleaners. Is this actually Oxiclean that you find on store shelves? If so, which version is best for cleaning/removing bottle labels, etc.? There seems to be a million versions. A link from the company's website would be very beneficial!
What Is This Oxyclean You Guys Speak Of?
- Thread starter Polkahero
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iron_city_ap
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Oxiclean Free is really what you want. This is the one without the fragrance. I found large tubs of it on clearance at a Target recently (~$6.48 for 6 lbs). It removes organic materials from all surfaces. It is made of sodium percarbonate. It is very safe (not a chlorine product). There is a mouthwash made of this!
D_Struct
Well-Known Member
+1
It's a great idea to pick up some Oxiclean Free. Does a great job with the cleaning things up, and works as a perfect combo w/ StarSan.
Clean w/ the Oxiclean Free, and sanitize with StarSan.
Does this come in powder or liquid form? Preference?
wildwest450
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Powder. Also at Wal-Mart they sell Sun Oxygen cleaner. Zero additives, cheaper, just as effective.
user 53515
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+1 on oxiclean for removing labels and rinsing carboys. I drop all my bottles in a tub of warm water (cool works fine too) with a scoop or two of oxyclean. Couple hours later all the labels are floating on the water top. No rinsing or having to scrub glue goop.
EDIT : Oops, I mistyped earlier. I do have to rinse after the oxyclean bath. I meant not having to scrub and then rinse off the goop specifically. Definately have to rinse the bottle overall after the bath, and sanitize before filling.
EDIT : Oops, I mistyped earlier. I do have to rinse after the oxyclean bath. I meant not having to scrub and then rinse off the goop specifically. Definately have to rinse the bottle overall after the bath, and sanitize before filling.
I agree it's great for cleaning bottles and removing labels. But I think you need to rinse the bottles (and anything else you clean with it) really well.
SwampassJ
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I rinse until the run off stops feeling slick. Oxiclean leaves one hell of a film first 2 rinses.
JOHN51277
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+1 on the "rinse a few times".
turtleboy3737
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I put a half a scoop of oxyclean in a better bottle full of water and all the dried krausen bubbled out the top of the better bottle... rinsed it out and it was perfectly clean...
oh, and it did it in like 2 hours.
oh, and it did it in like 2 hours.
user 53515
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Oops, I mistyped earlier. I do have to rinse after the oxyclean bath. I meant not having to scrub and then rinse off the goop specifically. Definately have to rinse the bottle overall after the bath, and sanitize before filling.
eanmcnulty
Well-Known Member
Does anyone know the exact amount of WalMart Sun Cleaner to use per gallon of water? I have been using a have a scoop per gallon. Could I get away with less?
I use the same amount, but it often takes 3 days for all the stuff to come off the top inside of the carboy. I don't mind waiting tho!
ChshreCat
Well-Known Member
Depends on your water. In our apartment, it rinsed right off with a quick pass under the faucet. Now that we moved into a house and are on well water, I have to rinse the holy crap out of it to keep from getting a residue.
That has to do with the hardness of the water.
I'm sure this has been discussed before...
PBW is sodium metasilicate, Oxiclean is a sodium percarbonate. I've had great success with PBW in all sorts of applications (not just brewing equipment), but I'm interested in saving some money if oxiclean is sufficient. I know they're not the same compound, but do they work the same way? There's got to be differences somewhere, some how, but what?
Sounds like some people have pretty good experiences with oxiclean, so maybe I'll give that a shot if it's cheaper than PBW.
PBW is sodium metasilicate, Oxiclean is a sodium percarbonate. I've had great success with PBW in all sorts of applications (not just brewing equipment), but I'm interested in saving some money if oxiclean is sufficient. I know they're not the same compound, but do they work the same way? There's got to be differences somewhere, some how, but what?
Sounds like some people have pretty good experiences with oxiclean, so maybe I'll give that a shot if it's cheaper than PBW.
SumnerH
Well-Known Member
PBW is 30% Na metasilicate, which is a surfactant. The other 70% is Na percarbonate.
