NewbieBrewer said:
Scottm
As you seem to be pretty experienced in this fine art, whats the best sterilizer/sanitizer/cleaner for my bottles, I was thinking as a rule wash them with warm soapy water to get clean, rinse with cold water and thinking no rinse santizer with one of these.
http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Bottle_Drainer_Rinser.html
and the bottle tree as well - or would I be wasting my money?
It was such a chore cleaning and sanitizing 40 or so bottles - there must be an easier way
also in regards to cleaning fv, spoon, and other brewing equipment am I o.k. washing with warm soapy water to clean after use and just sterilizing just before use?
Sorry for the noob questions
No bother at all, I've just gone through all this sort of stuff myself. For me the best setup is as follows....
80 bottle tree (Exactly the one you have linked)
Bottle Rinser (Exactly like the one you have linked)
VWP Steriliser & Cleaner
Starsan no rinse sanitiser
Skoosher bottle
I've got the 80 bottle tree as the 40 bottle is actually too small for 40 bottles. It's best to space them out more on the tree or they get in the way of each other a bit. The bottle rinser does exactly what it says on the tin and its fantastic. VWP is cracking cleaner and when used in the right doses is a great steriliser too, it has to be used properly or it gets hard to rinse the stuff off.
For cleaning I wouldn't recommend any sort of soap, detergent or anything like that. What you want to do is clean without any residue or odours. Oxy clean is recommended quite a lot, very good cleaner. I use VWP as it cleans and sterilises.
For the FV it's best to clean it out as soon as you are done with it. I do this with warm water and my hand. I get everything as clean as I can before rinsing out. After that I put in 1 gallon of water and 1 level tsp of VWP. I shake it all around and get it on every surface using my hand to roll the water around. I leave it for around 30 minutes to let it do its thing. Once finished I elevate it and syphon the 1g of sterile solution through the syphon tube (if bottling I attach this too). Once its empty I keep the steriliser in the syphon by elevating it so that the bottler closes (when the bottler is attached, otherwise I don't bother). I then rinse out the FV a few times with cool water. Once I am confident the FV has been well rinsed I fill the FV with some water (a gallon or 2), elevate it again, stick the syphon in and push the bottler nozzle. This auto-syphons the water through due to the sterilising solution being left in it. I then allow the gallon or so of water to rinse through the syphon. If I am going to be using the syphon soon I leave the last of the water in the syphon, as with the steriliser, so that I can auto-syphon using it (if doing so make sure you syphon the runnings into a cup/jug before botting/transferring etc). From there I just put the lid on once everything has been air dried (cleaned and sterilised in the same manner)If I am doing more than one FV I simply give them all a good rinse out with water/hand, fill 1 up with a gallon of water & steriliser and when syphoning it out..... rather than dumping it down the drain I put it into the next FV and continue till they are all sterilised.
For the bottles I simply rinse them out as I use them. As soon as I open a bottle I pour it and immediately rinse it in the tap and make sure the sediment is off the bottom. From there I sit them to the side of the sink and my lovely SWMBO gives them a clean when she is doing the dishes... rinsing them out thoroughly when she is finished. I store them upright but if you wanted to be extra safe you could hang them on the bottle tree until ready for use.
When getting ready to use an FV I use starsan made up in a spray bottle. Immediately before use I spray some starsan into the fv covering all surfaces, including the bottom and the lid, with the foam. I leave it for 30 seconds then pour any leftovers out, as it says on the tin there is no need to rinse so you just leave it like this.... whatever sticks is fine.
When getting ready to bottle I fill the bottle rinser with starsan solution and give each bottle a few pumps before hanging them on the bottle tree. When bottling I take it off the tree, give it a little shake out and then fill as normal.
The bottler and the syphon tube get a little squirt of starsan before use, as does my hydrometer and anything else that comes into contact.
The secret to my success is cleaning up after myself properly. That way when it comes to doing a task everything just needs a quick skoosh with the ole starsan and it's good to go. Also remember to waste not, want not. I always reuse the steriliser when cleaning multiple FVs as there is no need to use a gallon of VWP solution per fv. Surface contact is all that's required so one gallon is MORE than enough for 10 FVs let alone 1. The VWP might leave a slight smell once dry. It's very easy to get rid of this, before sterilising with starsan simply give it 1 rinse and you will notice that it disappears in one go.
Hope that helps :)
