Star San: what you don't want to do with it

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Chadwick

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Don't leave the bottle on the kitchen counter top. Apparently if you do, the acids are strong enough to ruin the counter top. I discovered this just now. Now I'm certain nobody else is ever careless enough to use the Star San and allow a little dab to run down the side of the bottle and onto the counter top. I'm also sure that most everyone that does cleans this up immediately and doesn't allow it to set there, tucked away in the corner, for a week.

For the sake of knowing, know that Star San will ruin your counter top. It will eat right through the finish. I'm not talking about diluted Star San, but the stuff straight from the bottle. I'm sure this is "common sense" stuff for everyone else. But it is an eye opener for me.

How do I feel about Star San now? I still love it and will always continue to use it. I'm just going to be more careful with it in the future.

Merry Christmas everyone,
Chadwick

P.S. I know what Santa is getting me. Bayou Classic is in the name. Oh joy!
 
Oh, yes, you're not the only one that has done this.

There have been many posts from guys who have accidentally etched their beautiful new countertops. I remember one guy who really got into trouble, as his wife had just paid for these beautiful granite countertops, and they had just been installed.
 
I was lucky enough to stumble on a thread like this before I ended up doing the same thing.

Sorry about your counter top!

Merry Christmas, and enjoy your new gear!
 
Spots where full strength Starsan contacts a dark blue cotton t-shirt will eventually turn bright orange. I found this out when I was repairing a cracked cap on the bottle.
 
For the sake of knowing, know that Star San will ruin your counter top. It will eat right through the finish. I'm not talking about diluted Star San, but the stuff straight from the bottle. I'm sure this is "common sense" stuff for everyone else. But it is an eye opener for me.

Wife was SUPER pissed when I did that to our 1 year old solid surface counter... It was with a diluted spray bottle, you can see a ring where the bottle was. Sucks.
 
One of the many reasons i went electric and put a brew bench in the man cave.

 
Yea im glad my counter tops are white tile...im pretty sure they would be spotted otherwise.
 
If it was a granite countertop and the surface was etched, you can use olive oil or mineral oil to help with the spot.

The oil will wear away so you do have to occasionally re-apply, but it's better than looking at an ugly spot on the counter.
 
My laminate countertops in the spare room are all spotted from the diluted star San. Oh well. Adds character !!
 
Yeah. I know the feeling. I have the outline of the bottle on my laminate counter top. I have plans (eventually) to rip up that particle board and laminate counter top and replace it with plywood and sheets of mini ceramic tiles.
 
First I've heard of this, and glad I did. Thanks for sharing. My wife would KILL me. That would be the end of homebrewing.

Merry Christmas and best of luck with the spot.
 
Wife was SUPER pissed when I did that to our 1 year old solid surface counter... It was with a diluted spray bottle, you can see a ring where the bottle was. Sucks.

My laminate countertops in the spare room are all spotted from the diluted star San. Oh well. Adds character !!

I drip some diluted Star San on the laminate countertop every time I brew and usually don't clean it up for an hour or two - never had it stain. Are you mixing it extra strong? Or maybe leaving it there for a long time? I wonder if I've just been lucky, and need to be a lot more careful.
 
I drip some diluted Star San on the laminate countertop every time I brew and usually don't clean it up for an hour or two - never had it stain. Are you mixing it extra strong? Or maybe leaving it there for a long time? I wonder if I've just been lucky, and need to be a lot more careful.

Mix it according to the instructions. Maybe it's the solid surface counter top? It is a plastic.
 
Spots where full strength Starsan contacts a dark blue cotton t-shirt will eventually turn bright orange. I found this out when I was repairing a cracked cap on the bottle.

I've saved the good caps from spent starsan bottles for the next time one cracks. They've cracked twice on me, but I'm prepared for the next time.
 
I've also never had a problem with Corian. I spray it all over, I invert bottles on it, no issues. I hate corian, but it's pretty resistant to heat and chemicals.
 
hmmm as a sanitize step...I always spray diluted star san on my counter tops...they are granite wanna bees I want to say they are something that starts with a C corzon....corbit something like that...but they have a lot of pattern to them.....so i couldent say if they are stained or not
 
I've saved the good caps from spent starsan bottles for the next time one cracks. They've cracked twice on me, but I'm prepared for the next time.

