Does diswasher really "sanitize?"

I'm sure this has been covered elsewhere, but I'm having trouble with the search features. They don't seem to pick up on my key words. More likely I'm not doing it right, but here is my question.

I've seen people "sanitize" their bottles in the dishwasher. Highest setting, no soap. Now, I rinse my commercial beer bottles out thouroughly after I pour them. I'm just not convinced that running them through the dishwasher will sanitize them. There's no way any water is getting to every surface of the bottle. Is it just the extreme heat on the outside that does the sanitizing? I've seen all the other methods, but this seems much easier if it really does work. I'm bottling my first batch this weekend (with 2 more batches in primary right now). This forum has taken me a long way and I would like to not go astray at bottling. Any advice?

It's the heat. Some dishwashers have a "sanitize" or similarly named cycle, just for such purposes. It's the only method I've ever used, and I've never had a bottle go bad on me. I even run flip-tops through the machine with the gaskets attached, no problems. I let the bottles cool down inside, then the dishwasher rack becomes a bottling rack. The open door is a handy place to do the bottling, the sanitized bottles are right there waiting for you, and you don't have to worry about spills.

Like you say, not much water will get inside the bottles, which is why they've got to be thoroughly washed first.

By itself, rinse + dishwasher doesn't work.

Been there, done that, poured a fair bit of beer down the drain with full honors and commercial brew at the wake.

Rinse + Oxyclean soak with bottle brush at the end of the soak + good rinse + dishwasher run with high heat dry = apparently OK.

Learn from my mistake guy, don't do it.

Who wants to quaff commercial at a wake for homebrew?

Yep, what he said! I wash any "donated" bottles with a brush and oxyclean, rinse them well and toss 'em in the dishwasher. I rinse my bottles after every pour, then put them up on a shelf. When bottling time comes around, I rinse them again, and put them in the dishwasher. 10 batches, not one single problem!

If I remember correctly from my health inspector days, the government definition of heat sanitizing in a restaurant is 180F (for 2 min? 30 seconds? I can't remember). Unless your dishwasher has a "sanitize" function on it, it's not getting to that temperature. However, my dishwasher doesn't have that either, but it has a "heated rinse" and "heated dry" function. The manual didn't say to what temperature it gets, so I called GE. They said my model goes to 140F. I asked if the input water temp. makes a difference, they said no. But their 140F is water temp. I figure with the heated dry, it has to get higher than that (since so much steam comes out when I open the door). So, I "Heated Rinse" and "Heated Dry" all of my bottles and never had an infection.

My dishwasher has a sanitize cycle, and it seems to work fine for bottles. As mentioned, the dishwasher won't clean the inside of the bottles for you, so you have to make sure they are clean inside when they go into the dishwasher.

I found the dishwasher very handy when using swing-cap bottles. I would clean each one as I finished a beer then seal them up. On bottling day, I would uncap and throw them all in the dishwasher. It would take care of cleaning the outsides (if they got dirty) and it would also give the caps/seals a good wash too. They come out nice and clean and sanitized, conveniently racked and ready to go.

My only problem is that my dishwasher doesn't hold enough bottles for a 5 gal batch of beer, so I don't use it very often.

Well, none of my bottles are "donated." I use all 12oz. bottles that I drink myself.I'll be bottling my first batch this weekend, so I've been saving all my bottles. I give each one a good rinse after I pour it. My dishwasher doesn't have sanitize or any other mode like that on it. It get's pretty F'n hot in there though. Would a few minute soak in my Iodophor solution before the dishwasher be advisable?

I've put 9 batches of bottles through the dishwasher and everything's been fine.

How long does a bottle stay "sanitized" after you use this method? or any other method for that matter.

I've used this method many times and have not had any bad bottles. I think the key is making sure the bottles are clean before they go in the dishwasher.

Aubie Stout said:

How long does a bottle stay "sanitized" after you use this method? or any other method for that matter.

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If you cover the bottles, then indefinitely. I usually sanitize them, then pull them out of the dishwasher as I fill them.

