Out of sanitizer

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Julohan

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Out of sanitizer. Should I just use bleach? I ran out of iodopher. I want to rack my beer to the keg today. Should I just sanitize it with a bleach or wait to I get some more sanitizer?
 
You'd need to boil a TON of water to rinse out the bleach smell *and* keep it sanitized, even at low concentrations.

If I want to get a good thorough cleaning, I'll let it soak in bleach and rinse it with tap water, but I've never used bleach to sanitize because of the need for excessive rinsing.
 
You can use a solution of 1 tablespoon of bleach per gallon of water, but you will need to rinse it thoroughly. If you can wait and get more sanitizer, it might be a better solution.
 
Should I just sanitize it with a bleach or wait to I get some more sanitizer?

Just pickup some Betadine solution (1% titratable iodine) or generic equivalent from Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Target, etc. It's cheaper than Iodophor and has no loss of efficacy.

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Ok I'll do this metric cos I don't do US measures, but it'll be easy enough to convert.

Use 30ml of thin bleach (5%) to 30ml of white vinegar in 20 litres of water.

Do not mix bleach and vinegar together neat. It will give off Chlorine and can be dangerous if not deadly.

The concentration is very low of the bleach, so low that rinsing is not needed, although I admit I do rinse it lightly and the bleach is extremely effective at low pH.

This is a brewcast tip from the Star san guy, so I know it's from good stock and I've used it a lot, in fact it's my main sanitiser.
 
if you have a tractor supply store near you you can buy their bulk soft iodine for a couple of bucks. I got the 1 gallon of it for $14. I'll never need to buy it again!
 
or.....just use a few capfulls of bleach and rinse with the hottest water in your house and quit being spoiled. If you don't think bleach is a good sanitizer, and cannot be rinsed out then you're wrong.
 
idk, I haven't had problems with using bleach. The extra rinsing costs maybe $1.00 more on the water bill per month. I just like to be resourceful with what's around the house.
 
idk, I haven't had problems with using bleach. The extra rinsing costs maybe $1.00 more on the water bill per month. I just like to be resourceful with what's around the house.

I always use bleach.
I had some iodopher a while ago and it was nice and easy, but it ran out.

I just use a couple of splashes of bleach and rinse until I don't smell it anymore.
Works every time!
:tank:
 
Wait to get more sanitizer.
From the Complete Joy of Home Brewing.
"Chlorine bleach sanitizing solutions are corrosive to stainless steel and should only be used for brief periods of sanitation.
For homebrewers, an effective sanitizing solution can be prepared by mixing 1/3 to 1 1/2 teaspoons (3-10ml) of household bleach in 5 gallons (19l) of cold water."
However, Chlorine needs 30 minutes to 1 hour to sanitize, and I wouldn't like to risk my kegs by soaking something corrosive in them. Besides, a couple extra days in the fermenter while you get a keg friendly sanitizer isn't going to do any harm.

-a.
 
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