Am I too paranoid about sanitization?

[miagolano]

I started my first batch of mead about a week ago (JAOM) and it's chugging along nicely. I was under the impression (after watching a video about brewing) that Easy Clean would sanitize my equipment. Now I'm wondering if that was enough or if I also needed to use something like Star San. So - how worried should I be and is there anything I can do prior to bottling (which I know is a long way off) to help ensure I'm not going to be drinking a big bottle of bacteria?

 

[jezter6]

As far as I know, easy clean calls itself a sanitizer, but I've had numerous people tell me otherwise.

Use starsan or iodophor and put yourself at ease. Nothing you can do about what you've already done, but at least when you go to rack and bottle you'll have the right sanitizer.

 

[Yooper]

Easy clean is a cleaner, BUT like one-step, it's supposed to sanitize too I believe. It has to do with the designation of a cleaner vs. sanitizer.

I wouldn't worry about it. Your mead should be absolutely fine. What I would do for the next batch is buy a sanitizer, though. You can use potassium metabisulfite (lots of winemakers do), star-san, iodophor, etc. They are all "no rinse" sanitizers.

Cleaning and sanitizing are separate steps. Cleaning is removing all the debris and dust from the equipment. A piece of equipment must be clean before it can be sanitized. Then, the clean equipment can be sanitized.

 

[miagolano]

thanks - I did forget to mention that I used 1 Campden tablet prior to pitching the yeast (let it sit overnight first).

 

[Beebe]

I just throw in some bleach, rinse real well and call it good! Seems to be a cheap way to go!

 

[krud]

I just throw in some bleach, rinse real well and call it good! Seems to be a cheap way to go!

F Yeah I've been making meads that seem to reach 10% ABV or so within two weeks and I just bleach and go about ten minutes before I pitch( NO JOKE I just pitched Joes quick grape and it started fermentation in ten minutes!!!!

 

[Indian_villager]

I freaking love starsan. Put some in a spray bottle and you can sanitize the hell out of anything fast! And you could never be too paranoid about sanitization.

 

[Wolfy]

If the active ingredient in 'Easy Clean' is sodium percarbonate (which I suspect it probably is, but can't find the product with a google search), then its mostly a cleaning product with some sanitising properties, and I'd always suggest using a dedicated no-rinse sanitiser like StarSan.