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I bought a large chest freezer that I use to brew all my beer. It was always difficult for me to clean it because my brewing schedule did not allow for less than 3/4 of the freezer to be empty at any given time. I happened to fall behind schedule and now have a short window where the freezer is entirely empty.

I sprayed the whole thing down with a lot of 409 and scrubbed, which gets most of it clean but its not near perfectly clean, which is where I would like to get it.

Is there a preferred chemical I can use that is good for cleaning up wort blow-off on the surface of the inside of a freezer (which Google says is "vacuum formed plastic")?

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  • I have found that the gummy stuff in fridges responds well to hot water, and a washcloth or Dobie-brand non-scratch scrubber. After that, I use a vinegar-and-water spray.
    – Chino Brews
    Oct 6, 2014 at 17:50

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John Palmer says that Cleaning Plastics should be done with Percarbonates.

A good application of elbow grease also works. :)

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    Sodium percarbonate is the active ingredient in PBW and Oxiclean Free. It works well for many uses in brewing: cleaning plastic, cleaning glass, removing stains from plastic, removing odors from plastic, and removing labels from glass bottles.
    – rjbergen
    Jan 4, 2015 at 17:26
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I like to use PBW (or the home made version) to clean hard surfaces like that. Dissolve in some hot water and scrub. It will remove most anything and is safe for brewing when rinsed properly. Follow up with a thorough rinsing and then use a no-rinse sanitizer to ensure it's all clean.

Home made PBW recipes can be found online, but the base is Oxiclean Free (has to be the Free version that doesn't contain the dyes and perfumes) which can be obtained for about $8/3lbs. The secondary ingredient, which I haven't ever included, is a TSP substitute. For me, the Oxiclean Free works just fine.

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You could also try mixing up a batch of star-san and using that to scrub down the freezer. I've had some success using star-san to clean up when my primary fermenter overflowed with blow-off. Just be sure to rinse with water after.

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