Oxiclean free is Na percarbonate and filler.
The surfactant keeps the sodium carbonate (what's left over after the sodium percarbonate reacts to release H2O2) dissolved at lower temperatures, so you wind up with less film from precipitants. It can also help cleaning in all the usual surfactant-y ways.
Thanks! I haven't heard a straight forward answer like that yet.
To anyone who has used both: is the surfactant in PBW worth the extra money? Having used both oxiclean and PBW, is there a noticeable difference between the two?
SumnerH
Well-Known Member
If you search around, you'll see that some people have problems with oxiclean leaving a white film on things; many don't. That seems to be a function of water hardness and possibly other factors.
The surfactant in PBW helps prevent that; if I had a true CIP setup, especially an expensive and intricate set of lines, I'd probably lean more towards PBW. Also, if you rinse oxiclean while the water's still hot it's much less of a problem, so that's a factor too.
Personally, I use oxiclean with no problems. I always rinse it (repeatedly) while hot, and I try not to put too much oxiclean into solution (1/2 scoop per 5 gallons is plenty); with that approach I've not had problems with precipitants.
That's the main thing, I think. In my very hard water, I get white residue and it's impossible to get off, from oxyclean. I don't care for most things, and the residue is only a problem if I soak the items for a long time. But for my CIP system, I like PBW since it doesn't seem to do that. I used a "new" one yesterday- BrewVint Cleanitizer that seems to be like PBW. I rinsed anyway, since it's easy in my systyem but the packages says you don't have to.
eanmcnulty
Well-Known Member
So, there a consensus on how much to use?
Oxyclean - # tablespoons per gallon
Sun Oxygen Cleaner - # tablespoons per gallon
PBW - # tablespoons per gallon
I notice the white film when the solution get cold.
Oxyclean - # tablespoons per gallon
Sun Oxygen Cleaner - # tablespoons per gallon
PBW - # tablespoons per gallon
I notice the white film when the solution get cold.
eanmcnulty
Well-Known Member
So, there a consensus on how much to use?
Oxyclean - # tablespoons per gallon
Sun Oxygen Cleaner - # tablespoons per gallon
PBW - # tablespoons per gallon
I notice the white film when the solution get cold.
Oxyclean - # tablespoons per gallon
Sun Oxygen Cleaner - # tablespoons per gallon
PBW - # tablespoons per gallon
I notice the white film when the solution get cold.
SumnerH
Well-Known Member
Yeah, looking at the materials sheet BrewVint Cleanitizer seems to be pretty much the same thing as PBW (sodium metasilicate as a surfactant, sodium percarbonate for H2O2 generation in water, etc).
You know, I just always use a scoop if the stuff is really dirty, or half a scoop if it's just basic cleaning. I don't think I've ever heard somebody say, "Use 3 tablespoons in 5 gallons", for example.
PBW is a bit different for my CIP. I don't use more than the package directions state when I'm cleaning my brewery. That's just because it would be harder to rinse, not because I'm afraid of it being too strong, though. I think yesterday I used 1 tablespoon per gallon for the Brewvint stuff.
I read that a 50/50 mix of oxiclean and TSP substitute is as effective as PBW. I'm going to have to try that next time I do a long primary in my 6.5 gallon carboy. Last time it was so caked that oxiclean never could clean it. Even after days soaking it was very had to get clean with a brush.
SumnerH
Well-Known Member
TSP substitute is usually sodium carbonate. You'd need to add sodium metasilicate as well to get close to PBW's makeup, but sodium carbonate is an effective anti-scaling agent (should help with the dreaded white film) and a water softener.
Has anyone tried a mix of PBW and Oxyclean?
SumnerH
Well-Known Member
PBW already contains all the active ingredients in oxiclean. You wouldn't be gaining anything.
jspence1
Well-Known Member
You would get some of the surfactant. Thats a great idea I'm going to try that. PBW is spendy and if I can save some cash mixing it 50/50 and not get the film it will be great.
That's what I was thinking.
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