Sanitization double check

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fauxtoe

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So i wanted to double check my process to make sure everything I sanitize is done right.


General grime and dirt removal with dish soap
soak in starsan
Then for bottles I dip in boiling water if not a bottle I just sit to dry

Is this good enough?

Does the sanitizers really leave no residue behind after soak??

Thanks all!
 
Personally I use Idophor, but I think its the same as starsan.
I put in a sprayer and spray everything down, along with a tub of it to set things in. No air drying anything, in fact I keep everything wet with Idophor.
I soak bottles in Idophor instead of dipping in boiling water, drip dry upside down.
For general grime and dirt, use PWB or Oxyclean unsented.
Here's more information than you ever needed.


http://www.bayareamashers.org/content/maindocs/iodophor.htm
 
Dish soaps contain the same anti-spotting enzyme that dishwasher soap does. It's a real head killer.I clean with PBW solution & sanitize with starsan. And that means everything! Also,my wife got me the spray wand from Midwest for Christmas,& it's great for washing the yeast cake & krausen ring out of the FV's. Then soak'em for a couple days full of water,& 3-4TBSP of PBW stirred in. I also soak the bottling & blow off hoses,etc in there at the same time. I even soak my recycled,newly emptied HB bottles after a rinse in a small cooler of PBW for a couple hours. Then brush & dobie them,rinse,dry,& store. My bottle tree comes in handy here.
 
This is my process, has worked for 16 batches now:

- after drinking swill with hot water
- bottle day, check for any yeast compacted on bottom, clean out if there is
- fill bottles with scorching hot water
- empty bottles, spray with star san, shake vigerously
- tip out excess star san, place some star san-ned foil on top
- remove foil and fill
 
I soak my emptied & rinsed bottles in PBW for a hour or two,then rinse,dry,& store. One less hassle on bottling day. And my vinator & bottle tree come in real handy here.
 
I've filled the bottling carboy/bucket with iodophor then used the bottling set up to fill the clean bottles with the sanitizer (sanitizes the cane, tubing and wand too), let them sit while I mix the priming sugar and beer. Then dump the sanitizer out out of a bottle into a bucket and dip the neck, then fill - repeat til done.
 
What works for me:

After drinking rinse well
Brew day - place 50+ bottles on bottom dishwasher rack and run hot/sanitize cycle.
Use Vinator with Starsan on each bottle and return to rack then fill and cap the bottles.

Not a problem in 17 batches bottled so far
 
With the vinator & starsan,you can safely skip the dishwasher part. Starsan is def more efficient at sanitizing the inside of the bottles. Just give them a 1 hour soak in PBW after drinking & rinsing. I use a homer cheapo bucket with about 4G of PBW laying around covered for this very purpose. Easy & fast.
 
So I can simplify by cleaning with PBW and then soaking in starsan? And I don't want the starsan to dry before using the items?

Is boiling not needed if using a starsan soak?

All of these are residue free or the residue doesn't matter?

Curious if someone could more directly answer these questions instead of listing their own process, although I did gain a lot by summing up what people do. Thanks
 
Yes, you can simplify your process by cleaning with PBW, rinsing well with water, and soaking/spraying/dipping in StarSan, or a similar no rinse sanitizer. Just make sure to wet all the surfaces the beer will contact thoroughly.

You do not want to let the no rinse sanitizer dry.

Boiling is not needed if using StarSan.

The residues do not matter, these products are approved for food processing applications.

If you search "Don't fear the foam" you will find a lot of discussion on the topic.

Hope this helps. :mug:
 
Don't fear the foam - very glad I read that prior to using, I think my head may have exploded on brew day!
 
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