One Step cleans film - does StarSan??

BrewSwag 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
RumRiverBrewer

RumRiverBrewer

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2010
Messages
185
Reaction score
4
Location
Twin Cities
I like One Step because of it's ability to sanitize AND clean the film on my bottles and kegs (must be there too). Thinking of switching to StarSan... Does it clean brew film as well as One Step? (I don't brush anything with One Step and I'm not going to start if needed with another sanitizer..)
 
What's "brew film?" Never seen or heard of it.

If you mean the scale that often is left behind from oxyclean either reacting with hard water or simply the water in it evaporating and leaving some with crud behind the yes, starsan does a great job of removing it, probably better that that one-step crap. But any weak acid, like vinegar or lemon juice in water will as well.

And actually one step doesn't really sanitize...it's not FDA approved as a sanitizer, If you want to learn the truth about "one-crap" and read a lot of great info about the two most effective sanitizers we use, iodophor and starsan, including the links to podcasts read the thread below;

Sanitizer Question.
 
When I bought my original kit 4 years ago (Midwest's Intermediate kit), it had a jar of that One Step in it. I was using it & bleach to sanitize, just to be on the safe side. By the time the One Step was exhausted, I'd read enough here to know what to do. Since then, it's been PBW to clean the internals of tubing and small parts, and carboys on the rare occasions I use them. I just use Dawn dishwashing detergent and a sponge to clean pots, bucket fermenters, etc. For sanitizing, it's Star San all the way.

The way I look at it, a cleaner is a cleaner, a sanitizer ditto. A cleaner is a product that removes soil from a surface. A sanitizer is a product that kills or renders inert microorganisms that might otherwise find an unwelcome home in our beer. While each MAY sometimes perform the function of the other, there are reasons why separate products are used.
 
Every batch, I bottle 1 or 2 clear Corona bottles to have visibility as the beer conditions, to see how things shape up. I normally consume these bottles last, so they can sit for up to 12 months (I'm not a slow drinker, I just brew a lot of beer :p). The Corona bottles, being clear have a film in them after rinsing with water, and all sediment is rinsed out... Just soaking for 10 minutes in One Step cleans it out without any scrubbing, Nice.. I guess if you have brown bottles, you never notice!

Thanks for the info - I'll do more homework. I think I'll give starsan the same test and see if the bottles are as clear after soaking.
 
My opinion, which I think is also the opinion of most others who hang out here, is that you should not have a film inside your bottles after drinking it and rinsing out with water.

I can see perfectly well through my bottles after rinsing, and I almost always peek in there after rinsing to make sure the sediment is gone. I've never seen it.

But back to the topic: I recommend soaking your bottles in Oxiclean, or maybe One-step (I haven't used that stuff since the 90s. Or maybe it was B-Brite, I don't remember).

Then rinse with star san. (Or Iodophor). As has been said, One-step is not considered a sanitizer by the FDA. That doesn't mean it doesn't kill stuff, but why would you use that over something that is recognized as a killer?

The nice thing about StarSan is that it's a NO-RINSE sanitizer, so you just make sure everything is covered and let it drain out. It's fine to leave a film of sanitizer on it as you rack or bottle. Plus, you can mix it up with distilled water and store in jugs. Then use a spray bottle to apply, and just fill the spray bottle as needed. You use MUCH less this way and it's super convenient!

However you look at it, there must be a reason your bottles have a film in them after rinsing. I'd troubleshoot that. Although I have a feeling that a short soak in hot Oxiclean before using will remove whatever it is.
 
What is the recommended dose of starsan to water? I was looking at my starsan bottle last night and that section has been worn off. I thought it was one ounce to 5 gals, is that correct?
 
nutty_gnome said:
What is the recommended dose of starsan to water? I was looking at my starsan bottle last night and that section has been worn off. I thought it was one ounce to 5 gals, is that correct?
Click to expand...

Yes....1 oz/5 gallons.

But you don't need to make up 5 gallons- that's another of the cost benefits of it. You can make up a gallon or so to sanitize everything. I tend to make about 2 gallons on any brew or bottling day.
 
nutty_gnome said:
What is the recommended dose of starsan to water? I was looking at my starsan bottle last night and that section has been worn off. I thought it was one ounce to 5 gals, is that correct?
Click to expand...

Yep.

