I arrived home the other night to find my red wine erupting through the airlock. It's in a 30ltr bucket filled to 22.5, so that's a heck of a lot foam!! It's fermenting at 21 deg C, less than the kit says (25-30 deg).
Luckily the mess had stayed on the lid but, to my surprise, it was the consistency of a really thick blancmange!! I'm guessing it went like this as it settled on the bucket lid and the water evaporated away. Have y'all seen this before? It won't be like it inside the bucket will it?
Anyway, I read some other threads on the same topic and found that some members had trouble cleaning their airlocks. I changed mine straight away forcing water through it using my mouth, which cleaned the gunk easily. I then put it in sterilising fluid along with my bottles. I've changed it three times now and fermentation is slowing so I think I won't have to change it again.
Luckily the mess had stayed on the lid but, to my surprise, it was the consistency of a really thick blancmange!! I'm guessing it went like this as it settled on the bucket lid and the water evaporated away. Have y'all seen this before? It won't be like it inside the bucket will it?
Anyway, I read some other threads on the same topic and found that some members had trouble cleaning their airlocks. I changed mine straight away forcing water through it using my mouth, which cleaned the gunk easily. I then put it in sterilising fluid along with my bottles. I've changed it three times now and fermentation is slowing so I think I won't have to change it again.