[Attik]

Hi everyone!

I am preparing to bottle this Friday and I am thinking of using NaOH as a cleaner. Does anyone have any experience using NaOH? I know the commercial breweries use it and was wondering what would be a suitable concentration. Could I also use it to clean fermenters and other equipment?

Thanks!

[Stevie]

No experience beyond clearing drains, but I know some do's and don'ts

DON'T do it - what's wrong with other less dangerous cleaners?
DON'T allow children anywhere near by
DO wear personal protection equipment - long sleeves, heavy gloves, rubber apron
DO add the lye to water - adding water to lye will cause a reaction that will send if all over the place

[RPIScotty]

No experience beyond clearing drains, but I know some do's and don'ts

DON'T do it - what's wrong with other less dangerous cleaners?
DON'T allow children anywhere near by
DO wear personal protection equipment - long sleeves, heavy gloves, rubber apron
DO add the lye to water - adding water to lye will cause a reaction that will send if all over the place

^^^^^^^^
  THIS

What's wrong with unscented dish soap, PBW, Oxyclean, etc?

[FaradayUncaged]

DO add the lye to water - adding water to lye will cause a reaction that will send if all over the place

Did you mean DO NOT/DON'T on this one?

[69franx]

DO add the lye to water - adding water to lye will cause a reaction that will send if all over the place

Did you mean DO NOT/DON'T on this one?

No, if OP is determined to use it, add it to water, not the other way around

[RPIScotty]

DO add the lye to water - adding water to lye will cause a reaction that will send if all over the place

Did you mean DO NOT/DON'T on this one?

I think Steve meant DO it the way written to avoid a chemical reaction.

[FaradayUncaged]

No, if OP is determined to use it, add it to water, not the other way around

I think Steve meant DO it the way written to avoid a chemical reaction.

I completely missed the point when reading that the first time.

[Stevie]

DO add the lye to water - adding water to lye will cause a reaction that will send if all over the place

Did you mean DO NOT/DON'T on this one?

I think Steve meant DO it the way written to avoid a chemical reaction.

Maybe a hair unclear. ALWAYS add the lye to the full volume of water. Lye is nuts reactive and will basically explode all over if a large amount of lye gets wet.

[zwiller]

Forget that stuff!  The pro brewers only use it on tough jobs. 

Dollar store oxyclean is all you need.  The hotter the water the better.  Clean brewing stuff immediately after use or it will be much harder to clean.   

[Attik]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I just figured that commercial breweries use it, plus here in Spain its 20 times cheaper than using less aggressive cleaning agents such as oxyclean etc.

[Stevie]

See if you can source lab grade sodium percarbonate. It's the main active ingredient in oxyclean, PBW, and the like. The amount used is less when compared to the others as it is more pure.

[mabrungard]

Are you sure you need to resort to lye??? It is a thermonuclear option that is not typically necessary. With that said, I have used lye to clean off organic deposits that things like PBW couldn't budge. In particular, I've used in to clean organic deposits from beer serving lines. It works very well, but demands utmost caution and care.

[zwiller]

See if you can source lab grade sodium percarbonate. It's the main active ingredient in oxyclean, PBW, and the like. The amount used is less when compared to the others as it is more pure.

Great idea.  Save the lye for your pretzels! 

[Philbrew]

Maybe a hair unclear. ALWAYS add the lye to the full volume of water. Lye is nuts reactive and will basically explode all over if a large amount of lye gets wet.

Yeah, the big problem is that you, and especially your eyes, are made of proteins which made of are amino ACIDS.  Lye is a very strong BASE.  A drop of lye in your eyes and you are blind.  THE END!

[Stevie]

Maybe a hair unclear. ALWAYS add the lye to the full volume of water. Lye is nuts reactive and will basically explode all over if a large amount of lye gets wet.

Yeah, the big problem is that you, and especially your eyes, are made of proteins which made of are amino ACIDS.  Lye is a very strong BASE.  A drop of lye in your eyes and you are blind.  THE END!

Add face shield (goggles at minimum) to PPE required.

Lye can be used safely, but it's likely overkill and way too dangerous to use as an everyday cleaner.