I just checked my fermenter about 24 hours after brewing, and my airlock is full of gunk. it's brown with bits of hops in it. It looks to be fermenting pretty vigorously. Should I leave it alone or pop it out, clean and refill it?
Thanks!

Do you have plastic tubing of the right diameter to rig a blow off tube with? The tubing should fit snugly in the top of your fermentor to prevent air leaks if your using a carboy. Just sanitize the tubing, insert one end into the fermentor and the other into a bucket of water. Instant airlock that can't get clogged. If you dont have the abilities to rig an airlock then you can do an open ferment until the activity dies down enough to put it back on. If you do clean the airlock and reatach it make sure you sanitize it before reataching it.

I agree with penguin. You can clean it and replace it, but you'll probably be doing the same thing again tomorrow. If you can rig a blow-off tube, that'd be your best bet.

It's a bucket ferment so no Blow off tube, but I have plenty of sanitizer, and I don't mind cleaning it till it slows down. something to think about for next time.
thanks!