How important is hot water when cleaning equipment?

I recently bought a utility sink only to find out I cannot get a hot water line to it. So If I go all cold (from the hose / water faucet coming off the house) is this going to be a big issue when doing my cleaning routine? I image the hot water breaks down the build up in bottles and has some sanatizing effects also. I am also afraid the cold water will harden the gunk. I also will be using star san, and heard that cold water breaks down soap. Will this break down star san's foam? Do I need to worry about this or is this really minimal? What are the other benefits of hot water vs cold water?

 

Your suspicions are correct regarding the cleansing effects of hot water as well the ability to help break down gunk.

Cold water will not negatively effect the Star San. In fact, many people use cold water for Star San. Star San, however, is not a soap and is not for cleaning: it's a sanitizer. For cleaning purposes, use Oxiclean or PBW and never use soap. Detergents kill head retention in beer.

IMO, try to use hot water while cleaning your equipment. You really want everything as clean as possible; hot water facilitates cleanliness.

 

I'm curious why you can't get hot water to it, but you could either get a mini hot water heater to put under/near the sink, or get an instant hot tap.

 

If you're using Oxiclean, hot water is a must. Cold water = slime

 

In contrast to this reply I use dish soap almost exclusively for cleaning. I have good results and find the soap is much easier to rinse completely vs Oxyclean so I use much less water and energy to heat it.

 

How important is hot water when you shower?

Not necessarily true, that has to do with your water composition, I can rinse oxy with cold water without issue.

 

Well, to me it's for comfort. I've never given any thought to whether or not it makes the soap more effective.

But now I'm wondering if my 14 year old is taking cold showers since he never really smells clean.

 

Wow, cool...good to know. -1 for my muni water I guess.

 

I have 500+ really dirty bottles in my backyard and I want to clean them all outside but I have no way of getting hot water out there. Right now I have 50 of them soaking in a bin with oxiclean and cold water. I'm gonna bring them inside to rinse out with hot water when there done soaking. Do you think this will work and how long should I soak them? Can I reuse the water? The bottles are pretty filthy.

 

Not sure of your brewery set up but if you have a propane burner and ballvalve for your boil kettle you could turn that into an instant hotwater source. Would be much easier than going back and forth into the house. As far as how long to soak in the oxiclean? Until a visual inspection reveals all the gunk is removed. Just my $.02

 

Some cleaners such as PBW are more effective at temps around 120, but should not be heated over 140. Better-bottle carboys should never experience temps over 120. My rule is that if it is too hot to keep my hand in it, then it is too hot.

 

I'm going to install an "On Demand Hot Water System". Still in the research mode.