Is scented bleach a problem in airlock?

Hi guys,
Due to a minor mistake, I accidentally put scented bleach in the airlock. Will that have any effect on batch's taste?

kojinakata said:

Hi guys,
Due to a minor mistake, I accidentally put scented bleach in the airlock. Will that have any effect on batch's taste?

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Bleach in your airlock? do not use bleach in your airlock, if you get a suckback that bleach will end up in your beer.

Use StarSan or Vodka in your airlocks

Cheers

What is a suckback? I have never come across that term.

+1 to what wile said.

Even if you do get a little suckback this time though, it'll most likely be diluted enough in 5 gal of beer to not matter too much (i.e. don't do it again, but don't worry about totally ruining this batch).

kojinakata said:

What is a suckback? I have never come across that term.

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It occurs when the pressure inside the carboy/fermentation bucket is lower than that outside of the bucket. This causes liquid in the airlock to be "sucked" into the bucket (instead of gas inside the bucket bubbling out through the lock). It can happen if the temperature drops or for a number of other reasons. It isn't really a bad thing, but just happens sometimes.

kojinakata said:

What is a suckback? I have never come across that term.

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Temp change or moving a plastic fermenter can cause pressure changes allowing the solution to be drawn into the fermenter.

I am a 1 gallon brewer. Can iodophor be used in airlock? I don't have star san and vodka.

kojinakata said:

Hi guys,
Due to a minor mistake, I accidentally put scented bleach in the airlock. Will that have any effect on batch's taste?

Click to expand...

Bleach? Why? Any bleach in an airlock is a problem. Just use plain water or if you are a worrier use a Star-San or Iodophor solution.

+1 on the plain water, just change it regularly.

Oh and buy some star-san, a little goes a long way. Have you been using bleach as your sanitizer?

ChefRex said:

Oh and buy some star-san, a little goes a long way. Have you been using bleach as your sanitizer?

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I am in Finland, and I use iodophor as my sanitizer. How scented bleach ended up there I simply don't remember .

ChefRex said:

+1 on the plain water, just change it regularly.

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What do you mean by regularly? Once a week, once a day? Should it be boiled and cooled water or simply tap water is fine too?

And sorry, I do not know how to reply to two messages with quotes at the same time .

I would think that you could use a light solution of iodophor in the airlock and not have to worry about it or plain water changed out weekly cleaning the airlock also.
Kippis!

Idophor at the normal sanitizing strength should be fine.

I use airlock bubbling to show rate of ferm'n, only.
If you have suckback, it's possible to get an air bubble which is laden with an infectious agent.
Make yourself a tube large enough in diameter to contain some moist cotton- a 2" path of cotton should be enough to filter out all particles.
Attach it to the downstream end of your bubbler. This is especially useful for starting a siphon by mouth pressure without getting saliva in the beer.
If you follow this with several feet of tubing, it will fill with CO2 from the ferm'n, and prevent O2 from entering from a suckback.

kojinakata said:

And sorry, I do not know how to reply to two messages with quotes at the same time .

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Oh, I can answer this one! The little button in the bottom right of a post that looks like a piece of paper with a "+" sign on it. Hit that button on every post you want to quote, and then, on the last post you want to quote, hit the regular "quote" button.