Star San -- skin contact question?

Just starting to use Star San...

Is it okay to use your hands in the diluted (working strength) solution of Star San?

Or do you wear protective gloves?


Thanks!

Diluted, it is not much more PA than would be in a soda. But, get a spray bottle and stop submersing everything. You are wasting a lot of StarSan that way.

I use a spray bottle and a bucket. It does seem to dry out my hands if I'm putting my hand in the bucket alot. Of course, I would never complain about dry hands because I am a real man

I always make up 2.5 gallons at a time and store in an ale pail. I soak everything in there, including my hands, you'll be fine.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Diluted, it is not much more PA than would be in a soda. But, get a spray bottle and stop submersing everything. You are wasting a lot of StarSan that way.

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How cheap are you? I use a bottle a year, if that.

wildwest450 said:

How cheap are you? I use a bottle a year, if that.

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Ha. I use an ounce a year. Guess I am pretty cheap.

If this answers your question about how careful you need to be with it then great.

When I got my first star san bottle, I diluted it then took a big swig of it to see if it would impart and funny tastes etc. I lived.
I may be wrong but I dont think there is any need to be careful with skin contact if diluted. You can drink it and it does nothing noticeable.

ajwillys said:

I use a spray bottle and a bucket. It does seem to dry out my hands if I'm putting my hand in the bucket alot. Of course, I would never complain about dry hands because I am a real man

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I used to think it dried out my hands a lot too. After careful consideration, I blame it on the Oxi clean now... I think it has more to do with removing oil and drying them out..

lowlife said:

When I got my first star san bottle, I diluted it then took a big swig of it

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But did it dry out your stomach?

If anyone listens to the Basic Brewing Podcast, you might remember this episode where Charlie Talley from Five Star Chemicals came and talked about Star San (though he talked more about bleach than anything).

He said that on a few occasions, he's drank a bit of Star San to show the distributors and brewers that it's safe. If you can drink it, I think it's okay to put it on your hands.

Yes, It is certainly safe for your hands but it absolutely dries mine out.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Diluted, it is not much more PA than would be in a soda. But, get a spray bottle and stop submersing everything. You are wasting a lot of StarSan that way.

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How do you sanitize your carboy?

I've never had a problem with StarSan. OneStep and Oxyclean are flesh eating.

To sanitize my carboys, I pour in two gallons of water, add a few ozs of Star San, plug the hole with one hand and just shake like mad.

Bear in mind that cleaning and sanitizing are two separate things. For cleaning, I fill to the brim with water, add in PBW, and stir. I do this in a bathtub, because it does get messy.

llazy_llama said:

To sanitize my carboys, I pour in two gallons of water, add a few ozs of Star San, plug the hole with one hand and just shake like mad.

Bear in mind that cleaning and sanitizing are two separate things. For cleaning, I fill to the brim with water, add in PBW, and stir. I do this in a bathtub, because it does get messy.

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That sounds way too strong. I only use 1/4 oz per 5 qts. and shake it around.

At the stronger concentration, I'm not sure about the foam etc and what the effects may be.

planenut said:

That sounds way too strong. I only use 1/4 oz per 5 qts. and shake it around.

At the stronger concentration, I'm not sure about the foam etc and what the effects may be.

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Yeah, plus as an anionic sanitizer I know that it's _less_ effective undiluted than it is at 1 oz/5 gallon. I don't know what the crossover point is, but you can't just assume that more starsan = better sanitizer.

A real man showers in Star San before brewing to prevent infection, and make sure all brewing equipment is santized!! :rockin:

planenut said:

That sounds way too strong. I only use 1/4 oz per 5 qts. and shake it around.

At the stronger concentration, I'm not sure about the foam etc and what the effects may be.

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On the recent Brew Strong episode, Jon Herskovits of Five Star Chemicals said, that Star San is no longer a no rinse sanitizer at any concentration above 1oz per 5 gallons.

enderwig said:

On the recent Brew Strong episode, Jon Herskovits of Five Star Chemicals said, that Star San is no longer a no rinse sanitizer at any concentration above 1oz per 5 gallons.

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That is very good to know. I have measured an exact ounce for 5 gallons but usually estimate when using only a gallon or two of water (1/4 ounce, give or take). I guess that does put me at a slight risk then based on this...