Is distilled water necessary to sanitize?

I'm using a 2x 5gal buckets for a cold bleach/hot rinse (to sanitize utensils, airlock, stopper etc). My fermenter will be a 5gal plastic water bottle.

I did my best to search up other member's methods of cleaning and sanitation, and I've almost decided on my method:


Do I need to use distilled water? Is drinking water unacceptable?

I also take it that I can't use a carboy brush - or else I risk scratching the plastic.

Thanks! I'm pretty excited to get some cider goin'

I use warm tapwater & dish soap to wash; I rinse 2x with cold water, let it all dry & sanitize with Starsan. You really don't need distilled water. Regards, GF.

I agree with GF, if you use a 'no rinse' sanitizer like starsan or iodophor, there's no rinsing needed thus no need for distilled water. You might reconsider your choice of sanitizer, so that you don't need to rinse.

get the primary fermenter clean but don't lose sleep over it! fresh cider is far from sterile, and besides once yeast gets going it generally keeps its own house clean. you can be more careful when racking to secondary and bottling. i am never anywhere near as clean as you are preparing to be, and i have never had contaminants (knock on wood). i use warm oxyclean followed by cold tap water for bottles and hoses etc., and hot water + bleach to clean carboys before and after use, rinsed with tap water. good luck. cheers. proost. eet smakelijk

The only time I use distilled water is for my starsan that I plan on mixing but not using right away (spray bottles). Anything else gets good ol tap water with starsan. I have not done a cash analysis on it but I would suspect that it may be cheaper than using bleach, no risk of messing up my clothes, and easier since there is no rinsing needed.

If you stick with bleach then I would suggest tap over distilled. The only way I would use distilled in that case would be for a rinse...though I dont think I would do that either.

Technically.... according to links that are stickied ... bleach is not a sanitizer per se` until the ph of the solution is low. Bleach is alkaline, so bleach+water does not a sanitizer make.

Fletch78 said:

Technically.... according to links that are stickied ... bleach is not a sanitizer per se` until the ph of the solution is low. Bleach is alkaline, so bleach+water does not a sanitizer make.

Click to expand...

If it isn't sanitizing, then what is it doing?

@ dinnerstick - I though how water+bleach was a no no....

Thanks for the replies - It sounds like my original plan was overkill. I would get starsan, but the hombrew shop I ordered from (Norcal) can't ship it air, and I don't want to wait to clean. Cleaning is one of the areas where I actually have cost options, so I'd like to work that as much as possible.

They don't sell starsan at hardware stores either....

You can listen to the podcast that is stickied in the equipment/sanitation section. The inventor of Star San explains how a small amount of vinegar can be added to a solution of water and bleach to bring the ph down to a level where it's a sanitizer.

In brief, sanitation isn't as big of a deal with cider as with beer because in theory, the yeast will consume 100% of the sugar and create an anaerobic environment and alcohol, prohibiting most organisms from living. And when doing sweeter cider, steps such as Sorbating/sulphiting and/or pasteurization are used, which also prohibit most spoilage organisms.

*- vinegar bacteria specifically excluded.

Word. I'll check out the podcast. The 1:1 bleach/vinegar (mixed into water separately) sounds great.

I purchased campden tablets, but realizing my first cider will be loosely based off Edwort's Apfelwein recipe - and the juice will already be pasteurized, so the tablets would be redundant. I still would like to include this step my first time though. I guess my philosophy is to start strict, then ease up when my experience allows.

Anyways thanks for the tips and the clarification folks. I snagged up 5x 5gal bottles for $10 total, so I should be able to stagger my changes to the recipe and find what works.

Also, kudos to the board vets; I half expected to get the response: "Learn how to use the search engine you dumb noob!" I then remembered that this is a brewing forum, and I'd bet 50% of the posters get on here and replay after they've had a few... lol?

cheers to my current daytime intoxication

bleach kills stuff and it gets the crud out of my carboy, it works for me. i use a hot water/bleachy toilet cleaner (yum!) which also has some soap, and i rinse really thoroughly. be careful adding acids to bleach - hydrochloric acid + bleach (sodium hypochlorite) gives off deadly chlorine gas. not so for vinegar (acetic acid) but do check before you go mixing bleach with stuff. i completely agree with fletch that sanitation isn't as big a deal, and i think it is better to be smart than thorough- like, don't aerate fermented cider, once fermenting keep handling of the cider to a minimum, when in doubt leave it alone, clean and dry everything well after use, don't let your girlfriend put stick her nose into the carboy to smell your brew as she will definitely either scratch her head directly over the opening or wipe her nose, things like that.

Does anyone use SO2 and Citric acid?