Potassium Metabisulfate as a sanitizer?

[MikePGS]

Hello. I initially posted this in the beer forum by mistake. I went to the local home brew shop the other day to pick up some stuff to make Ed Wort's Apfelwein, and Malkore's not so Ancient Mead. I got Dextrose, Yeast, A 5 gallon better bottle, and a 1 gallon glass carboy along with the appropriate airlocks and caps. However when I asked the guy for the sanitizer after inquiring what I was using it for (i told him wine and with a better bottle, which he probably could have guessed since he sold me the better bottle) he handed me a packet of a white powder labelled Potassium Metabisulfate. After doing a bit of research and some helpful responses in the other thread I started, I'm starting to doubt whether or not I should use this as a sanitizer. I'd like to start brewing asap and my current schedule doesn't allow me a great deal of time to run around to the local brew shops to pick up Star San (which I'm going to get at some point). Could I dilute the Potassium Metabisulfate for use as a sanitizer and rinse it out? Also will this damage my better bottle? I'm guessing i'm being a bit paranoid, but I just don't want to wait a few weeks to turn apple juice into apple juice. Thanks in advance, Mike

 

[mmadmikes1]

It is all I use. never had a problem.

 

[WIP]

It is all we use at the winery. It works great and fast.

 

[MikePGS]

So it isn't going to hurt a better bottle or my yeast?

 

[Yooper]

So it isn't going to hurt a better bottle or my yeast?

No. Winemakers use it as a sanitizer and also as an additive in wine as an antioxidant all the time.

 

[Turnerdude1]

Been using it since 1983... make sure you give the bottles at least two short rinses..

 

[Saccharomyces]

Yep works great.

For winemaking if you are looking for an alternative, Saniclean works well. It's from the same guys as Starsan, but it has some advantages for winemaking... it doesn't foam up so it's better for bottle sanitizing, and it isn't slippery so it's better for corks (I used Starsan on my corks once, and half of them pushed out! )

 

[MikePGS]

Thank you all for the great advice.

 

[smyrnaquince]

Been using it since 1983... make sure you give the bottles at least two short rinses..

I've been using Iodophor as a sanitizer, but I do have some sodium (not potassium) metabisulphite at home. So, it sounds like I could use this as a sanitizer, as well. My questions:

• Can I use sodium metabisulphite as a sanitizer for bottles and equipment?
• What contact time is needed?
• Do I need to rinse it? (Sounds like a yes, from this reply. One reason I like the Iodophor is that it is no-rinse.)