Cleaning Fermenter

[Guest]

Hi guys, last winter i lent my homebrew kit to my brother and i just got it back last week and it had not been cleaned for the entire year, it had a whole heap of sht sitting at the bottom, i have dispatched of this however the rank smell still remains, i was wondering how to get rid of this smell, ive washed it out with boiling water about 5 times, or should i just buy a new fermenter

[r.magnay]

Try washing it in a strong mixture of vanilla essence then rinse it out, it works well with fridges so it may work with brewers too.

[flosso]

Don't know if it'll help in this example but I remember an episode of Mythbusters where they tried a variety of products to remove the smell of a skunk.

A number of different methods masked the smell, but the following mixture they reckon actually removed it:

• 1 U.S. Quart (approx 1 litre) of 3% hydrogen peroxide.
  1/4 cup (approx 45ml) baking soda.
  1 teaspoon (approx 5ml) liquid soap.

This website has a bit more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_Episodes

[Stew]

1 U.S. Quart (approx 1 litre) of 3% hydrogen peroxide.
1/4 cup (approx 45ml) baking soda.
1 teaspoon (approx 5ml) liquid soap.

Flosso sounds like a good method of cleaning but im not so sure about the soap. Im sure it would help clean the fermenter but and detergent/soap will kill the head of your beer......

Guest, I'd give both Flosso and r.magnay's suggestions a go but a new fermenter may be the way, just to put your mind at rest. I dont know if i'd want to be drinking out of what sounds like it was a pretty dirty fermenter.

[steveo]

I had a similar issue through laziness, dishwasher powder, hot water & baking soda worked OK, could still smell it a little bit, and the first brew after smelt a bit crappy, drank it though, after that it was OK, done about 10 more so far in that fermenter and all have been OK.

[Dogger Dan]

I like the peroxide, I guess I now have a new mission.

Dogger

[Guest]

napisan.