Ask The Brewmasters

Hey gang. We've been cleaning our floors and tank exteriors for years now with a little watered down caustic and some brushes (or rags on a mop handle when we're talking about tank exteriors) but I've heard tell that some other folks out there do it with foaming cleaners and a chemical sprayer. 

Anyone have recommendations for cleaners and/or sprayers for this type of application?

------------------------------
Joshua Maxson
Confluence Brewing Company
West Des Moines IA
(319) 400-9678
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Joshua,

Contact your chemical supplier, they will usually have the foamer and will give it to you at a discounted cost.  They are also able to supply you with a foaming acid that will work for both your floors and tanks.

Here's an example of a similar foamer to what we have https://hydrobuilder.com/dosatron-mobile-dosing-carts.html?opts=eyJhdHRyaWJ1dGU5NDYiOiIyNDQwMiJ9

They work great and they are kind of fun, too.

------------------------------
Ivan Dedek
Brewmaster/Food Scientist
Meier's Creek Brewing
Cazenovia NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-07-2022 15:22
From: Joshua Maxson
Subject: Foaming Cleaner and Sprayer for floors and tanks?

Hey gang. We've been cleaning our floors and tank exteriors for years now with a little watered down caustic and some brushes (or rags on a mop handle when we're talking about tank exteriors) but I've heard tell that some other folks out there do it with foaming cleaners and a chemical sprayer.

Anyone have recommendations for cleaners and/or sprayers for this type of application?

------------------------------
Joshua Maxson
Confluence Brewing Company
West Des Moines IA
(319) 400-9678
------------------------------

We use Zee Loeffler Lerades CSR.  It's a Chlorinated Alkaline foam cleaner.  Great for outside of tanks and floors and such.  A little goes a long way.  Good stuff.

------------------------------
Gregory Ouellette
Head Brewer
Martha's Exchange Rest & Brewing Co
Nashua NH
(603) 883-8781
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-07-2022 15:22
From: Joshua Maxson
Subject: Foaming Cleaner and Sprayer for floors and tanks?

Hey gang. We've been cleaning our floors and tank exteriors for years now with a little watered down caustic and some brushes (or rags on a mop handle when we're talking about tank exteriors) but I've heard tell that some other folks out there do it with foaming cleaners and a chemical sprayer.

Anyone have recommendations for cleaners and/or sprayers for this type of application?

------------------------------
Joshua Maxson
Confluence Brewing Company
West Des Moines IA
(319) 400-9678
------------------------------

I'm a big fan of my Foamit F100 2.6 gal foamer. It can be manually pumped or connect to your compressed air (up to 40 psi).

As far as chemicals, I use Madison Chemicals Dart-444 (foaming chlorinated caustic) and ACID-FOAM (foaming nitric/phosphoric acid blend) depending on the soil type. I typically mix 500mL of chemical per 9L cold water and it gets a really deep clean.

------------------------------
Jay Dolas
Head Brewer
New District Brewing Co
Arlington VA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-07-2022 15:22
From: Joshua Maxson
Subject: Foaming Cleaner and Sprayer for floors and tanks?

Hey gang. We've been cleaning our floors and tank exteriors for years now with a little watered down caustic and some brushes (or rags on a mop handle when we're talking about tank exteriors) but I've heard tell that some other folks out there do it with foaming cleaners and a chemical sprayer.

Anyone have recommendations for cleaners and/or sprayers for this type of application?

------------------------------
Joshua Maxson
Confluence Brewing Company
West Des Moines IA
(319) 400-9678
------------------------------

Hey Joshua, 

There are a ton of options of both application equipment and chemistry when cleaning the outside of your vessels. Watered down caustic probably does ok for breaking down raw organic soils, but you risk leaving behind alkalinity films. Using a foaming detergent gives you the opportunity to use less chemical, provides a visual cue as to what has and hasn't been covered, and so long as you get it rinsed off of the tank before that foam dries down completely, you have very little risk of leaving behind any residual alkalinity or redepositing the soils you just worked so hard to remove. 

We have a Technical Sales Representative that lives in West Des Moines. Would it be ok for her to give you a call or stop by? 

Cheers!

------------------------------
Andrew Sims
Sales Manager
Madison Chemical Company
Madison IN
(812) 273-6000
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-07-2022 15:22
From: Joshua Maxson
Subject: Foaming Cleaner and Sprayer for floors and tanks?

Hey gang. We've been cleaning our floors and tank exteriors for years now with a little watered down caustic and some brushes (or rags on a mop handle when we're talking about tank exteriors) but I've heard tell that some other folks out there do it with foaming cleaners and a chemical sprayer.

Anyone have recommendations for cleaners and/or sprayers for this type of application?

