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I soaked my blowoff hose in PBW for an hour or so, then rinsed and let dry. There is still light amounts of residue visible. The only brush I own is a carboy brush which I don't think will fit through, due to the bent angle. Also, I'm a little worried that the brush might scratch the plastic. How does everyone else clean blowoff hoses? It's the standard width and basic length (cut and sold to me by my local home brew shop).

Thanks..

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Unfortunately, whenever I use a blow off hose I ended up tossing it when I was done because its tough to clean.

Rather than just an hour try overnight and make sure you are starting with warm/hot water. PBW is pretty powerful stuff especially when its warm.

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  • Will try a longer soak, thanks. Since you are not always using a blow off hose, just curious, are you fermenting in larger carboys or plastic pails?
    – Jason Moore
    Nov 11, 2012 at 20:39
  • I also started by using blow-off hoses. But now I do as you suggest and use a bigger carboy (6.5gal for 5gal batch and 5gal for 2.5gal batch). This approach is cleaner and works really well even for larger beers with lots of krausen. The potential to suck back sanitizer when using a blow-off hose convinced me that wasn't a really viable option. ;-)
    – Chris Plaisier
    Nov 12, 2012 at 17:03
  • I have a tendency just to chuck mine as well, but i have hooked them up to my pump and ran warm BLC and then PBW through them for about 12 hours.
    – Grico
    Nov 12, 2012 at 18:18
  • @JasonMoore I start most of my ferments out at lower temps, like 64F for an ale. Then I let the temp naturally rise and I hold it there with temp control. I tend to ferment most ales at 68F. This seems to control the krausen quite a bit and I don't get foamovers that would require a blow off. I ferment in standard 6 gallon carboys.
    – brewchez
    Dec 16, 2012 at 16:55
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So.... after reading brewchez's comments about giving PRB another chance, and after a long look at my carboy brush I had a realization: that bend in the carboy brush could be.... unbent. Easily. And so, after a 2 hour soaking and rinsing, I shoved the now straight carboy brush in, swirled about, hit it from the other end, and wouldn't you know: clean as the day I bought it. As for the now straight carboy brush: bent it right back.

Thanks also to David PGB and Flyhard.

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  • This is what I do as well.
    – hartski
    Nov 15, 2012 at 14:14
  • I would think this would leave scratches in the tubing which is never a good idea. It makes in much harder to clean and more over, dry. That retained moister will lead to black mold growth.
    – brewchez
    Dec 16, 2012 at 16:52
  • So far I've found that the long, hot PBW soak does 95% of the work, and I just do 1 quick in and out with the brush. Since I've invested a few hundred bucks in glass 5 gallon carboys, I'm going to keep using the blowoff system for a while. I'll monitor the situation and inspect for scratches, maybe replace them after a few more brews, but I need to find a way to clean 'em since this will be my primary brewing system for a while and I don't want to keep buying and throwing them away. Thanks for the heads up, I'll continue working on this and perhaps another solution will present itself.
    – Jason Moore
    Dec 17, 2012 at 19:48
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I have the same problem, and I told myself that it will be fine not to get it too clean since it is only for and overflow and I soak it in StarSan before I use it. However, I will replace it every now and then...

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    Some wort and krausen will flow back in there as the aggressive fermentation subsides. Its best for that tube to be very clean and appropriately sanitized...or replaced.
    – brewchez
    Dec 16, 2012 at 16:53
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Depending on how long and thick your blow off tube is, you might be able to use a saxophone cleaning brush. I use a couple of standard "saxophone" cleaning brushes to help me around the brewery. There is one on a long (13") bendy metal wire, with a cloth like tip, the other end is a regular bristle type brush. It fits into my 1/2" ID silicone blow off tube which is 24" long. It also fits into my S.S racking cane and keg drink tubes. I use a tiny silicone tube split length wise around the metal wire to protect from scratching. Some of the smaller instrument cleaning brushes are great for kegs parts too.

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  • Any brush is likely to scratch the inside of the tubing. If not the brush then the metal support is made of will too.
    – brewchez
    Dec 16, 2012 at 16:52
  • some of the brushes are cotton fibers wound together (Like a floor mop), very soft, so as to not scratch the soft brass of an instrument. Also, as I mentioned, I use a very thin silicone tube around the length of the metal support.
    – David PGB
    Dec 16, 2012 at 20:06

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