A while back someone posted about using Oxyclean as a cleaner sterilizer. He also mentioned using it as a spray on his grapes against fungal activity. Was it Oxyclean or Oxiclean? They are very different. Oxyclean is from a Canadian company and Oxiclean is from a US company.
If it was used on vegetation, how effective was it and what was the mixing ratio used? I've got a little anthracnose that it might be worth experimenting with if I could be sure it was safe.
Dick
Both materials produce hydrogen peroxide. Peroxide is just about the last thing you want in your wine (unless you really like Sherry). Lum
Dick,
It may have been me.
Some time ago I researched the patents on some peroxide-based fruit sprays, and quickly realized that they were basically sodium percarbonate, which is the active ingredient in Oxyclean (60%, IIRC).The literature indicated a wide range of applications and susceptible fungi & bacteria, and little in the way of limitations. I use it in rotation with other, more "technical" sprays, and especially late in the season, just before the prolonged rainy spells we sometimes get before harvest. I like the idea of the rain washing any residue away, and it's cheap enough to be a "throwaway" spray for a spell of wet weather, without counting toward the limits imposed on the "technical" sprays.
I'm in complete agreement with Lum about letting it get into the wine, but I think it is broken down pretty quickly in the vineyard. Heat, light and moisture cause it to breakdown.
Here's a link to a (virtually chemically identical) product which is in fact intended for sterilizing barrels & hoses.
Note, however, the citric acid rinse to decompose any residual percarbonate on the equipment.
If I recall, the mixing ratio was quite flexible, but I one scoop per four gallons is the ratio I have in my journal. At the time I'd done the math. This stuff isn't exactly rocket science; it's pretty benign.
Oops,
Sorry, Bob. Didn't mean to steal your thunder. I didn't recall if I'd ever mentioned it here .
I'm amazed at how little known it is for this purpose, yet how many proprietary products are little more than percarbonate.
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