------------------------------
Joshua Maxson
Confluence Brewing Company
West Des Moines IA
(319) 400-9678
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 7/7/2022 3:23:00 PM
From: Joshua Maxson
Subject: Foaming Cleaner and Sprayer for floors and tanks?

Hey gang. We've been cleaning our floors and tank exteriors for years now with a little watered down caustic and some brushes (or rags on a mop handle when we're talking about tank exteriors) but I've heard tell that some other folks out there do it with foaming cleaners and a chemical sprayer. 

Anyone have recommendations for cleaners and/or sprayers for this type of application?

------------------------------
Joshua Maxson
Confluence Brewing Company
West Des Moines IA
(319) 400-9678
------------------------------

------------------------------
Alexander Kopf
Brewer
Northwoods Brewing Company
alex@northwoodsbrewingcompany.com
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-07-2022 15:22
From: Joshua Maxson
Subject: Foaming Cleaner and Sprayer for floors and tanks?

Hey gang. We've been cleaning our floors and tank exteriors for years now with a little watered down caustic and some brushes (or rags on a mop handle when we're talking about tank exteriors) but I've heard tell that some other folks out there do it with foaming cleaners and a chemical sprayer.

Anyone have recommendations for cleaners and/or sprayers for this type of application?

------------------------------
Joshua Maxson
Confluence Brewing Company
West Des Moines IA
(319) 400-9678
------------------------------

We use the Foamit F100 2.6 gal foamer as well. One for caustic foaming and one for acid foaming. If you go this router ensure the compressed air line does not exceed 40psi.

------------------------------
Brent Acomb
Production Manager
Mother Road Brewing Co.
Flagstaff AZ
(951) 764-0074
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-07-2022 15:22
From: Joshua Maxson
Subject: Foaming Cleaner and Sprayer for floors and tanks?

Hey gang. We've been cleaning our floors and tank exteriors for years now with a little watered down caustic and some brushes (or rags on a mop handle when we're talking about tank exteriors) but I've heard tell that some other folks out there do it with foaming cleaners and a chemical sprayer.

Anyone have recommendations for cleaners and/or sprayers for this type of application?

------------------------------
Joshua Maxson
Confluence Brewing Company
West Des Moines IA
(319) 400-9678
------------------------------

Keeping your foam cleaning applications in different foam devices is a best practice. This will keep a chemical mixture from taking place if the Foam-It units are tagged properly. We recommend to foam clean tanks and equipment with a product that is alkaline but soft metal safe. We also would recommend a periodic foam cleaning for the external walls of your tanks if they are S/S and you want to brighten them up. We have a product called Foam-Shine for this purpose. A foaming acid product will remove alkaline and mineral films from the surface. For floor scrubbers there are also specific products made for them. Some products are designed to remove rubber and tread from the floors. These products are also designed to not corrode your floor scrubber in the process. I hope this helps. Please reach out if you need additional information.

Cheers,

Jason Rhodes 
Business Development Manager 
Ecolab 
803-640-5848 M
jason.rhodes@ecolab.com

------------------------------
Jason Rhodes
Business Development Manager, Food and Beverage
Ecolab
North Augusta SC
(803) 640-5848
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-18-2022 22:14
From: Brent Acomb
Subject: Foaming Cleaner and Sprayer for floors and tanks?

We use the Foamit F100 2.6 gal foamer as well. One for caustic foaming and one for acid foaming. If you go this router ensure the compressed air line does not exceed 40psi.

------------------------------
Brent Acomb
Production Manager
Mother Road Brewing Co.
Flagstaff AZ
(951) 764-0074

Original Message:
Sent: 07-07-2022 15:22
From: Joshua Maxson
Subject: Foaming Cleaner and Sprayer for floors and tanks?

Hey gang. We've been cleaning our floors and tank exteriors for years now with a little watered down caustic and some brushes (or rags on a mop handle when we're talking about tank exteriors) but I've heard tell that some other folks out there do it with foaming cleaners and a chemical sprayer.

Anyone have recommendations for cleaners and/or sprayers for this type of application?

------------------------------
Joshua Maxson
Confluence Brewing Company
West Des Moines IA
(319) 400-9678
------------------------------

Dear Joshua:

There are two components required for successfully cleaning the exterior of equipment. One is the chemical and the other one is the applicator or foamer. From a chemical perspective you probably want to go the route of a chlorinated-alkaline foam cleaner since these address both soil and black mold growth in humid environments. It is essential that you rinse these thoroughly after use as they can lead to pitting if allowed to dry on the stainless steel.  As a general rule you want to avoid letting chemical dry on the equipment. Re-apply as necessary to prevent this from happening. Here is where the applicator/foamer comes into play.  The best results are achieved with a good mixture of chemical and air (not too dry and not too wet). Dry foam clings well but does not clean well.  Wet foam cleans well but you do not get the required cling/contact time necessary for good results. Industrial foamers brings the best results.  A number of manufacturers make these. I personally like Lafferty Foamers since they are made of stainless and you can easily replace parts should they break due to wear and tear.  They also offer a variety of different units, both airless and using compressed air. 

