How long does a sanitized item remain sanitized

[dave8fire]

Newbie here, I am ready to start my second batch, first batch wasn,t bad. I wonder after an item is sanitized how long will it stay sanitized? First go round I used bleach, and rinsed. I guess what would be a rule of thumb for the time sanitizing takes place to the time you would have to start to worry that the little floaty things in the air have infected your equipment?

Can I sanitize all the stuff and place it in a clean primary bucket and put a lid on it and use it the next day?

All that I have read indicates that more times than not if a batch fails its because something wasn't clean.

Lastly, is there one preferred product for sanitation?

thanks

dave althouse

 

[davis119]

first off i would get a no rince sanitizer , the 2 favorites here are idophor and starsan....
you can use either in a spray bottle

i usually mix up a batch in an extra bucket and throw the gear in it when im not using it on brew day.... i wouldnt leave it laying around....
star san will last a while but what do you need to use the next day ?
fo my hydrom. readings i keep starsan in a spray bottle and just spray my turkey baster before use

 

[Golddiggie]

IMO, bleach is a bad idea. For one thing, you HAVE to rinse it in order to not F-up your brew. IF the water you rinse with has anything bad in it (most do, at low levels, but it's still there), including other chlorine based chemicals, you're in for trouble.

IMO/IME, FAR better off to simply get some StarSan to use. It's a NO RINSE sanitizer that's also a 'wet contact' sanitizer. Meaning that as long as the surface is wet with it, it's protecting it (and has sanitized it). A great many of us use StarSan to sanitize what we brew with (where it needs it). We also have a spray bottle of it on hand for quick sanitizing items. It's easy to mix up, easy to use, and has NO odor to it (opposed to using bleach).

Sure, bleach is cheap. But it's also not something I would want in anything I drink/eat. I have a double filter system under the kitchen sink that I use for ANY water that goes into food/beverage prep. With a .5 micron filter as one of the pair, it removes virtually everything that I don't want in my water. Including those chlorine based products the utility people add to make the water 'safe to drink'. Sure, it's 'safe' to drink, but it tastes nasty (to me).

Basically, don't cheap-out when it comes to sanitizing what's touching your brew. Especially when we're talking post-boil contact. Reasons for batches to 'fail' as you put it are many. Opening the fermenter too many times to 'check on it' is one (contamination/infection). Not rinsing well enough to remove ALL traces of chlorine is another (medicinal off flavors). Not giving the brew enough time for the yeast to do what it needs to do is another. Oxidization is another thing that can put a serious hurt on your brew.
Most of these CAN be avoided rather easily. But it's up to YOU.

 

[cockybitz]

keep in mind that bleach needs 20 minute of contact time, but the starsan is 60 seconds, I believe. That is enough time to rinse with the starsan and by the time my product hits it my minute is up. I have and occasionally still use bleach, as it is a cleaner and sanitizer. Keep in mind, though that bleach has a clinging tendency, so be sure to rinse and rinse again, else it leave a nasty taste in the finished product, and it does not need much residue to do so.

 

[mpcluever]

Pretty sure StarSan is a couple minutes for full kill. StarSan rules. Rinsing after sanitizing is destroying your sanitization, but you have to do it using bleach.

 

[audger]

starsan requries 60 seconds of contact time. bleach is 5-30 minutes depending on the concentration. idiophore is somewhere around 5 minutes if i remember...

How long does a sanitized item remain sanitized

untill you contaminate it.

bleach is a sanitizer. tap water is a contaminant. since you have to rinse bleach out, its not a good sanitizer because you are required to contaminate what you just sanitized after (unless you are using boiled/sterilized water to rinse). also the fact that it eats away at stainless steel means you need to be careful with it.

bleach also has no residual killing power. it evaporates quickly so once it dries, anything that touches the surface will contaminate it. starsan forms a film over the surface so if any bacteria get blown onto it, they will die even long after the surface has dried.

and yes you can sanitize something, put it in a sanitized sealed bucket, and reasonably expect that it will be sanitary when you go to use it again. however its a good idea to give anything a quick starsan dip right before using, just in case.