maltedhopalong
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Washing-up liquid has a heap of aromatics and bittering stuff added to it, to make it smell nice and to stop kids drinking too much of it - so I agree with everyone who says it should be avoided like the plague around your brewing gear. It also has pretty potent head-destroying properties.
Dishwasher powder, as far as I know, is basically sodium percarbonate (ie napisan) anyway - if so, it does have some sanitising properties, but is best used as a cleaner and then followed with a dedicated sanitiser.
The OP's problem sounds to me more like extract tang, or possibly some citrusy hop oils from the kit?
Not sure what your issue is Boilerboy, how do the cubes smell when they are empty?
One thing I've noticed, is that the 'unscented' homebrand nappy treament from one store smells (and looks) identical to the 'lemon' nappy treatment from another store - so I don't really place much stock in their labelling to be honest, there's a good chance it's all the same stuff anyway, just with different labels to give the illusion of choice. If you think it could be fragrance from the napisan then maybe try something else for a while.
Alternatively, I've heard autolysis described as 'soapy' - is there any chance one of your brews spent too long in a cube and developed some funky flavours?
Nah, straight from fermenter to bottles. It's not "soapy" it's "detergent"-y. U know like morning fresh?
So are you guys saying that I could get away with cleaning my fermenter thus? Bottle, rinse out with water, scrub with a soft cleaning cloth, then rinse again, fill with napisan/homebrand bleach and then rinse and sanitise???
That sounds heaps easier than the extraordinarily long process I normally use. Washing it out, soaking it hot water, washing again (all with detergent) rinsing to the point of ridiculousness, then santising...