Bleach for sanitation??

[darrenw]

Buddy of mine says to use Clorox to sanitize Equipment instead of Onestep. Will this work ok? Seems cheaper and easier. Will this affect beer taste or fermentation if rinsed out well?

 

[drewmedic23]

You could do that but you have to be 100% sure you rinse of all of the bleach solution or it will affect the taste and possibly kill the yeast. Plus when you rinse the bleach off you risk introducing contaminants. Spend the 8 dollars and save yourself the trouble

 

[Golddiggie]

You won't find a good many of us using any chlorine based sanitizer for our gear. A large percentage of us use StarSan, or other 'no-rinse' sanitizers. Bleach/chlorine must be rinsed off completely before you use items sanitized with it. Otherwise you'll get a nasty off-flavor from the chlorine.

I've only seen one home brewer use bleach/chlorine to sanitize.

BTW, a container of StarSan might appear to be expensive. BUT, consider this. You use only one ounce of StarSan concentrate (what you buy) to make 5 gallons of sanitizer solution.

 

[lumpher]

i use iodophor, and it works great. as far as bleach, it works very well, but should only be used in a pinch, like when you realize you're out of iodophor, and are in the middle of brewing or kegging, and can't stop

 

[FirstStateBrewer]

I used bleach for 20 years and never had any problems. I always rinsed everything out completely. However, I have since switched over to using StarSan and would recommend you use that, instead.

 

[Southernmost11]

I used bleach for years. I later discovered StarSan and my beers' taste improved dramatically. Then I started brewing all grain - another dramatic improvement. Then I began strictly controlling fermentation temp - HUGE improvement. Get away from bleach its definitely worth it.

 

[Glynn]

I used bleach or iodophor for years. I am currently using iodophor because i have a qt on hand but when it gone im switching to star

 

[E-Mursed]

Bleach will work in a pinch....use proper dilution...and remember that it has to stay in contact with the surface longer to be effective.

Do a google search and you will find more information.

 

[amandabab]

All of my equipment eventually gets a beach soak at some point in its downtime .
I don't use it as a sanitizer on equipment thats curently being used to brew a batch

 

[BigJack]

I also use iodophor because it isn't as toxic as starsan. I've got kids in the house.

 

[E-Mursed]

If I had kids in my house I would keep both Iodophor and Starsan locked away when not in use.

Both are dangerous in the wrong little hands.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

A small amount of bleach left in your equipment will make for really, really nasty beer.

 

[Northcalais40]

Beach to clean, iodine for sanitation. Both are incredibly cheap in the long run.

 

[zeg]

+1 to cleaning with bleach if you like. I sometimes do this for a soak if I want to really clean the fermenter, but then rinse very thoroughly. You can probably get away with this and no further sanitizing if you are careful and are using chlorinated city water for the rinse: as long as your taps are clean, there's unlikely to be any contamination.

However, I a few nickels worth of Star-San or similar no-rinse sanitizer can buy you a lot of peace of mind, so I always do a thorough application just before filling up the fermenter.

 

[Spartan1979]

I used to use bleach many years ago, more for bottles than anything. But I ruined a lot of clothes. It only takes a drop or two.

 

[Gduck]

Sanitation and cleaning are areas you really don't want to cheap out on when it comes to the brewing process.

I used to use Iodophor but now use StarSan. I don't have an issue with Iodophor, I just liked that it doesn't stain my fingers (and my kitchen counter) like the Iodophor did.

I really wouldn't recommend bleach unless it was a dire last resort absolutely had to sanitize something right that moment... and even then only after I had called every local brewer I knew to find out if they had some sanitizer I could borrow.

 

[Golddiggie]

From what I understand, Iodophor effectiveness is indicated by it's color. Not a good thing for me, since I'm color blind.

 

[PitchnGrin]

I'm a frugal/cheap/old school guy so I used the bleach and vinegar dilution with success. It will damage clothes but I didn't care. It works but I've switched to cleaning with Oxyclean and sanitizing with Starsan. It's so convenient and worry free. I keep a couple gallon jugs of it at the recommended dilution and just recycle it. The price difference has been negligible on the 5gal/10gal scale.

 

[Hoosier-Brewer]

Recently I was bored at work on my lunch hour and checked out a couple of the Home Brewer TV episodes on my phone. Gary Martin was promoting the use of bleach for sanitizing and says to never rinse it. I thought I'd share that for what it's worth, there are many opinions on the interwebs. Personally I only use Star San. It's fairly inexpensive and it lasts a long time.

 

[Golddiggie]

Recently I was bored at work on my lunch hour and checked out a couple of the Home Brewer TV episodes on my phone. Gary Martin was promoting the use of bleach for sanitizing and says to never rinse it. I thought I'd share that for what it's worth, there are many opinions on the interwebs. Personally I only use Star San. It's fairly inexpensive and it lasts a long time.

Maybe he enjoys the taste of band-aids... Or is trying to sabotage other brewers so that he gets more awards/medals in competitions.

 

[Dan]

Sanitation and cleaning are areas you really don't want to cheap out on when it comes to the brewing process.

I used to use Iodophor but now use StarSan. I don't have an issue with Iodophor, I just liked that it doesn't stain my fingers (and my kitchen counter) like the Iodophor did.

I really wouldn't recommend bleach unless it was a dire last resort absolutely had to sanitize something right that moment... and even then only after I had called every local brewer I knew to find out if they had some sanitizer I could borrow.

