Starsan /Chemsan is what I use. I rinse everything, then wash with Oxyclen, rinse again, then finally dunk in the Chemsan and allow to drain. My red just sat there doing nothing much, so no idea if it might have been a bad kit.
My last one was the same red, the fermentation was completed in six days, and had cleared three days later, ready for bottling. It was amazingly quick. SWMBO was already drinking it the day after it was bottled, I like to wait at least a week, to allow it to mature.
The three months of lockdown would have given you time to do at least three batches of beer or wine
The big problem is bottle storage, both empty and full ones. I have around 60 wine and 40 beer bottles, but it takes up 30 to 40 bottles for each batch I make.
I was lucky when I was thinking of restarting in the hobby, I spotted an ad on Facebook for someone giving up the hobby, who was selling all their kit at a really good price - a car full for £20, a few hundred pounds worth. For just the cost of a 5gallon white wine kit, which was included in the package.
It's working out at around 80p per bottle of wine versus maybe £5 for a bottle of the cheapest supermarket wines.