Undiluted Star San Just Destroyed my underwear

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adamjackson

adamjackson

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....You simply can't make this crap up!

:ban:

I was going to sanitize a yeast starter glass container so I opened up a new StarSan from the LHBS. I squeezed too much into the measure container part for the amount of water so tried to get it back into the main reservoir. Well, I had uncapped the main resevoir but not the plastic / white cover on it so I squeezed about 30 pounds of pressure and StarSan shot out of the main nozzle hitting my ceiling and going all over my walls.

I'm a complete idiot.

Well, I mopped it all up with bleach and cleaned up my walls. All is fine (I am living alone so no Wife to yell at me).

My thigh was burning and I looked down and my t-shirt and undies were full of holes. The StarSan ate right through them and was now burning my skin!

A shower helped but my new underwear is ruined.

Yes, this is a "hall of fame" thread but I figured it was a word of advice to anyone on here to be careful with chemicals. StarSan may be "safe to drink" but it can burn your skin and underwear / shirts if you're not careful. I wouldn't go as far to say wear eye protection but it's some nasty stuff! It did a real number on my clothes.

:mad:
 
Yuri_Rage said:
...to include not cleaning up an acid spill with bleach.
Click to expand...

Why not? I'm a n00b at all of this fancy brewing sanitization stuff.

I used the standard soap & water mopping treatment but sticky StarSan was persistent so I switched to a diluted clorox + water treatment. It did much better on my tile floors.
 
adamjackson said:
Why not? I'm a n00b at all of this fancy brewing sanitization stuff.

I used the standard soap & water mopping treatment but sticky StarSan was persistent so I switched to a diluted clorox + water treatment. It did much better on my tile floors.
Click to expand...

It can release poisonous chlorine gas when the acid and bleach react together. Use water with baking soda next time to clean up.
 
Yuri_Rage said:
...to include not cleaning up an acid spill with bleach.
Click to expand...

+1

Best bet would be to neutralize the spill. Common soap is a decent base a case like this.. Acid and bleach a big no no! No yellow clouds of gas I hope..
 
adamjackson said:
Crap. As usual, I should have posted to HBT before doing ANYTHING at all.
Click to expand...

You my friend stumbled on to a form of mustard gas. I'm sure the quantity was small, but better safe than sorry!
 
Long story short, never mix chlorine bleach with acids. Bleach is an alkaline and likes to be that way. mixing it with acidic solutions oxidises the hypochlorite and you end up with chlorine, which like most halogens is pretty bad for you
 
Yeah, Starsan is safe... Diluted. If I have to use an eye dropper to dilute it for a gallon jug I certainly don't want to touch it...

I used to work in a photo lab a long time ago, and we had to lock down our drain at the end of the night so the cleaning crew couldn't use it. Nitrates+ammonia=omfg dead
 
TimpanogosSlim said:
Uh, isn't mustard agent generally sulfur based? star-san is phosphoric acid.
Click to expand...

It is part phosphoric and part Diodibenzinesulfate (DDBSA) and part alcohol. The sulfate part is a sulfur based acid. And somewhere in this thread eye protection was mentioned, not a bad idea with the concentrate.
 
What a bunch of babies. I bathe in undiluted star-san almost daily. I find the burning sensation I get on my scrotum helps me prepare for the day's challenges. Plus, 'manscaping' isn't all that necessary anymore. It's an expensive habit though.
 
I think the message of how damaging undiluted Star San can be, isn't known or talked about that much. Since everywhere people generally talk about how "safe" it is there is a general assumption that it's cool to spill a little and not worry.
I learned this the hard way as well .... squeezed just a little too much out and it spilled down the sides of the bottle. I left the bottle on my kitchen counter for 2 days, which is made of that crappy generic finish used in the 80s, and it stained the counter white.
That's when I started reading about the acidity of the product and discovered how the product can damage surfaces at full strength.

To the OP - glad you didn't get hurt. Personal well being and health over property damage any day.
 
I use double strength star san on my underwear, and not only does it sanitize the skid marks but it also kills the crotch crickets.
 
I loled in spite of myself. Your story reminds me of when I worked at Zayre's as a mechanic,& had to run the automotive dept as well. This guy ( I now think is from a certain ethnic background) asked me to tip a marine battery upside down on the glass counter to see if it leaked. Wanting to make a sale on a slow day,I complied. SPLASH! Same as you,same area. Thank god it wasn't front/center! I tried to explain it to him to no avail. I hope he figured it out eventually. I got a chemical burn & holy drawers for my trouble. I was a senior in high school at the time.
 
Yeah,I still got a bad chemical burn,by the time I could get home to shower & soak my cloths in baking soda solution. hurt for a couple days. sulphuric acid is some serious stuff.
 
adamjackson said:
....You simply can't make this crap up!

:ban:

I was going to sanitize a yeast starter glass container so I opened up a new StarSan from the LHBS. I squeezed too much into the measure container part for the amount of water so tried to get it back into the main reservoir. Well, I had uncapped the main resevoir but not the plastic / white cover on it so I squeezed about 30 pounds of pressure and StarSan shot out of the main nozzle hitting my ceiling and going all over my walls.

I'm a complete idiot.

Well, I mopped it all up with bleach and cleaned up my walls. All is fine (I am living alone so no Wife to yell at me).

My thigh was burning and I looked down and my t-shirt and undies were full of holes. The StarSan ate right through them and was now burning my skin!

A shower helped but my new underwear is ruined.

Yes, this is a "hall of fame" thread but I figured it was a word of advice to anyone on here to be careful with chemicals. StarSan may be "safe to drink" but it can burn your skin and underwear / shirts if you're not careful. I wouldn't go as far to say wear eye protection but it's some nasty stuff! It did a real number on my clothes.

:mad:
Click to expand...

You are such a kind person to go to all that trouble to make us feel good about our selves...

I will not show you the shorts and flannel draw-string pants at my hose with bleach holes in them.

I want you to think you are the only person who is does silly things with toxic chemicals....
 
He's not alone. blushes...:drunk: On my last beer thinkin about this stuff. Anyone got some more? I still need to new burners to do my PM kit.
 
Generally, whilst mead-making I opt for 3 piece suit plus chainmail, codpiece, and riot helmet. Cant be too careful when handling loose raisins...
 
I'd prefer not to singe my gentleman's parts or have to deal with chemical burns from stray sanitizer. But hey I"m just funny like that.
 
To Paulster2626: Whats your choice beer when your taking your bath? Blistering Balls Brew?
 
This brings to mind the prase "Never cook Bacon while Naked".

Glad you weren't seriously hurt!
 
CBR250 said:
To Paulster2626: Whats your choice beer when your taking your bath? Blistering Balls Brew?
Click to expand...

Any stout, obviously. That way I can - ahh you know what, nevermind.

I am currently (well, I'm about to, not right this second) using undiluted star-san to clean my disgusting feet. You know those parts where there's just a ton of extra skin build up, that if you're a pansy-ass mofo who gets pedicures they grind off with a file? Well that's all nasty see, and I figure undiluted star san will clean out the grime that's lodged in the skin-cracks. Nasty, I know.

Next I'm heading over to my neighbor's place and am going to tell him that if he doesn't mow his crappy lawn full of weeds in the next 30 minutes that I'm tossing undiluted star-san all over it. And his car.

I never knew there were so many uses for undiluted star-san. What a great forum.
 

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