Denatured Alcohol

[GunnerMan]

Is denatured alcohol ok for sanitizing small things such as bottle caps etc.? I found a can of it but wasint sure if a diluted solution would be ok or if I should use Isopropyl. Im kind of in a bind and don't want to ride into town.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Don't use either. Denatured alcohol is methanol, which, like isopropyl alcohol, is poisonous if ingested. I wouldn't want either of them in contact with my brew gear. I know you could let the alcohol evaporate before using the equipment, but it just doesn't seem like a good idea.

 

[GunnerMan]

Ok i saw it mentioned in one of the stickies and thought what a great idea.

 

[menschmaschine]

I would hesitate to use denatured alcohol for sanitizing. Some types could be used, but unless it lists the ingredients on the can and it just contains various alcohols (some denatured alcohols contain petroleum distillates), I wouldn't risk it. There is no one recipe for "denatured" alcohol.

I use 70% Isopropyl alcohol all the time for odds-and-ends sanitizing. As long as you let it dry or rinse the item with preboiled water before use, it's fine. As an example, it's standard protocol for health inspectors to carry 70% Isopropyl alcohol wipes with them to sanitize their thermometers, which they then wave around in the air for a few seconds to dry, and stick it into food items to get the temperature. 70% Isopropyl alcohol evaporates quickly. (90% is OK to use too, but 70% is actually more effective at killing microbes.)

 

[EvilTOJ]

Why is 70% more effective at killing microbes than 90%?

 

[Schlenkerla]

I do yeast culturing and I use the 70% IPA (Not Beer) to clean my work surface, scissors, eye dropper & my hands. I never use IPA to sanitize any bottles or fermentors. Iodophor is just so cheap and easy to use so I have never considered it all.

I would use diluted bleach & water before using IPA to sanitize.

Mix ratio 2 oz : 5 gal water (REQUIRES CLEAN WATER RINSING!)
​

 

[menschmaschine]

Why is 70% more effective at killing microbes than 90%?

The concept is similar to one you're probably familiar with. When you use dry yeast, you're supposed to rehydrate it in water rather than throwing it right into the wort, which will ensure greater viable yeast cell count. This is because dried yeast will not be able to regulate what passes through it's cell membrane upon rehydration. So, when it's put right into wort, all kinds of stuff passes through the cell membrance including, for example, unbroken down sugars, and the yeast cell bursts and dies.

You're trying to do the opposite when sanitizing against microbes. You're trying to kill the microbe by tricking it into allowing a harmful substance to pass through its cell membrane. When microbes are put into environments which they detect can kill them, they'll close up their cell membrane and not allow anything to pass through until the environment changes to a safer one.

It's this way with alcohol. 90% is so much alcohol that hardy microbes can detect this concentration and close up their cell membrane before the alcohol has a chance to kill them. 70% is just the right mixture of alcohol and water where the amount of water in the solution will "trick" the microbe into keeping it's cell membrane open and the amount of alcohol will quickly kill it. That being said, 90% alcohol will sanitize almost as good as 70%, but I always use 70% just because that's what I was taught.

I hope that explains it clearly enough.

 

[runhard]

Is denatured alcohol ok for sanitizing small things such as bottle caps etc.? I found a can of it but wasint sure if a diluted solution would be ok or if I should use Isopropyl. Im kind of in a bind and don't want to ride into town.

If you have some cheap, rot-gut vodka that'll do. I use the cheapest stuff I can find to fill my air-lock and sanitize small items. Good luck.

 

[ChrisKennedy]

Spray bottle with Star san, preferably made with diluted water, will last weeks and weeks and weeks.

 

[springer]

Spray bottle with Star san, preferably made with diluted water, will last weeks and weeks and weeks.

diluted water is there such a thing?

 

[Evan!]

diluted water is there such a thing?

Well, yeah, you just water it down. Duh.

 

[Dr_Deathweed]

Well, yeah, you just water it down. Duh.

Well technically, first you must reconstitute your dehydrated water by following the package directions, THEN dilute it to your desired concentration

 

[springer]

Well technically, first you must reconstitute your dehydrated water by following the package directions, THEN dilute it to your desired concentration

and remember to mix it well or your gravity readings will be way off..

 

[Dr_Deathweed]

and remember to mix it well or your gravity readings will be way off..

Ahhh, how could I forget that important step... Thanks for pointing that out so that there isn't any confusion later

 

[conpewter]

Isopropyl alcohol is not poisonous in small amounts (at least to me...), burns quite a bit when you drink it though (don't ask).