How to Clean a Carboy

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: July 6, 2020

Making beer or wine is an extremely fun and rewarding activity. Whether you are brewing at home or working at a professional establishment, it is extremely important that you use clean equipment. You can actually spoil your beer or wine if your equipment has not been properly cleaned and cared for. In order to clean a carboy, you can wash the carboy with warm water and a cleaner, soak the carboy in a warm water and bleach solution, or scrub the carboy using a soft cloth or brush.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using Warm Water and Detergent

1
Combine warm water and detergent. In order to clean a carboy, you should pour about two tablespoons (or slightly more) of cleaner into the bottom of the carboy. OxiClean and Powdered Brewing Wash (PBW) are both excellent products for cleaning carboys. Then, fill the carboy with warm water.^{[1]
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- If you are using a plastic carboy, you should dissolve your cleaner in warm water before pouring it into the bottle. These cleaners can be powerful and the powder may corrode the plastic if not diluted first.^{[2]
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2
Let sit for one hour. Let the hot water and cleaner mixture soak in the carboy for approximately one hour. This will help to loosen any grime or krausen that may be stuck to the side of the carboy. Krausen is a grimy ring often left near the top of carboys.^{[3]
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3
Shake the carboy. After an hour, pour out half of the liquid mixture. Then, place the lid on the carboy and shake the container. Swivel the water around so that it washes along all the sides of the carboy. This will help remove any grime that is attached to the walls.^{[4]
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- Shake for approximately 30 seconds or until the carboy is cleaned.
4
Rinse the carboy. Dump the cleaner and water mixture down the drain and then rinse with clean warm water. This will help remove all remaining cleaner from the carboy.^{[5]
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Repeat the process. You can repeat this process a few times, until all visible grime has been removed from the carboy. In some cases, you may need to do this three or four times.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Soaking a Glass Carboy

1
Combine bleach and water. If a general wash did not work to remove all of the grime from inside the carboy, you should try doing a longer soak. Fill your carboy with a mixture of four ounces (118 ml) of household bleach for every five gallons (19 L) of water.^{[6]
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Let soak overnight. Let the carboy soak in this solution overnight. This should only be done if you are using a glass carboy. Plastic will absorb the bleach, which may spoil your next batch of beer or wine.^{[7]
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Rinse with warm water. After the carboy has soaked in the bleach mixture overnight, dump out the mixture. Then, thoroughly rinse your carboy using warm water to ensure that all of the bleach has been removed.^{[8]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Removing Tough Stains and Grime

1
Fill the carboy half way with water and detergent. If your carboy does not completely clean after a general wash or soak, then you may need to use some elbow grease to scrub the sides of the carboy. Combine a small amount of either OxiClean or PBW with water. You only want to fill the carboy until it is half full.^{[9]
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2
Use a brush to scrub the sides of glass carboys. If you have a glass carboy, you can use a carboy brush to scrub the sides of the container. Typically these brushes have long wire handles that can be bent to get hard to reach places. They also have plastic bristles.^{[10]
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- If you are worried about scratching the carboy, cover the bristles with a soft cloth.
3
Scrub plastic carboys with a soft cloth. If you have a plastic carboy, you should not scrub the sides using a traditional glass carboy cleaning brush. These brushes have rough bristles and metal handles that can scratch the plastic sides. Bacteria can enter the scratches, spoiling any beer or wine that is made in the carboy.^{[11]
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- Instead, insert a small soft cloth into the carboy. Then shake the carboy with warm water, cleaner, and the cloth inside. The cloth will help remove any grime that has developed on the sides.
- Turn the carboy upside down to pour out the liquid and grab the cloth with your fingers.
4
Rinse thoroughly with warm water. Fill the carboy about halfway with warm water. Shake the water around so that it touches all sides. Then, dump the water down the drain. Repeat this process until all of the cleaner has been removed.