You can alternatively use an acid foam cleaner if you are more concerned about inorganic deposits.  There are some that do a decent overall job as well using Phosphoric Acid and DDBSA.  There are also Peroxide based foam cleaners out there.  Somebody posted a pail with an acid cleaner but it seems to be using Sulfuric Acid, which I do not recommend for exterior foaming applications in a brewery.

If you want to go low budget, you can use a hose end foamer with a chemical reservoir.  These do not produce great foam but are inexpensive and easy to use. Again, Lafferty has some and several other companies offer similar units.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

------------------------------
Dirk Loeffler
CEO/Technical Director
Loeffler Hygiene & Safety Solutions
Powder Springs GA
(404) 229-7583
loeffler.dirk@loefflerhygiene.com
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-07-2022 15:22
From: Joshua Maxson
Subject: Foaming Cleaner and Sprayer for floors and tanks?

Hey gang. We've been cleaning our floors and tank exteriors for years now with a little watered down caustic and some brushes (or rags on a mop handle when we're talking about tank exteriors) but I've heard tell that some other folks out there do it with foaming cleaners and a chemical sprayer.

Anyone have recommendations for cleaners and/or sprayers for this type of application?

------------------------------
Joshua Maxson
Confluence Brewing Company
West Des Moines IA
(319) 400-9678
------------------------------

Hey Joshua,

As Dirk stated the quality of the foam is something to consider, especially depending on the size of vessels you are cleaning. For simplicity I would try using a Hydrofoamer, which attaches to a hose end, as they are relatively inexpensive and come with metering tips to adjust chemical concentration. As previously stated, have a foamer for each of the chemicals you intend to dispense. I also recommend rotating from a foaming acid to alkaline. Attaching relevant info, such as mixing instructions, to each foamer (or nearby) is quite helpful as well.

------------------------------
Aaron Brodniak
Consultant
Edmonds WA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-20-2022 13:04
From: Dirk Loeffler
Subject: Foaming Cleaner and Sprayer for floors and tanks?

Dear Joshua:

There are two components required for successfully cleaning the exterior of equipment. One is the chemical and the other one is the applicator or foamer. From a chemical perspective you probably want to go the route of a chlorinated-alkaline foam cleaner since these address both soil and black mold growth in humid environments. It is essential that you rinse these thoroughly after use as they can lead to pitting if allowed to dry on the stainless steel.  As a general rule you want to avoid letting chemical dry on the equipment. Re-apply as necessary to prevent this from happening. Here is where the applicator/foamer comes into play.  The best results are achieved with a good mixture of chemical and air (not too dry and not too wet). Dry foam clings well but does not clean well.  Wet foam cleans well but you do not get the required cling/contact time necessary for good results. Industrial foamers brings the best results.  A number of manufacturers make these. I personally like Lafferty Foamers since they are made of stainless and you can easily replace parts should they break due to wear and tear.  They also offer a variety of different units, both airless and using compressed air.

You can alternatively use an acid foam cleaner if you are more concerned about inorganic deposits.  There are some that do a decent overall job as well using Phosphoric Acid and DDBSA.  There are also Peroxide based foam cleaners out there.  Somebody posted a pail with an acid cleaner but it seems to be using Sulfuric Acid, which I do not recommend for exterior foaming applications in a brewery.

If you want to go low budget, you can use a hose end foamer with a chemical reservoir.  These do not produce great foam but are inexpensive and easy to use. Again, Lafferty has some and several other companies offer similar units.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

------------------------------
Dirk Loeffler
CEO/Technical Director
Loeffler Hygiene & Safety Solutions
Powder Springs GA
(404) 229-7583
loeffler.dirk@loefflerhygiene.com

Original Message:
Sent: 07-07-2022 15:22
From: Joshua Maxson
Subject: Foaming Cleaner and Sprayer for floors and tanks?

Hey gang. We've been cleaning our floors and tank exteriors for years now with a little watered down caustic and some brushes (or rags on a mop handle when we're talking about tank exteriors) but I've heard tell that some other folks out there do it with foaming cleaners and a chemical sprayer.

Anyone have recommendations for cleaners and/or sprayers for this type of application?

------------------------------
Joshua Maxson
Confluence Brewing Company
West Des Moines IA
(319) 400-9678
------------------------------