[ynotbrusum]

Thanks Steve - what I was hoping to hear.  FWIW - I think the safer practice is to always get a fair amount of water in the container before adding the chemical agent.  I do that with every cleaner or sanitizer.

[Steve Ruch]

It definitely works better.

The oxywash version or the alkali?

Both, IMO.

Cool. The only catalogue that I have that lists it has the alkali one at $2 cheaper.

[S. cerevisiae]

I don't know why but PBW just seems to work a leeettlle better than oxyclean.

PBW contains sodium metasilicate.   

OP:

If you can find it, unscented powdered automatic dishwaser detergent is a much more powerful cleaner than Oxyclean (it is very close to PBW in chemical composition).  Oxyclean is basically sodium percarbonate and sodium carbonate (a.k.a., washing soda, which is a water softener).  Powered automatic diswasher detergent contains sodium metasilicate (although the manufacturers generally use the family name, which is sodium silicate).  Unscented powered automatic diswasher detergent was my "go to" cleaner for years until it became difficult to find.

[Joe Sr.]

I use cascade mixed with oxyclean.

I agree it's hard to find unscented but I don't have any issues rinsing out the scented either.



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[JimmyHaze]

I came to share these products I found on Adventures in Homebrewing. They have a lot of PBW and sanitizer alternatives, all much cheaper than PBW and StarSan. Just take a look at this Easy Clean Cleanser. You only need 1 tablespoon per gallon of water. 

https://www.homebrewing.org/Easy-Clean-Cleanser-5-LB_p_1511.html


There's also this Straight A cleanser, also uses 1 tablespoon per gallon of water.

https://www.homebrewing.org/Straight-A-Premium-Cleanser-5-lbs_p_10331.html


Here's the link to their Sanitizer

https://www.homebrewing.org/B-T-F-Iodophor-Sanitizer-1-Quart_p_1539.html

This one only needs 1 tsp per 1 1/2 gallons of water


I thought I'd share this on this board since this is the first thing that popped up on Google when I searched for PBW alternatives. Also, I'm wondering what the costs of these cleansing products are compared to OxiClean. I never used OxiClean before so I don't know the ratios but if someone can calculate them that would be incredibly useful. We can then determine the costs between the cleansers I listed vs OxiClean and TS.

[narvin]

This is the unscented dishwashing powder I picked up on the recommendation of someone here.  Seems to work well mixed with oxyclean and it's super cheap.  For CIP in my anvil foundry I still use the craftmeister alkaline cleaner.

https://www.target.com/p/seventh-generation-free-clear-dishwasher-detergent-powder-75oz/-/A-13218995

[YaleH]

I use the fragrance free Oxy.... about 3/4 scoop to 5 gal bucket. Added bonus I found is that it's a fantastic bottle label remover. I'll fill a bucket and sink the bottles in solution and in a couple hours the labels literally fall off!!!!   

[goose]

I use the fragrance free Oxy.... about 3/4 scoop to 5 gal bucket. Added bonus I found is that it's a fantastic bottle label remover. I'll fill a bucket and sink the bottles in solution and in a couple hours the labels literally fall off!!!!   

I use a dairy cleaner for my glass bottles and carboys (when I have to use them).  It is relatively inexpensive and will remove most labels from bottles after a couple hours of soaking them.  The ones with a more resiliant glue require a bit additional attention with solvents and I normally just throw those out.