Cleaning FAQ

Please review dosage and disposal requirements for all chemicals before use. 

What cleaning products do you recommend?

Right now, we currently recommend using a non-caustic alkaline cleaner like Five Star's PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash) for cleaning Ss 304 Steel tanks as well as gaskets, orings, and tubing. Chemipro Wash is a good substitute if PBW is not available in your region. If you find that you cannot remove organic material or stains, you may want to try something like Exchilerator Wash cleanser, as it can be more effective when soaking. All three of these are both low foaming, which makes it way easier when you want to switch from an alkaline cleaner to an acid (like Saniclean.) 

What about Oxiclean?

We recommend using PBW as we find it does a better job than Oxiclean. But if you are wanting to use OxiClean Free (which comes without perfumes or dyes) as a routine cleaner from batch to batch, as long as the water is soft and has a low amount of calcium, you should be fine. If you start to see any white stains of Calcium Carbonate build-up on the stainless steel, go ahead and repassivate or use a phosphoric-based sanitizer like SaniClean to remove them. This is much more common in hard water situations or heavy calcium loads in the water, but the average user will want to repassivate more often to avoid this potential build-up if using OxiClean

What about using dish soap?

We do not recommend using dish soap to clean your brewing gear. Most dish soap often contains fats/lipids (typically either animal fat or vegetable fats) to better clean dishes. While this is effective on dishes, it can affect your beer much like a dirty glass can, hurting head retention and diminishing hop aroma. These fats and lipids can also affect your passivation preventing and even chromium oxide layer formation. Dish soap is not formulated as efficiently as a cleaning compound designed specifically for brewing and as most contain fragrances and dyes, we just can't recommend it. If you do end up using dish soap on your gear, make sure to clean with an alkaline solution (like PBW) and take additional care/attention to really clean that off, especially before passivation.

Can I use OneStep or other cleaner/sanitizer combo solutions?

While you could use an all-in-one cleaner and sanitizer, we do not recommend them. By individually cleaning then sanitizing separately, you can verify that both steps are done completely and properly.

Can I use Bleach or other Chlorinated products to clean?

No. Chlorinated Bleach or other chlorine products will cause irreparable damage to your Stainless Steel. Sodium Percarbonate without chlorine (sometimes known as oxygen bleach or Oxyclean) is OK for cleaning but will not sanitize.

What about the chemicals the commercial breweries use? What dosage should I use?

We don't find these necessary for use in homebrewing. Our gear will get clean without the use of those chemicals.  Without proper training, correct dosages, and protective equipment chemicals used in commercial breweries can cause bodily harm or even damage your Ss Brewtech gear. These are also less accessible than the safer products designed for homebrewers listed above. If you are a trained commercial brewer with access to these chemicals, you will already know the appropriate use and dosages.