Cleaner Longevity and Hot/Cold

[Gerard van Steyn]

Hi,

I have been using PBW, and more recently trying Oxygen Brewery Wash and Alkaline cleaning products. I recently came across a thread that stated that many of the cleaning solutions made with these products are not effective for very long after they are made, and that some only work best with hot water. So my questions:

Can any of the oxygen or alkaline cleaning products be kept in an open bucket or other container and will they remain effective for cleaning?

What about if the cleaning solution is kept in a closed container, like a spray bottle?

Which only work in hot water? Any that work in cold?

 

thanks!!

[Gilliam Stewart]

Hi Gerard,

I’ve read similar things on Reddit.  On the One Step website (a sodium percarbonate-based cleanser) it says: “CIP [Clean In Place] Cleaning: Use 0.5 for daily treatment of minimally soiled vessels and equipment, but for heavily soiled vessels such as fermenters, 3 oz is recommended.  Heat the solution to **120 – 180 F** and circulate for 30 minutes. Follow with a potable water rinse.”

As for shelf life / effectiveness of keeping a batch on hand, given the ease of use, I just mix up the cleaning solution as needed because what I’ve read on various message boards has been highly variable.

https://www.ecologiccleansers.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/OneStep_05-15.pdf

[Administrative ID]

I’ve only used PBW, both stored for months in spray bottle, open as well as closed bucket & at room temperature ( once it has all dissolved) with effective cleaning results EVERY time. I use this alkaline product to remove the wine stains ( tartarate) from any glassware, winemaking tools of all kinds, my wine facility floor/table tops/lab bench etc. If I want to sanitize any instrument/tool/ I then follow the PBW cleaning with the acidic sanitizer StarSan. This cleaning method has been highly effective for me these past 8-9 years….

Bill Pence

Tarabrook Winery

( bonded)

Lamorinda AVA

[William English]

PBW is both an alkaline cleaner and and an oxy cleaner. Here is the manufacturer’s description on its data sheet: “P.B.W. is a buffered alkaline detergent that has been proven to be more than an effective substitute for caustic soda cleaners. Because of its unique formulation of buffers and mild alkalis, it is safe on skin as well as soft metals such as stainless steel, aluminum, and on plastics. P.B.W. uses active oxygen to penetrate carbon or protein soils and is not effected by hard water. The oxygen also helps in reducing B.O.D. and C.O.D. in wastewater, which is an added environmental benefit.”

While it has a stronger effect when heated, I never do that because it works well cold. I generally scrub with a  cold PBW solution and a scrub pad. The hot treatments seem to be aimed at bigger scale operations where you aren’t scrubbing , but just circulating the PBW solution.

I have used PBW after it say for over a year and it still seems effective. I store it dry and mix as needed.

Bill English