Johnnyboy1012
Well-Known Member
Until yesterday when a friend told me about cloudy Star San being ineffective, I did not realize that Star San solution is supposed to be clear. It has always been cloudy for me, but I have never encountered a problem with infection before. When looking into the matter I decided to buy some pH test strips and experiment. I am by no means a chemist or scientist but so please correct me if I say anything wrong. I attached 4 photos of my observation.
I always keep a growler full of Star San in case I need it for a small sanitizing task, rather then make a new batch every time I need it. I've been reading on here that people fear when it turns cloudy it could become ineffective at sanitizing, which would be bad for brewing. I have had this cloudy Star San made with tap water sitting around in a clear growler for a few weeks now and wanted to check the pH before I used it to sanitize my equipment. I also made another growler of Star San with distilled water to compare it to my results of the cloudy tap water Star San. See the pictures attached to and let me know what you think.
A quick wrap up...One pic is a pH test strip of about 4 week old Star San made with tap water...(Very cloudy) *Last Pic*
Another pic is of Star San made with distilled water I made today. (Very clear) *Third Pic*
The other two pics are comparing the two pH strips together.
I think the two have almost an identical pH, which to me says that the cloudiness is not a factor....what do you guys think? Cheers!
I always keep a growler full of Star San in case I need it for a small sanitizing task, rather then make a new batch every time I need it. I've been reading on here that people fear when it turns cloudy it could become ineffective at sanitizing, which would be bad for brewing. I have had this cloudy Star San made with tap water sitting around in a clear growler for a few weeks now and wanted to check the pH before I used it to sanitize my equipment. I also made another growler of Star San with distilled water to compare it to my results of the cloudy tap water Star San. See the pictures attached to and let me know what you think.
A quick wrap up...One pic is a pH test strip of about 4 week old Star San made with tap water...(Very cloudy) *Last Pic*
Another pic is of Star San made with distilled water I made today. (Very clear) *Third Pic*
The other two pics are comparing the two pH strips together.
I think the two have almost an identical pH, which to me says that the cloudiness is not a factor....what do you guys think? Cheers!