cleaner confusion...

I have always used dawn, one step and bleach, if I need to...

So, the other day I'm reading that oxyclean does a great job at removing labels. I tried it and it's great stuff! Bought it at Walmart for $7 a 'bucket'.

I'm at the lhbs today to buy one step. I didn't buy it because 'easy clean' was cheaper and it says on the label that it sanitizes on contact. Also says, it's an oxygen based cleaner, so is oxyclean. I also looked at PBW. Compared to oxyclean, very expensive...

Here's my question? Sort of...

Aren't they all basically the same? Seems the only real differences are cost and ease of use in the way of 'no rinse' on the part of 'easy clean' and 'one step'.

Hi Jiggs. The way I approach it is that there are two separate, distinct processes - cleaning and sanitizing.

For cleaning, I use water and oxyclean, right after the equipment has been used. Then I rinse it really well and put the equipment away.

When it's time to use the equipment again, I sanitize it. I use iodophor, star san is another sanitizer. Some use a diluted bleach solution.

So, the products I use are oxyclean for cleaning and iodophor for sanitizing. You cold also use PBW, one step, or dish soap for cleaning, or star san for sanitizing. Hope this helps!

Pappers_ said:

Hi Jiggs. The way I approach it is that there are two separate, distinct processes - cleaning and sanitizing.

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+1 to what he said... cleaning = getting bits of visible crap off of your stuff, sanitizing = lowering levels of invisible living creatures down to manageable levels so they do not infect your beer

I guess what I was after was, it seems that they (oxyclean, pbw, easy clean, one step) are all primarily, made of the same stuff. They're all oxygen based cleaning products. pbw looks and feels identical to oxyclean but, cost a helluva lot more at the lhbs, which makes me feel like a bit of a schmoe.

Easy clean and one step both look and feel identical, both of these however, also claim to sanitize and are no rinse.

Just trying to understand why there is such a HUGE cost difference between them. This hobby is expensive enough as it is...

jiggs_casey said:

I guess what I was after was, it seems that they (oxyclean, pbw, easy clean, one step) are all primarily, made of the same stuff. They're all oxygen based cleaning products. pbw looks and feels identical to oxyclean but, cost a helluva lot more at the lhbs, which makes me feel like a bit of a schmoe.

Easy clean and one step both look and feel identical, both of these however, also claim to sanitize and are no rinse.

Just trying to understand why there is such a HUGE cost difference between them. This hobby is expensive enough as it is...

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It might sanitize, but you'd get a nasty taste in your beer with those chemicals. Star San, what I use, doesn't leave any taste.

See this thread in another forum.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/oxiclean-just-sure-208751/

PBW is not the same thing as oxiclean. It contains it as one of it's ingredients, but it also contains other stuff like sodium metasilicate. Either Product works fine, but PBW seems to work more quickly, especially on stubborn deposits.

I thought I've heard Oxiclean isn't good for stainless steel either, whereas PBW is fine with it. So that might be one difference. Otherwise I'm with the originator, going forward I am buying OxiClean and not Easy Clean nor One Step. Its way cheap and does similar work. I just used OxiClean on bottles and it worked awesome. I may buy PBW to get some grime off my 15g boiling kettle.

As for most subjects on this forum, OneStep actually being a sanitizer is up for debate. Per my recent and very shallow search goes, I say stick to either starsan or iodophor.

However, I have OneStep left over and I still use it to sanitize.

I've only used One Step as a sanitizer since I started brewing last fall and never had any issues, but going forward I am using StarSan. It just seems like more a true sanitizer. But from a "cleaner" standpoint I've been told Easy Clean and One Step are the same. I guess if anybody thinks different, let me know. I was thinking about combining my remaining One Step and Easy Clean to create space on my shelf.

natefrog255 said:

I thought I've heard Oxiclean isn't good for stainless steel either, whereas PBW is fine with it. So that might be one difference. Otherwise I'm with the originator, going forward I am buying OxiClean and not Easy Clean nor One Step. Its way cheap and does similar work. I just used OxiClean on bottles and it worked awesome. I may buy PBW to get some grime off my 15g boiling kettle.

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Oxi is fine for SS. I've used it many, many times. Maybe you're thinking of AL? Neither Oxi or PBW should be used with AL.