Cleaning agents???

[Medarius]

As I was watching a few brewing vids, I noticed that Oxyclean was mentioned in quite a few videos. This got me curious if anyone has tried comparing effects Starsan, PBJ, and Oxyclean and noticed any significant difference in the 3 products?? I use Starsan myself, but have no experience with the other products.

As always thanks in advance for helpful responses.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

it's ok as a cleaning product but it can leave a residue, I have a mixture of Oxyclean and degreaser and it's still not as good pbw

 

[Brewer #186349]

I use oxygen bleach then star san. oxygen bleach is vanish, oxy clean etc and is sodium bicarbonate.
you can get it pretty cheap if you just buy sodium bicarbonate from a chemical supplier.
I think bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar does the same job

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I guess It really depends on how fast you want it to clean, I can clean my entire 3 pot 25 gallon rig in 5 minutes with PBW all other cleaners will work just not as fast and they need more scrubbing

 

[Group W]

Oxyclean is widely available and relatively inexpensive which makes it popular as a cleaner. I have never used it so can’t compare.

Starsan is an acid sanitizer, not a cleaner. PBW is an alkaline cleaner. I feel they work well.

 

[Nosybear]

As I was watching a few brewing vids, I noticed that Oxyclean was mentioned in quite a few videos. This got me curious if anyone has tried comparing effects Starsan, PBJ, and Oxyclean and noticed any significant difference in the 3 products?? I use Starsan myself, but have no experience with the other products.

As always thanks in advance for helpful responses.

Remember they do different things! A cleaner (starsan) is not a sanitizer (the other two). I don't know why you'd be using peanut butter and/or jelly as a cleaner but PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash, EasyClean, etc.) are similar cleaning agents. They use oxygen and alkali to clean equipment and really should be rinsed (unless you like sodium carbonate and silicate residues on your equipment). Oxyclean (please use the unscented version without detergent!) works the same way but without the chelating ingredients. Used in the right order (cleaner, then sanitizer), all of them work well. Just remember to rinse the cleaner.

 

[Group W]

The jug of PBW says “A safe, environmentally friendly cleaner.” The instructions require rinsing with water after use.

The Star San jug says “Acid sanatizer for surface sanitation.” The instructions recommend a cleaner first, followed be a dilution of Star San with no rinse.

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

it's ok as a cleaning product but it can leave a residue, I have a mixture of Oxyclean and degreaser and it's still not as good pbw

Absolutely. The homemade PBW, made from oxyclean and TSP is okay, but the real PBW is way better. I use the homemade stuff for removing beer labels from bottles and anything that isn't super hard to clean. If I do a clean-in-place (CIP) of my system, I use PBW.

 

[Aub]

As I was watching a few brewing vids, I noticed that Oxyclean was mentioned in quite a few videos. This got me curious if anyone has tried comparing effects Starsan, PBJ, and Oxyclean and noticed any significant difference in the 3 products?? I use Starsan myself, but have no experience with the other products.

As always thanks in advance for helpful responses.

I use 100% Sodium Percarbonate as the cleaner and Starsan as the sanitizer, so far have not had any problems.

 

[Hawkbox]

I use Oxyclean pretty regularly but also have "Alkaline Brewery Wash" which I assume is similar to PBW when I really want to hammer something. Starsan is my go to for sanitizing.

 

[KC]

I found PBW isn't great with the Mark Washer. PBW works best hot but the spray cycle cools it down too fast. Then the rinse requirement adds a labor step. I keep 1-step on hand to simplify.