Pre-sanitizing Carboys

[LorenzoJ]

After I bottle or rakk, I clean the carboy and then leave it filled with water & bleach ( 1 tbs/gal ). The next time I brew I just drain, give it a quick hot rinse and go. Any downside to this procedure ?

[fretlessman71]

If you rinse properly and you are using a glass carboy, I see no reason to worry. Bleach still scares me, though... OneStep is a headache-free alternative.

[davesarman]

I would agree, bleach is ok on GLASS. Don't use it on your plastic or metal brew ware. I always clean/sanitize my bottles by soaking in a water/bleach solution, then rinse with a bottle washer and then run through my dishwaser with no soap on the water heat/bake dry cycle. Works slick.

[Beerconnoisseur]

I keep my carboy filled with sanitized water right up until the wort is done chilling. Then I pour out the water, and run the beer in via transfer tubing from kettle.

In truth, though, the biggest benefit seems to come from getting the beer fermenting quickly, which is where making a starter batch plays an important role.

[beerturtle]

I usually do something like this too, and , so far, no problems. Just make sure you rinse your carboy with hot water well before adding wort.

[chris1kanobi]

I wonder if the chlorine would evaporate from the water, depending on the time and temperature? I guess if you used a fairly strong mixture, in a short period of time, it would be fine. I soak everything in PBW, then dump it, rinse and then repeat with StarSan before adding fresh wort. I filled a corney keg with PBW mixed with hot water and sealed it with the lid. A few weeks later I opened the keg and the lid was coated with a slimey, brownish snot. The keg was clean, but all the gunk inside evaporated and condensed on the lid. Now I leave the lid submerged inside the keg to allow the rising oxygen to do it's magic. I guess my point is that evaporation happens and to allow for it.

[LorenzoJ]

The carboys I leave sitting with the bleach & water mix are stoppered so I wouldn't think that evaporation would be significant. The bottle is filled to the stopper and not even the bottom of the stopper shows any grundge after several weeks.

[DarCoop]

This is same way I store mine. I feel there is less chance of bad "stuff" getting inside if I keep it full and closed on top. I rinse with hot water, then cold water before use.