Are DIY Beer Line Cleaners Safe????

[IwanaBrich]

I'm just building my kegerator and that started me thinking about how I'd clean the lines. Currently I use corny kegs with short line attached to party tap. I take it all apart and clean that every time I change the keg. Now I've seen lot of posts from about using a cheap home depot sprayer or a cheap aquarium pump to push the cleaning solution through the system. I actually have both in the house right now. I use the sprayer to kill poison ivy in the yard, so I'd never use this on on my beer lines. I use the pump I use on my wort chiller during winter to save water, but no beer ever passes through it.

Well I looked over both very carefully and I can't tell what type of plastic is used on either. So I'm a little leery about putting harsh caustic chemicals in them and then pumping it through my beer taps, lines and faucets. I seriously doubt that the plastic that they are made is food safe at all. I'll bet that the O-rings and lubrication that they use aren't food safe either. I'm wondering if the harsh chemicals will do to the cheap plastic sprayer or pump. Will it leach out toxins into the cleaning solution? If so couldn't I be introducing them into my keg system? Does anyone else have these same concerns?

 

[V-Fib]

For the amount of time my cleaning solutions are in my HD type sprayer I never gave it much thought. I doubt the plastics are food safe like you said but they have to hold up to all types of pesticides and chemicals that people use for yard stuff. I also always run my cleaner through then water to rinse then hook up a keg right away and fill the line so it doesn't sit empty for nastys to grow.

 

[Rockn_M]

You'll be fine.

I would use a new sprayer instead of the on that has had poison in it.

 

[Yesfan]

Those sprayers look the same as the ones you get from some of the beer vendors, just with different text on them so I would think it would be safe. I would NOT use the same sprayer you've been using to kill poison ivy to clean your beer lines, but I don't think you are asking that either.

Look on the bottom of the sprayer for the recycling number. I think if it's 6 or 7, you want to avoid. (LINK)

I use a sump pump to recirculate cleaner (PBW/BLC) through my beer lines. I bought it new and it's used solely for this reason.