Sanitizing agent

What is a good product you can purchase preferably in bulk from a walmart or such store.

You can't get it from walmart but I use starsan; that stuff is made for brewing and other food use. At the right dilution you don't need to rinse it so there is no chance of introducing contamination via water. It also foams up nicely so it coats everything and you can rack your beer right on the foam- it biodegrades and becomes yeast food.

Really, I would not take shortcuts with sanitizers. However, for cleaning oxyclean free works well.

Just use starsan. It's so much easier, so much better, an SO cheap when you really break down the costs. It even breaks down into yeast nutrient! You can use stale starsan to water your plants! You can sanitize with just a plant mister! (I'm not a paid spokesperson, but I was so stoked about it when I started brewing again after years ago when it was just BLEACH and rinse.)

For cleaning I like PBW, but plenty of people seem to have good results with oxyclean so YMMV.

superslomo said:

Just use starsan. It's so much easier, so much better, an SO cheap when you really break down the costs. It even breaks down into yeast nutrient! You can use stale starsan to water your plants! You can sanitize with just a plant mister! (I'm not a paid spokesperson, but I was so stoked about it when I started brewing again after years ago when it was just BLEACH and rinse.)

For cleaning I like PBW, but plenty of people seem to have good results with oxyclean so YMMV.

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Is there anywhere besides a homebrew shop which might sell it cheaper and in bigger bulk?

It is hard for it to get that much cheaper.

1 oz of starsan creates 5 gallons of sanitized solution. A 32 oz bottle costs $17.50 at midwest and creates 160 gallons of solution. That is only $0.11 per gallon!!!!! Just order a 32 oz bottle with your next brew purchase and you will be set for awhile.

I cannot agree more with the star San supporters here. It is HANDS DOWN the best and easiest sanitizer. It doesn't stain your plastics, it doesn't cause off flavors, it's safe enough to drink after its mixed with water, it lasts for months after its mixed, it is net/net incredibly cheap and if you want to buy in bulk there is a 32 ounce size that runs about $20 that will last through multiple years of moderate brewing.

If, for whatever insane reason, you still insist on finding a "cheaper" option, there are iodine solutions available at farm stores that are Quite cheap in enormous bulk. They lack many or all of the nicities of starsan, but they do sanitize Wally world will not help you here, but the feed store can.

Starsan is really a good investment, if you buy a large container it can usually take over a year to use it all. You only need to use a little bit at a time (you don't need to make 5 gallons of it every time- I usually only make 2-2.5 gallons on a typical brewday.) You can store it and reuse it quite a few times, especially if you use distilled water and store it in an airtight container. A lot of us store some in a spray bottle for all the little sanitizations we might need to do, like take grav readings. Some folks store a gallon of it and use that til the PH changes. (Get a 1 gallon jug of distilled water, pour a little out, and add a few MLs of starsan and shake. Just pour it back in and seal the jug.

Since it's a wet contact/no rinse sanitizer, you just need to put a gallon or two in your fermenter for example and swirl it around to make contact and then pour it back into your storage container...

With all the re-usability and versatility of it, it really is cost effectives, it works out to pennys per use...

There's a lot of great info in this thread, including the links to podcasts about the two most effective sanitizers we use, iodophor and starsan.

Sanitizer Question.

I don't think I could go back to having to rinse after sanitizing... aside from anything else, I always worried about risk of infection, which means you might save $.20 per batch on sanitizer, and have to toss the occasional infected batch, at a much higher cost...

Also made by Five Star, does the same as StarSan but without the foaming. Any downsides to Saniclean?

txstars15 said:

Also made by Five Star, does the same as StarSan but without the foaming. Any downsides to Saniclean?

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If you apply with a sprayer the foaming action gives greater coverage

txstars15 said:

Also made by Five Star, does the same as StarSan but without the foaming. Any downsides to Saniclean?

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Sanistar is for wimps who really do fear the foam. :}

Saniclean also takes 2 ounces per four gallons. Starsan is on ounce per 5 gallons. Saniclean is not half the price of starsan, so it's more expensive... foam is fine. Don't let it trouble you.