I have used the screw top caps from soda (pop) bottles to replace the Starsan cap if I don't have a spare. I have no excuse or reason why I have broken two of these by tightening them too much.
 
Thankfully I'm super paranoid of brew chemicalsl - bottle of concentrated acid seems like a bad thing to get everywhere. It also helps I haven't renovated the kitchen and have ancient white laminate countertops.

I did accidentally etch a garage floor when a gallon bottle dropped and cracked, spilling 4 oz on the floor. Hazard clean up in isle 3!
 
I need to hide this thread from SWMBO. She's been agitating for new counters in the kitchen for years. I can see her stooping to dropping $50 on StarSan and having an "accident"
 
Wife was SUPER pissed when I did that to our 1 year old solid surface counter... It was with a diluted spray bottle, you can see a ring where the bottle was. Sucks.
That'll buff out. Literally. Use a really fine Scotchbrite pad, then Gel Gloss to bring the shine back.
 
Star-San is some amazing stuff. I didn't know about the countertops. I have one in my garage and I spray it down all the time prior to brewing. I'll have to take a closer look at it.

I did make the mistake of storing diluted Star-San in a plastic jug. It ate a hole thorough the jug in a few weeks. I had Star-San everywhere.
 
Hmmm....

Something must be wrong with my StarSan.

I have an orange juice bottle (heavy gallon style) that always has made up sanitizer in it for brew days. It's at least a year old, now, with no holes.

I regularly spray down counters and surfaces with StarSan when working with yeast. I've even been know to use it on the kitchen on counters after cutting up chicken! Never have any stains or problems. Our kitchen counters are granite. My Brewhouse is Formica.
 
Could be worse. You could see a dab of sticky substance on your counter-top and taste it because it has the consistency of honey...and it ends up being dried, concentrated star san acid! Yea...that will wake you up!
 
That'll buff out. Literally. Use a really fine Scotchbrite pad, then Gel Gloss to bring the shine back.

Ya I have scratches such I used to fuss with but figure the kids will just keep on doing it so why worry so much. I plan on just doing a light cleanup every couple years, love the solid surface counters but they don't take heat too well and scratch kinda easily. Looking back I should have done a darker color too, the light colors really scratch bright.

Sent from my SGH-T769 using Home Brew mobile app
 
Ya I have scratches such I used to fuss with but figure the kids will just keep on doing it so why worry so much. I plan on just doing a light cleanup every couple years, love the solid surface counters but they don't take heat too well and scratch kinda easily. Looking back I should have done a darker color too, the light colors really scratch bright.

Sent from my SGH-T769 using Home Brew mobile app

The unglazed bottoms of ceramic dishes are death to the counters. Every time I hear one slide I cringe. I buffed out the entire island, and it needs it again, but I give up.
 
I slid a 10 gallon ceramic crock full of pickles across mine a few months back and by the time I heard the sandy scrapes on the counter it was too late. I clearly had one of those, Damit Ken, what the crap was you thinking. Ugggg

When I clean my carboys, I ensure they only see the towel when it comes to sitting on the counters.
 
b-boy said:
Star-San is some amazing stuff. I didn't know about the countertops. I have one in my garage and I spray it down all the time prior to brewing. I'll have to take a closer look at it.

I did make the mistake of storing diluted Star-San in a plastic jug. It ate a hole thorough the jug in a few weeks. I had Star-San everywhere.

^ This - I spent 2 hours one day trying to find the leak under my sink (had drain problems a while back), only to find that the star San melted the distilled water jug. Nice pinhole leak.

ianw58 said:
Hmmm....

Something must be wrong with my StarSan.

I have an orange juice bottle (heavy gallon style) that always has made up sanitizer in it for brew days. It's at least a year old, now, with no holes.

I regularly spray down counters and surfaces with StarSan when working with yeast. I've even been know to use it on the kitchen on counters after cutting up chicken! Never have any stains or problems. Our kitchen counters are granite. My Brewhouse is Formica.

Maybe thicker/different type of plastic? I keep mine in a chemical spray bottle from Home Depot some of the time without a problem. Otherwise it sits in a glass 1g growler.
 
The unglazed bottoms of ceramic dishes are death to the counters. Every time I hear one slide I cringe. I buffed out the entire island, and it needs it again, but I give up.

Ya ha I do the same when the kids drag something across it. Kids, ha...

Sent from my SGH-T769 using Home Brew mobile app
 
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