Do you have marble countertops? Mine are formica ( I think, wood with a veneer) and spilled a couple drops of full strength StarSan on it.. now I am stuck with a couple white stains etched on a dark green counter. Have found nothing to remove it.

 

[Hoosier-Brewer]

Maybe he enjoys the taste of band-aids... Or is trying to sabotage other brewers so that he gets more awards/medals in competitions.

His production is great, but I can't say I agree with a lot of his methods, at least in the 2-3 episodes I watched.

 

[Curtis2010]

I've used bleach for years and never had any issues because of it. I think the key to using bleach is not to mix it too strong. A ratio of 2oz chlorine bleach to 5 gallons of water makes an effective sanitizing solution and at that concentration rinsing is not an big issue. Just use plain unscented chlorine bleach of course.

Another big advantage of bleach is that it is available almost anywhere on the planet. Out here in the jungle I can't run down to my LHBS and get some more fancy sanitizer, but I can find bleach.

 

[Golddiggie]

I've used bleach for years and never had any issues because of it. I think the key to using bleach is not to mix it too strong. A ratio of 2oz chlorine bleach to 5 gallons of water makes an effective sanitizing solution and at that concentration rinsing is not an big issue. Just use plain unscented chlorine bleach of course.

Another big advantage of bleach is that it is available almost anywhere on the planet. Out here in the jungle I can't run down to my LHBS and get some more fancy sanitizer, but I can find bleach.

Those of us that are not living just beyond BFE can get StarSan easily. Either from a LHBS or online HBS.

Personally, I have problems with the smell of chlorine. There are plenty of times when I can barely tolerate the amount in the water coming from the faucet/shower.

Besides, I don't have anything that will measure just 2oz (to my knowledge). My measuring cups start at 4oz.

 

[Curtis2010]

...

Besides, I don't have anything that will measure just 2oz (to my knowledge). My measuring cups start at 4oz.

Some shot glasses are measured in increments up to 2oz...just don't get confused!

 

[zeg]

Some shot glasses are measured in increments up to 2oz...just don't get confused!

And a "standard" shot glass is 1.5 oz, so you could just do one + 1/3 shots. Most of the large ones are 2.0 oz, so those would be right on.

Or you could play the logic puzzle using two measuring cups that have 2 oz increments starting at 4 oz. I leave it as an exercise to the reader to determine how to measure out exactly 2 oz using only those two containers.

 

[Golddiggie]

And a "standard" shot glass is 1.5 oz, so you could just do one + 1/3 shots. Most of the large ones are 2.0 oz, so those would be right on.

Or you could play the logic puzzle using two measuring cups that have 2 oz increments starting at 4 oz. I leave it as an exercise to the reader to determine how to measure out exactly 2 oz using only those two containers.

IMO, not worth the effort. Especially since StarSan comes with a measuring section in the container. Loosen that cap, squeeze the bottle, and watch it fill. Stop when it hits the correct level then pour out. Takes all of a few seconds. You also don't need to worry about something nasty toughing your skin (chlorine).

 

[jfr1111]

Household bleach plus water in itself is very bad at killing spores, mold and wild yeast. Bleach in wrong concentrations can really screw up a beer, even if you do rinse. BUT... and it's a big BUT... as was pointed out earlier in this thread, a household bleach plus water solution that is then acidified with white vinegar, at the right concetrations, will sanitize in minimal contact time.

According to this Basic Brewing podcast , the right concentration is 1 oz of bleach, for 5 gallons of water, provided you add 1oz of vinegar to the water afterward. I repeat, you add the vinegar to the water after adding the bleach. Never the other way around and never mix bleach and vinegar. If you mix vinegar and bleach together, you'll release chlorine gas which can be deadly. The guest on the podcast is none other that Charlie Telley, inventor of StarSan so you know it works.

Also, this will work provided you buy the cheapest bleach you can find in the smallest possible container. Store brand usually will not have as many caustic (sodium hydroxide) as the name brand, which means it goes bad faster, but that it also releases more hypochlorous acid, which is what actually does the killing. At that level, rinsing is not required (you're at 80 parts per million) and contact time needed ? 30 seconds. With high pH (no vinegar), high contact time doesn't matter, it won't kill anything.

Does it all really matter ? Not really. StarSan and Iodophor are easier, and arguably, safer to use. But to say that bleach will ruin beer is simply not true, provided you know what you're doing and you're doing it correctly. Personally, I use the acidified bleach solution. It works for me. I also bake my bottles. It works for me too.

 

[jfr1111]

BTW, 1 oz = 19,6ml. A table spoon is 15ml. Hardly graduate level mathematics here :cross:

 

[zeg]

BTW, 1 oz = 19,6ml. A table spoon is 15ml. Hardly graduate level mathematics here :cross:

Typo? 1 oz = 29.6 mL.

Also, a tablespoon is exactly 1/2 oz, so 2 tablespoons is spot on.

When I've used bleach, I've never bothered measuring. I just pour in an eyeballed amount. I've used this for cleaning bottles a few times and I've never had any ill effects at all after rinsing (and re-sanitizing with SaniClean). Certainly no off flavors.

Bleach in wrong concentrations can really screw up a beer, even if you do rinse.

If it has any effect on the beer after rinsing, you didn't rinse well enough (unless you mean by not sanitizing adequately if you rely on it solely for that).