Cleaning gets better

When I started homebrewing, the friend who introduced me to it said that 90% of homebrewing is cleaning. Now, I’ve never tried to measure the exact percentage, but I do know that if you don’t do the work, the results will show up in your beer. Like most homebrewers, I’m cheap so for years I’ve used Oxiclean Versatile (without the TSP sub that many think is necessary) to do my cleaning. Once in a while I’d pick up some PBW which seemed to work even better, but the cost kept me from using it as often as I would have liked. I was recently sent some samples of cleaning products from Craftmeister, a division of the company that makes BTF iodophor. I received Powdered Oxygen Wash, Powdered Alkaline Wash, and Keg and Carboy Cleaning Tablets. It just so happened that I had some kegs and bucket fermenters that needed to be cleaned so I couldn’t resist filling the stuff with hot water and tossing in some tablets (1 per 3 gal. recommended dosage). I mean. how much easier could it be? Wanting to see just how they worked, I didn’t even bother agitating the tablets in the water after adding them. When I went back a few hours later, not only had they completely dissolved but the fermenters and kegs were squeaky clean. Even better, they rinsed so easily that I couldn’t believe it! Compared to Oxiclean, or even PBW, the rinsing happened quickly and completely. I went on to try both the oxygen and alkaline washes with similar results. The bottom line? Craftmeister is now my cleaner of choice! Sure, it costs more than Oxiclean, but it’s cheaper than PBW and more effective and easier to use than either. Between the fast and easy dissolving and rinsing and the amazingly effective cleaning power, it’s worth every cent of what it costs. Try it!