New Starsan user question

I just read literally 50 Starsan/distilled water posts and I'm still confused.

I understand that if you have hard water and it turns cloudy when mixed with Starsan, that the Ph will go up and it won't be good if left sitting around for weeks.

But, is it possible for your water profile to be so hard that even if you were using Starsan to sanitize say a bucket, that it is ineffective immediately after mixing??

If so, I'm going to be pissed. I just spent 30 dollars on a very large container of Starsan and I'm sure as hell not using Distilled water everytime I need to sanitize a piece of equipment.

I can understand mixing up a few batches with distilled water to keep around long term in spray bottles and such, but is it possible my water is no good for Starsan even when mixed and used immediately??

Lodovico said:

But, is it possible for your water profile to be so hard that even if you were using Starsan to sanitize say a bucket, that it is ineffective immediately after mixing??

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Unlikely. Cloudy doesn't mean the ph has been changed enough to render it useless immediately. A lot of people have it mix and turn cloudy in the water.

The best way to check, and they have, is with ph strips.

There was a thread around here a couple years ago where a member tested cloudy starsan from several water sources and all or nearly all were fine.

This is different from it turning cloudy the next day.

starsan can be reused over and over . I mix mine with distilled water and put it in a gallon garden sprayer I spray about a quart into the carboy swirl it and shake it turn it upside down to get the everything wet. Then I dump it back in everything else gets misted with a spray bottle . 1 gallon last several brews over a period of months . Ends up being cheaper than make a gallon every time you brew .

You don't need to submerge everything to sanitize it, just needs to be wet for a couple of minutes

I have hard water. The StarSan is immediately cloudy when it's mixed with my tap water. For S's and G's, I tested the solution with a pH meter and it measured 3.5. That's with 183 ppm water. YMMV, though

Its like the square/rectangle thing. Bad starsan is (usually) cloudy, but not all cloudy starsan is bad...

Mine turns cloudy within ~15-20 min of mixing. Its still good, just cloudy. I think the hardness of SOME water can over time degrade the Starsan. Thats why people recommend mixing with distilled for long term storage. I always mix a gallon at a time. Whether its tap or distilled water. Get a syringe so you can measure out ~6 mL of StarSan to mix into the gallon of water. I use about a gallon during brew day, with enough left over to fill my spray bottle. 9 times out of 10, I use tap water. I've stored diluted starsan in a spray bottle for a few weeks with no problems at all. I could probaly be more efficient, but this is easy.

Thanks for the responses. This was helpful.

I will buy PH strips next time I have a chance but I guess the better question that still is unanswered is:

Has anyone here acutally tested their Starsan solution right after mixing with tap water and found it to be too high of a PH?

springer said:

starsan can be reused over and over . I mix mine with distilled water and put it in a gallon garden sprayer I spray about a quart into the carboy swirl it and shake it turn it upside down to get the everything wet. Then I dump it back in everything else gets misted with a spray bottle . 1 gallon last several brews over a period of months . Ends up being cheaper than make a gallon every time you brew .

You don't need to submerge everything to sanitize it, just needs to be wet for a couple of minutes

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This makes sense. Thanks.

Yes, tested right after mixing...no, was in proper pH range.

+1 on Edcculus...only mix what you need. I, like him, only mix one gallon for a brew day.

Lodovico said:

Thanks for the responses. This was helpful.

I will buy PH strips next time I have a chance but I guess the better question that still is unanswered is:

Has anyone here acutally tested their Starsan solution right after mixing with tap water and found it to be too high of a PH?

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No, but if your water does that, you probably shouldn't be drinking it.

Cool guys. Thanks for the help.

my star san turns cloudy instantly. the drinking water here is fine, just fairly high in carbonate hardness and alkalinity, with a fair amount of general hardness.

but my pH is fine and stays fine for several weeks. I usually only mix 2 gallons, use it from brew day to bottle day, then toss it.