Most bar owners never watch their lines get cleaned. The tech shows up, works for an hour or so, and leaves. Whether the lines are clean depends on what happened in that hour. These seven questions will tell you.
1. How Do You Move the Cleaner Through the Lines?
There are two ways. A static clean fills the lines with cleaner and lets it sit. A recirculating clean uses a pump to keep the solution moving. The Brewers Association Draught Beer Quality Manual calls for pumping solution through for at least 15 minutes. Moving solution scrubs the tubing wall. Sitting solution relies on chemistry alone.
2. What Chemical Do You Use, and How Strong?
Routine cleaning uses caustic line cleaner. The Brewers Association calls for a 2% mix, or 3% for dirty lines, warmed to 80 to 110°F. A cleaner who waters it down can move through a bar fast and leave the lines barely cleaner. Ask what they use, how they mix it, and how long it stays in.
3. Do You Take the Faucets and Couplers Apart?
Solution pumped through the line misses surfaces inside faucets and couplers. Those parts have to come apart and get scrubbed by hand. Faucets are where mold and yeast show up first. If the tech never pulls a faucet off the tower, part of your system is going uncleaned.
4. Do You Do Acid Cleaning?
Caustic removes biofilm and yeast. It leaves beer stone, a mineral crust that builds up in lines. That takes acid. The Brewers Association recommends it every quarter. See what beer stone is.
5. How Often Will You Come?
Pennsylvania requires cleaning every 14 days under 40 Pa. Code § 5.51. A three- or four-week schedule saves money and puts your license at risk. Ask if they commit to 14 days and what happens when a visit gets missed.
6. What Paperwork Do I Get?
Pennsylvania requires a certificate from your cleaner with the date, the person's name, and the method, kept on file at your bar. A good company leaves one at every visit without being asked. See draft line cleaning records.
7. Do You Hold a Liquor License?
Section 5.51 says one licensee may not clean another licensee's draft system. Distributors and breweries hold PLCB licenses. Your cleaner should be an outside service with no liquor license. See who is responsible for cleaning your lines.
A Bonus Question: Who's Doing the Work?
Ask about training. Programs like the Micro Matic Dispense Institute's cover cleaning methods, chemistry, and troubleshooting. A trained tech also spots problems beyond dirty lines, like worn seals, a warm cooler, or lines that are out of balance.
Our Answers
We use a Micro Matic recirculating pump. We mix to Brewers Association strength. We take apart and hand-clean every faucet and coupler. Acid goes through every quarter. We keep a 14-day schedule, leave a certificate every visit, and hold no liquor license. Mike completed Micro Matic's Dispense Institute training. Call (267) 282-1002 for a free on-site estimate.