Sanitation Surface

New to brewing here...

Currently I've been using paper towel laid out as the surface to place my sanitized equipment on. Is this OK? What do other folks use?

I use no rise sanitizer (like Idophor). This means I can just take it out of the sanitizer, shake it off and use it right away.

What kind of equipment are you talking about?


Kai

Kaiser said:

I use no rise sanitizer (like Idophor). This means I can just take it out of the sanitizer, shake it off and use it right away.

What kind of equipment are you talking about?


Kai

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I use Iodaphor as well.

Wisps, spoons to stir, funnels, etc is the equipment I'm getting at

I use iadophor to but I just clean my counter well and then keep the surface wet with the sanitizer. I don't use paper towels.

TK421 said:

I use Iodaphor as well.

Wisps, spoons to stir, funnels, etc is the equipment I'm getting at

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If you use it at 12.5ppm, just leave it in the sanitizing bucket and shake off the liquid when you need it. This way you don't have to worry about picking up stuff.

Kai

...and I always place my hands in the solution to keep them wet also...just in case.

homebrewer_99 said:

...and I always place my hands in the solution to keep them wet also...just in case.

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I actually keep a bottle of hand sanitizer around for this purpose. There was a time when I used surgical gloves as well (just like AB, Alton Brown that is) but I stopped doing this since it seemed like overkill.

Kai

I like to use a cookie tray.

david_42 said:

I like to use a cookie tray.

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This is kind of what I was thinking. Otherwise maybe a Rubbermaid tote top.

yeah paper towels are harbingers of microbes (or at least potentially) your better off placing them on something that is sanitized, (like a countertop)...

Bjorn Borg said:

yeah paper towels are harbingers of microbes (or at least potentially) your better off placing them on something that is sanitized, (like a countertop)...

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I just fear the look on my wife's face when she sees me smearing an Iodine solution on our kitchen countertop

I just use a stainless steel dish drying rack i use only for brewing. I sanitize that by soaking it in the sink with iodophor, then just put it on the counter and place everything in there.

I keep everything in a bucket wih Star-san and just shake it off before using, rinse after and toss it back in the bucket.. I also keep a spray bottle of sanitizer around..... I use papertowels for bottle caps after they soak and spray Star-san on it, just enough to dampen so they still dry the caps.

Since my Wife regulates my bottling activities to the basement I actually bottle on the floor so my older of the 2 buckets of Sanitizer gets poured over the "working area" and allowed to run to the floor drain and air dry before I bottle.. so far I have not had any contamination.. I also (just to be anal) spray an anti bacterial air freshener in the room about an hour prior, then mist the room with star-san right before starting (this pisses off the wife)

i mist the air with star san as well
figure it can't hurt and might help.
biggest problem is keeping the cats from knocking over the bottles as i fill them on the basement floor.
yes basement - banned from kitchen after first bottle fiiling there(don't ask)

I use a bucket filled with Iodophor to sanitize, and another pre-sanitized bucket to drain the bottles. I tried using the dishwasher, but my 24 oz bottles wont fit in it.

budbo said:

Since my Wife regulates my bottling activities to the basement

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Funny, My wife loves me bottling in the kitchen, because I have to wash the floor when I'm finished.

_a.

That makes me laugh - "banned from the kitchen" LOL Sorry not poking fun, but that would be the day. The kitchen is MY domain. I cook in it, I clean it its MINE, MINE, MINE.
This makes my wife happy as well, shes not really interested in any cooking activity.

Yep, I sanatize the countertop and use that, but now that I have additional buckets I can devote one solely to being a sanitation bucket, so I try to just pick the stuff out of there if I can.

As for bottling, I place the bottling bucket on the counter above the dishwasher, open the dishwasher door, and bottle on the inside of the door provided it is clean and there are no dirty dishes in it.

TK421 said:

I just fear the look on my wife's face when she sees me smearing an Iodine solution on our kitchen countertop

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Why stop there: pick up some iodine-based udder balm at the farm supply store and see what kind of look she gives you.

Might make the countertop thing seem not so bad, who knows.

I clean and sanitize the counters and sink. Then I put paper towels over the surface. Good luck so far.....knock on wood. But I like the bucket idea and need to get an extra bucket for that purpose.

TK421 said:

I just fear the look on my wife's face when she sees me smearing an Iodine solution on our kitchen countertop

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SHHhhh, I don't have any idea where the idophor stain on the counter top came from!!