I’m a home beer and wine maker, using my under-house garage as my passively cooled cellar.
Tonight I had a brainfart/equipment failure combo that caused 5 gallons of wort (unfermented beer) to gush onto the floor. I hosed it out immediately, but there are tons of nooks everywhere and its impossible to properly clean. Given that I use this area to make wine, I’m concerned about Brett and other bugs feasting on what I can’t reach and potentially causing future issues.
What’s the best way to deal with this issue? I’m considering a 1% bleach solution and a liberal mopping, but am curious what the pros do. TIA.
Bleach can cause TCA issues. Don’t use bleach. Unfortunately I cannot advise further but I wanted to get that out there quickly.
White vinegar, cleans, sanitizes, no TCA issues.
Thanks all. While the barrels are on stands and shouldn’t be exposed to the bleach, I think I’ll play it safe and go with vinegar.
On a positive note, at least this is forcing me to clean up the garage!
Starsan will probably do the same thing as vinegar without the smell.
Isopropyl Alcohol desiccates cell walls, Alconox and Starsan detergents rupture cell membranes, Sulfur Dioxide also effectively kills lots of things and is a reducing agent preventing oxidation and is really common in wineries, Ozone as a spray is known to kill Brett as does steam, Peracetic acid is also commonly used in wineries.
SO2 tablets can be bought as dissolvable tablets for your mop bucket and are called “Campden Tablets”
I used OxyClean for the whole floor, then a second pass using an SO2 solution anywhere in proximity to the barrels.
That was a good choice.
I wouldn’t recommend vinegar, it’s an excellent cleaning solution (I use it in my toilets) but … acetic acid.
TSP is also an affordable and available cleanup product, especially if you have drywall or wood that soaked up wine or beer.
SO2 or starsan sound like good options to me.