[theDarkSide]

i believe most are empty of gunk, so i ill just go with the Star San, thanks for all the input

Even though I put them away clean, they may sit on my shelf for a while before I need them (I usually keg ), so I'll blast them with hot water first then sanitize.  With new bottles, I'll do a quick rinse just to get rid of the dust that collects in them from the homebrew store.

[csu007]

[/quote]

For a carboy, I try to get most of it out but don't worry if there is some still in there.  The guy from Five Star said the foam actually breaks down and is beneficial to the yeast.  For bottling, I let the drain on the tree but again don't worry if there is a lot of foam.

[/quote]

One the guys at the LHBS said he left a carboy over night with the star san and has no issues

[csu007]

so i have another question in regards to cleaning dirty bottles. With the PBW if i put the bottles in a bucket of hot water and let them sit for about 30min will that work, then after the sit i will rinse them and then sanitize. My buddy gave me some bottles that he didn't clean out the sediment on the bottom so i wanted to clean them first then sanitize them.

[troy@uk]

You can also reduce the initial foaming during mixing by adding water to your container first and then adding the appropriate amount of star san.  Careful rocking will mix the solution completely.  The maker of star san said in an interview on The BN to always add the chemical to water, never add water to the chemical.  Then you can reduce the foaming again when you empty the container by either racking (which also sanitizes the racking cane and tubing) or pouring SLOWLY. Don't fear the foam, yes, but also play nice with star san and there won't be as much foam.

[diybrewing]

If your water is piping hot, I think a 15 minute soak is normally good enough. It also depends on what you are cleaning. Bottles clean easier then carboys.