Dank/Musty FV

[Dr_Unkenly]

I mistakenly left some damp things in a plastic FV with the lid on (after cleaning) for a few weeks and now it smells a bit dank.

I've tried re-cleaning with hot Oxy, boiling water, flushing with cold water and sanitising with Star San but the smell persists.

Is it OK to use?

Is there some other cleaning method I should try?

Should I just bin it?

 

[Gunge]

Just brew something with Polaris hops in it - you'll not be able to tell.

 

[Cwrw666]

It'll probably be fine but you could always fill the FV with water with some bleach in it.
Rinse it out well of course afterwards.
It'll then probably smell musty but with an overpowering stench of chlorine.:lol:
It won't affect any beer you brew though.

 

[Dr_Unkenly]

I'm happy to use it as is, maybe start with something super hoppy? Not another DIPA though, I've had too many surreal nights on the last one I made.

I'm just concerned that there may be something nasty lurking in there.

 

[BeerCat]

I had the medicinal smell in one of my FV's and the only thing that got rid of the smell was time. I bleached it and everything but still took about a month to go. Buy a new FV in the meantime they are cheap enough.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

DO NOT USE BLEACH ON ANY OF YOUR BREWING EQUIPMENT. NEVER AT ALL...REPEAT NEVER...I DO NOT CARE HOW MANY TIMES YOU RISE OR HOW MUCH YOU DILUTE IT. THERE IS A REASON BLEACH IS BANNED IN COMMERCIAL KITCHENS.

Soak in water with lemon juice/distilled vinegar.

The reason its banned is because, it only takes one lapse on concentration and you could quite easily kill some one.

Let me tell you about drinking bleach, even very diluted bleach. It will burn your throat on the way down. When it hits your stomach, your bodies natural reaction is to "evacuate everything". You will throw up, **** yourself and probably piss yourself. When you throw up, it will burn your throat and upper gullet again on the way up. If you do manage to ingest bleach, eat cat litter (fullers earth). It will probably save your life. Straight to hospital, with the bottle of bleach that you have ingested. Sip milk, do not drink a lot, as you will throw up again, burning your throat again

 

[strange-steve]

Look, the whole bleach thing has been covered ad nauseum. @johnnyboy1965 if you don't want to use bleach then that's fine, but don't tell people it's not safe to use. Yes it can be dangerous but it's not difficult to use it safely. I have used it plenty of times on my brewing equipment and will continue to do so, and to the OP it's probably the best option to remove the musty smell from your FV. Just make sure to rinse it well :whistle:

 

[dps51]

you could try lemon juice that normally take it away
as it take the smell of fish off your hand

 

[Dr_Unkenly]

Do I even need to worry about removing the smell? Will it harm my brew?

 

[Dr_Unkenly]

you could try lemon juice that normally take it away
as it take the smell of fish off your hand

Scrub it with half a lemon?

 

[TheQuokka]

Fill it with a rather dilute solution of oxyper and let it soak for a couple of days, but it probably won't affect your beer - though it is hard to judge over the internet.

Vinegar is also highly effective, but you need to soak a long time, then you have a vinegar smell!

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Look, the whole bleach thing has been covered ad nauseum. @johnnyboy1965 if you don't want to use bleach then that's fine, but don't tell people it's not safe to use. Yes it can be dangerous but it's not difficult to use it safely. I have used it plenty of times on my brewing equipment and will continue to do so, and to the OP it's probably the best option to remove the musty smell from your FV. Just make sure to rinse it well :whistle:

Steve...Why would you want to use bleach when there are loads of other, less dangerous products available?

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Ive just realized what you said "ad nauseum" very funny, only being sick after ingesting bleach is only the start.

 

[Dr_Unkenly]

Fill it with a rather dilute solution of oxyper and let it soak for a couple of days, but it probably won't affect your beer - though it is hard to judge over the internet.

Vinegar is also highly effective, but you need to soak a long time, then you have a vinegar smell!

I tried Oxy but only left it in for a few hours. Maybe a much longer soak is on the cards.

I think I'll steer clear of the vinegar - I would much prefer the dank smell!

 

[stringybob]

I picked up a couple of used pressure barrels yesterday which, although were clean, they hadn't been used for a long while and had a fairly unpleasant smell when I took off the lids. I left them soaking in diluted bleach overnight and gave them a rinse this morning before I left for work. Although the smell has not completely disappeared, it is now just a "slight whiff". I'll give it another treatment along with a thorough rinse before I use them and I'm sure it will be enough to not effect the beer.

 

[strange-steve]

Steve...Why would you want to use bleach when there are loads of other, less dangerous products available?

I don't really want to get into another debate which will derail the thread so I'll just direct you to another thread here in which this was covered.

 

[Ajhutch]

Boooo! We have to have a "Bleach: yes or no?" thread once in a while!

My personal view on musty FVs is a 24 hour soak full to the brim with water and PBW and with the lid on, slosh it round at the start and if possible several times during the soak. I personally mix it to the low end of the instructions for such a long soak. Even if this doesn't get rid of the smell entirely, it leaves me reasonably confident that any active bugs will be long gone so the next beer shouldn't spoil.

When done, empty your FV into the bath with the plug in and wash the bath and taps with it, they will sparkle! PBW is brilliant in my view and worth spending the extra money on. Same goes for Starsan.

 

[dps51]

I picked up a couple of used pressure barrels yesterday which, although were clean, they hadn't been used for a long while and had a fairly unpleasant smell when I took off the lids. I left them soaking in diluted bleach overnight and gave them a rinse this morning before I left for work. Although the smell has not completely disappeared, it is now just a "slight whiff". I'll give it another treatment along with a thorough rinse before I use them and I'm sure it will be enough to not effect the beer.

the smell and taste of bleach got to be bad
I would use lemon juice or vinegar then I good dose of vwp plus a good rince with cold water
should do the trick

 

[Clint]

How about using neat alcohol? You'd have to research it a bit incase you melt your bucket though! We clean our machinery in work with pure alcohols (solvents)...pumped in by the 10's of gallons in a wide variety...they kill and clean everything.
Wear ppe and use outside and dispose of carefully...at the recycling centre!

 

[strange-steve]

If you're worried about residual bleach affecting the brew then rinse it out with a campden solution which will neutralise the chlorine.