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Tsuyako · 09-03-2009, 07:03 PM

...and I need to bottle my beer or I'll go insain. I haven't done anything brew related in months and I'm going nuts. Anyway my question is can I use bleach or any other house hold cleaner to sanitze/clean my bottleing bucket and bottles?

jschaf · 09-03-2009, 07:10 PM

yes, I wash them first with a bit of soap and hot water. Rinse. Then use two capfuls of bleach with 5 gallons of cold water and let sit for 15 minutes. Rinse very thoroughly with the hottest water and you're set. Do the same for the bottles or put the bottles in the dishwasher on the steam dry cycle and leave em there until bottling time. I've used bleach many times and have had no worries. Just rinse until you can't smell it anymore. Most everybody talks about bleach being the devil, but who cares if it works?

flyangler18 · 09-03-2009, 07:14 PM

Go to your pharmacy and get a bottle of Betadine.

If you have a Tractor Supply or similar type store nearby, you can also get Iodophor concentrate in gallon sized containers; it is used as a teat dip for dairy cows.

Tsuyako · 09-03-2009, 07:16 PM

Thanks for the tips!

**weirdboy** · 09-03-2009, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jschaf

yes, I wash them first with a bit of soap and hot water. Rinse. Then use two capfuls of bleach with 5 gallons of cold water and let sit for 15 minutes. Rinse very thoroughly with the hottest water and you're set. Do the same for the bottles or put the bottles in the dishwasher on the steam dry cycle and leave em there until bottling time. I've used bleach many times and have had no worries. Just rinse until you can't smell it anymore. Most everybody talks about bleach being the devil, but who cares if it works?

I thought this way for many, many batches, until a few months ago I had nasty chlorophenols show up in one that apparently had some bleach sticking around in it, even though I'm pretty anal retentive about rinsing everything thoroughly. After that experience, I have switched to star san just because it's not worth the risk in my opinion. I ended up dumping the rest of that beer last night because it just did not improve and was practically undrinkable.

Tsuyako · 09-04-2009, 12:08 AM

I feel more comfortable with starsan but in a pinch it's good to know bleach is there.

Brewin_CRAZY · 09-04-2009, 03:20 AM

Yea, i use starsan only and if i run out I just run the my LHBS and pick more up. Of course on those rare days they are closed I have a spare bottle of Iodophor handy.

**Bernie Brewer** · 09-04-2009, 03:26 AM

I used bleach for many years. It works great. You just have to rinse really well. And wear old clothes, because if you spill even a little bit on yourself, your clothes are ruined. Those are the reasons I switched to starsan. I got sick of rinsing and ruining clothes.