I have 3-QT jugs from Wamart that I use to store it. I fill halfway with distilled water and add 1/4 ounce from the measuring thingy. That equates to being stronger than necessary, but at least I know I'm safe and can store for a long time and even reuse if I have to pour some into a container.

Honestly, I mix a few batches a year this way. The spray bottle really works nice.
 
Homercidal said:
My opinion, which I think is also the opinion of most others who hang out here, is that you should not have a film inside your bottles after drinking it and rinsing out with water.

I can see perfectly well through my bottles after rinsing, and I almost always peek in there after rinsing to make sure the sediment is gone. I've never seen it.

But back to the topic: I recommend soaking your bottles in Oxiclean, or maybe One-step (I haven't used that stuff since the 90s. Or maybe it was B-Brite, I don't remember).

Then rinse with star san. (Or Iodophor). As has been said, One-step is not considered a sanitizer by the FDA. That doesn't mean it doesn't kill stuff, but why would you use that over something that is recognized as a killer?

The nice thing about StarSan is that it's a NO-RINSE sanitizer, so you just make sure everything is covered and let it drain out. It's fine to leave a film of sanitizer on it as you rack or bottle. Plus, you can mix it up with distilled water and store in jugs. Then use a spray bottle to apply, and just fill the spray bottle as needed. You use MUCH less this way and it's super convenient!

However you look at it, there must be a reason your bottles have a film in them after rinsing. I'd troubleshoot that. Although I have a feeling that a short soak in hot Oxiclean before using will remove whatever it is.
Click to expand...

No- a simple rinse won't leave a film. And if you're using softened water with Oxi-Clean, you'll be fine. But a soak in heated hard water (our well water is a perfect example as it's loaded with calcium and iron) will leave a white film on bottles if they're soaked in Oxi-Clean. This is why for label removal or etc. I use PBW. PBW contains chelators that take those minerals out of circulation. Star San is an excellent way to get rid of that film, but a lot of other acids would do the same; I suspect white vinegar would be the easiest and cheapest common acid that would work.
 
Revvy said:
Yes....1 oz/5 gallons.

But you don't need to make up 5 gallons
Click to expand...

I know, I usually make 2.5 gallons and it lasts for a brew day and at least one bottling session over the course of 2 months.

I have had trouble finding a spray bottle that keeps working after prolonged exposure to starsan. The Home depot heavy duty spray bottle has some sort of rubber that reacts with starsan so that the sprayer becomes useless after a few weeks. Anyone know where to get one that will last?

Here's Starsan tip: I've started using cough syrup measuring cups to measure out the starsan; it is much easier than squeezing that big bottle.
 
rico567 said:
No- a simple rinse won't leave a film. And if you're using softened water with Oxi-Clean, you'll be fine. But a soak in heated hard water (our well water is a perfect example as it's loaded with calcium and iron) will leave a white film on bottles if they're soaked in Oxi-Clean. This is why for label removal or etc. I use PBW. PBW contains chelators that take those minerals out of circulation. Star San is an excellent way to get rid of that film, but a lot of other acids would do the same; I suspect white vinegar would be the easiest and cheapest common acid that would work.
Click to expand...

So far I've not remembered to correct it beforehand, but we get the same problem at our house. I usually leave bottles to soak in OXI for a couple of hours and by then they develop a coating.

My recent solution was to mix some muriatic acid solution (since I bought 1 gallon of it last year for adjusting pH before I upgraded to phosphoric acid) as a final rinse before putting away.

Even a weakish solution of that stuff will remove the paint from Rogue bottles after a short soak. (But I think they use an etching paint because there is still a faint outline remaining IN the glass when it's done.)

I'm guessing that if I added a small amount of that stuff to the water before hand, to counter the alkalinity, it would not be a problem to start with.
 
As a control, I'll bottle a Corona with clean water (my water is well water) and let it sit along with a batch - and report if it's the water causing the film
 

Similar threads

F
cleaning and storing PET bottle (pop bottles)
Replies
9
Views
1K
fluketamer
F
R
Question regarding cleaning tap and beer lines
Replies
14
Views
2K
alex pablate
alex pablate
M
Keg sanitation ?
Replies
16
Views
1K
sodbuster
S
M
Cleaning/Sanitizing lines if only making seltzer water
Replies
3
Views
1K
matthew.zhorne
M
Ali01
Thoughts on fermentis LA-01?
Replies
17
Views
1K
DuncB
D
SSBrew 300

Latest posts

Back
Top