My dishwasher gets up to 230 degrees according to the owners manuel. If the bottles are clean the heat will sanatize it.

RICLARK said:

My dishwasher gets up to 230 degrees according to the owners manuel. If the bottles are clean the heat will sanatize it.

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at temperatures like that it doesn't much matter what's inside, it won't last long! what brand/model do you have. i don't have a dishwasher but the kitchen remodel is on the horizon and i sure would like a DW that gets that hot.

I just use my dishwasher and have never had a contaminated batch. It's a Bosch. Not sure the exact temp but I know its got it's own heater and there's never standing water when I open it up, just steam.

My GE has a "Sani Wash" feature and it's worked well for 2 batches so far. It takes too damn long tho, maybe 1.5 hours + drying/cooling time. I usually load it up the night before I bottle, and it has worked well. However, as others have said here, don't rely on the dishwasher to clean your bottles. And if they aren't clean, it won't matter how hot the dishwasher gets...there will still be schmutz in your beer .

My process goes like this:
1. Immediately after drinking my homebrew, or a bottle I plan to use: rinse out thoroughly
2. If necessary, de-label bottles with hot water and bleach soak (20 mins)
3. With water jet bottle washer and your hottest water, clean out the bottles
4. Run dishwasher on rinse cycle with NO detergent OR jet dry
5. Put bottles in dishwasher, and run on "sani wash" cycle
6. When the tub has filled with water, add iodophor just for good measure

So far, so good!

TwoHeadsBrewing said:

My GE has a "Sani Wash" feature and it's worked well for 2 batches so far. It takes too damn long tho, maybe 1.5 hours + drying/cooling time. I usually load it up the night before I bottle, and it has worked well. However, as others have said here, don't rely on the dishwasher to clean your bottles. And if they aren't clean, it won't matter how hot the dishwasher gets...there will still be schmutz in your beer .

My process goes like this:
1. Immediately after drinking my homebrew, or a bottle I plan to use: rinse out thoroughly
2. If necessary, de-label bottles with hot water and bleach soak (20 mins)
3. With water jet bottle washer and your hottest water, clean out the bottles
4. Run dishwasher on rinse cycle with NO detergent OR jet dry
5. Put bottles in dishwasher, and run on "sani wash" cycle
6. When the tub has filled with water, add iodophor just for good measure

So far, so good!

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One thing I have done is put a bucket of oxyclean solution in the garage. After rinsing, just toss the bottles in the bucket. Next time I go to toss some more bottles, grab the de-labeled ones out of the bucket and rinse em off. The first time I brewed.... I de-labeled all the bottles at once and it was a huge pain. This way seems to be easier and I don't have to set aside extra time.

TwoHeadsBrewing said:

[...]

My process goes like this:
1. Immediately after drinking my homebrew, or a bottle I plan to use: rinse out thoroughly
2. If necessary, de-label bottles with hot water and bleach soak (20 mins)
3. With water jet bottle washer and your hottest water, clean out the bottles
4. Run dishwasher on rinse cycle with NO detergent OR jet dry
5. Put bottles in dishwasher, and run on "sani wash" cycle
6. When the tub has filled with water, add iodophor just for good measure

So far, so good!

Click to expand...

fwiw, National Chemicals, Inc, specifically states that B-T-F Iodophor is not to be used in hot water. I presume it substantially reduces its effectivity.

In any case, if your dishwasher has a functional "sani wash" cycle that includes heated drying, you're wasting the Iodophor...

Cheers!

My process has always been:

1) Rinse the bottle after pouring homebrew. Make sure to shake to get all the yeast loosened up and clean. Nothing should be left in the bottle.
2) Place this bottle in dishwasher and run with other dishes as normal.
3) Remove and rinse one more time. Store clean empty bottle until ready to re-fill.

4) A few hours before brewing, place all bottle in dishwasher and wash with highest hot water setting (mine has a sanitize button I use). Make sure not to use soap or jet dry.
5) Set the heated dry option on.
6) wait for the dry cycle to complete and for them to cool a bit but not all the way cold
7) Bottle as usual.

Using this I have never had a single problem in 10+ batches.