how long will a solution of Idopher and water last

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newbrewr4fun

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How long is it good for. I am tired of dumping all that sanitizer away when I am done with it. Does it stay good for an extended period of time? I have two batches under my belt and I have gone through half a bottle. I still have to rack to a secondary and bottle my second batch too!
 
Apparently it can stay good for up to three days provided it still has its yellow color. In practice, I find three hours is more likely. I put Iodophor in my airlocks and within 12 hours there is no yellow color left. In fact, sometimes I have to change my solution when stripping kegs (I usually do two at a time) because it has lost its color before I finish.

I was going through Iodophor like there's no tomorrow until I got a graduated dropper. Now I measure for 25ppm and go through far less. I got a bunch of free droppers with 1ml marked on them from my local pharmacy. The pharmacist had a whole bag of them and was happy to give me a handful.
 
Apparently it can stay good for up to three days provided it still has its yellow color. In practice, I find three hours is more likely. I put Iodophor in my airlocks and within 12 hours there is no yellow color left. In fact, sometimes I have to change my solution when stripping kegs (I usually do two at a time) because it has lost its color before I finish.

I was going through Iodophor like there's no tomorrow until I got a graduated dropper. Now I measure for 25ppm and go through far less. I got a bunch of free droppers with 1ml marked on them from my local pharmacy. The pharmacist had a whole bag of them and was happy to give me a handful.

Oh, Man..I thought it was good for like a week. I used a week old mix to sanitize my equipment the day I racked to a secondary. It still had a little color. My beer had better not catch something!:mad:
 
If you want sanitizer you can save for extended periods, look at Starsan. I've been using iodophor too, but I'm going to give Starsan a chance. Guys that use it swear by it.

Also, you can pick up Povidone from Walmart for much less than Iodophor from the brew shop. Usage is the same.
 
If you are using distilled or boiled water and storing it in an airtight container (like for instance a spray bottle) as long as it is straw in color then it is still active...My spray bottle stays straw color for a couple months.

A few of us who store larger quanities, rather than dump out the solution, just "re-prime" it with some fresh iodophor, until it goes back to the straw color.

I use bulk iodine dairy sanitizer that I buy for about 19.95/gallon from Tractor Supply COmpany...The only big difference is that it doesn't have an anti-foaming agent added like BTF's so it will foam up a bit (not as much as starsan, but still some foam) If I don't want to wait for the foam to subside, then I add a drop or 2 of fermcap foam control to the solution.

Unfortunately, in some states you can no longer buy it, because evidently it's also popular to make meth with....so people will have to check at their own localities, and their own farm and feed stores.
 
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