New brewer needs help with Sanitation

Hi there I'm just getting into brewing and purchased my first kit from my LHBS. In the kit came both C-brite and Iodophore.

My question comes from do I need to use both of these? One is listed as a cleaner and the other is a sanitizer but I see people only using one or the other. Do I use the C-brite to clean and then use the Iodophor to sanitize?

I searched and never saw that people were using both, I'm sorry if this is a dumb newbie question.

Please read this Principles of Cleaning and Sanitation

Quick synopsis: cleaning is removing soils. Sanitation kills bacteria. You need to do both. There is not one agent that can do both effectively. You need to go through two processes.

IMO, neither C-Brite or Iodophor are the best things to use. Search for PBW and StarSan

Thanks Wayne1 I really appreciate the advice! This is exactly what I needed to know. Honestly I didn't think about the cleaners when he was putting them together in the kit (I know cleaning is the most important thing stupid me).

I'll definetely look into both PBW and StarSan in the near future!

A cheaper alternative to PBW is the Sun Oxygen Cleaner at the Dollar Store, just rinse well with plain water before using the Sanitizer. It works great on a brew kettle if left to soak overnight. One thing to be careful is if you have any poycorbonate (common in sight tubes), as they should not be left soaking in any oxygen cleaner. I use PBW after brewing on all my hoses and pumps but leave anything with cooked on stuff overnight and it cleans like a dream the next morning. You can also use Oxiclean Versitale Fresh but the Sun is cheaper and the same thing. Brewing is not over until everything is clean or soaking.

I only use Star San as a sanitizer. Follow this rule:

1: Clean
2: Rinse
3. Star San


in other words Sanitize, Sanitize,Sanitize

Well I brewed my first batch of sweet stout yesterday and I want to say thanks to everyone here that helped me with the sanitation questions! I replaced my c-brite with PBW because I didn't want to use a caustic cleaner and it worked beautifully! Definitely a fan of that now!

I will replace my Iodophore with StarSan the next time I'm in the store, not too happy with the Iodophore as a whole.

I second the StarSan change. That was one of the best things I ever did, you will be happy.