Demijohn unable to clean.

[Adrian Lock]

Good afternoon, i have a number of Demijohn that belong to my late father.
Which he used for wine making I am going to be using those at my wedding however I have one that I cannot remove the stains from it looks like a water stain see picture but no matter what I try it does not seem to shift. Id still like to keep them in condition they can be used again for their intended purpose if possible. Ive tried all thw ideas auggested. Such as

• Soap and water
• White vinegar with or without water
• Oxy cleaning products
• Bottle brush
• scour on a wire
• Dencha tablets (my dad use to use)

It just won't budge. Reluctant to use bleach and don't have any sterilising solution(my brother thinks that wont work)

Doea anyone have any ideas please

 

[Agentgonzo]

How long did you use the oxy products for? Stubborn stains benefit from a 24h soak.

Other than that, try something more aggressive. PBW is good (again, 24h soak) or consider caustic cleaners like truckwash etc.

 

[Tanglefoot]

I can remember my mum cleaning out glass bottles with loose lead shot from a shotgun cartridge, swirled round in some sort of light scouring solution.

 

[Agentgonzo]

I can remember my mum cleaning out glass bottles with loose shot from a shotgun cartridge, swirled round in some sort of light scouring solution.

You can get stainless steel cleaning balls from cookery shops that do the same thing. We have some for decanters. They work well with light staining, but I haven't found them good with heavy stains

 

[MashBag]

Vinegar. Looks like limescale.

Use sharp sand (&water) in it to scour.

For everything else there is truck wash (TFR)

 

[The Baron]

I have used sand it can scratch though but will scour most stains away

 

[Adrian Lock]

How long did you use the oxy products for? Stubborn stains benefit from a 24h soak.

Other than that, try something more aggressive. PBW is good (again, 24h soak) or consider caustic cleaners like truckwash etc.

I left it soaking for over 8h both times i tried. Happy to leave it longer if that's not long enough or get pbw if you think it will remove.

I thought it was water/limescale as im in essex which is a hard water area. For obvious reasons haven't tried anything like viakal

 

[MashBag]

Generally the the commercial brewery cleaners are not stain removers. Oxy imo is a bit poor.
We my previous and you will get it sorted.

 

[An Ankoù]

Good afternoon, i have a number of Demijohn that belong to my late father.
Which he used for wine making I am going to be using those at my wedding however I have one that I cannot remove the stains from it looks like a water stain see picture but no matter what I try it does not seem to shift. Id still like to keep them in condition they can be used again for their intended purpose if possible. Ive tried all thw ideas auggested. Such as

• Soap and water
• White vinegar with or without water
• Oxy cleaning products
• Bottle brush
• scour on a wire
• Dencha tablets (my dad use to use)

It just won't budge. Reluctant to use bleach and don't have any sterilising solution(my brother thinks that wont work)

Doea anyone have any ideas please

View attachment 103087

Why are you reluctant to use bleach? It would be my first choice.
It may be something to do with the glass; I have an Erlenmeyer flask which shows the same white and immovable streaks when it was clear before As long as it;s sanitised properly it'll be just fine.
And before anyone pipes up; in the very unlikely event that it;s some kind of biofilm shielding a horror of some description, bleach will remove it, but it looks like etching to me.

 

[Agentgonzo]

If you've tried a variety of things and a long soak in strong cleaners doesn't budge it, then it is highly unlikely to affect the beer, so accept the cosmetics and brew on

 

[moto748]

I bung in a length of fine brass lamp-chain, with some cleaning solution. Put a bung in and give it a good shake.

 

[foxy]

I use sodium perborate for cleaning usually takes 12 to 24 hours to clean it is temperature sensitive so has to be dissolved in warm water not too hot, sure it's the same for sodium percarbonate.
If that fails use rice and water, not sand to clean the residue off the demijohn. The scratches caused by sand is a breeding place for microbes.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I bought one of these when i used to use several DJs for winemaking If you are into DIY and are regularly going to use DJ's you could make one -

 

[peterpiper]

I was given a couple, with similar stains on the walls, looking like dry cement. These came off fairly quickly, using a pressure washer (it was type that had a pulsating jet action).
That might be less effective, where staining extend up the shoulders.

When using steradent type denture tablets, using just one or two, in a DJ full of water would be too dilute. Try two, plus about a mug of hot water. Once one section becomes clean, reposition DJ to treat next area.

I sometimes use a demijohn brush, which is shaped to match DJ profile. It would be a struggle to reach all the demijohn with a "bottle brush".

 

[foxy]

I was given a couple, with similar stains on the walls, looking like dry cement. These came off fairly quickly, using a pressure washer (it was type that had a pulsating jet action).
That might be less effective, where staining extend up the shoulders.

When using steradent type denture tablets, using just one or two, in a DJ full of water would be too dilute. Try two, plus about a mug of hot water. Once one section becomes clean, reposition DJ to treat next area.

I sometimes use a demijohn brush, which is shaped to match DJ profile. It would be a struggle to reach all the demijohn with a "bottle brush".

Why not just use sodium perborate? It is the active ingredient for denture cleaners and a hell of a lot cheaper.

 

[Adrian Lock]

Why are you reluctant to use bleach? It would be my first choice.
It may be something to do with the glass; I have an Erlenmeyer flask which shows the same white and immovable streaks when it was clear before As long as it;s sanitised properly it'll be just fine.
And before anyone pipes up; in the very unlikely event that it;s some kind of biofilm shielding a horror of some description, bleach will remove it, but it looks like etching to me.

If i was just using it for wine making as ny dad did nany years it would be fine. But as i mentioned im wishing to use them at my wedding as he is not arround any longer. So they need to be fairly clean

 

[MashBag]

TFR will get it clean.

 

[An Ankoù]

Good luck.
Nothing will make it look clean if it has become etched.

 

[MashBag]

Que! Etched?

 

[peterpiper]

Why not just use sodium perborate? It is the active ingredient for denture cleaners and a hell of a lot cheaper.

Hadn't realised that was an option. But looks that I can only get this online. 1kg sems most cost effective, but not sure I'd ever use that amount.
Sodium tetraborate (borax) seems easier to obtain, would that be be worth using?