Is there any chance of cross contamination through a shared StarSan bucket/reserve?

[TAK]

I constantly keep about 5 gal of StarSan in a plastic bucket, refreshing as needed. I'll pour off some from a spigot, as needed, but I also just dump equipment in there to soak before use, autosiphon, tubing, etc.

Is there any chance that by sanitizing my Brett or Bacteria infected tubing or plastic that there could be cross contamination with clean equipment sanitized in the same bucket?

 

[d3track]

I would use separate everything, even sanitizer

 

[LandoLincoln]

If your sanitizing bucket gets infected, you have some serious problems.

 

[Ole_Smoky]

I was wondering the same thing the other night, I have 2.5 gals made up in a sealed bucket. When I need to sanitize something I'll dump from the bucket into a carboy or fermentor to swish around then pour back to the original bucket of sanitizer for next time. It can't contaminate like that right?

 

[BigPerm]

My Sanitizing bucket is the only shared piece of plastic equipment I use. I make up fresh santizer pretty frequently and dump it when I'm done, so it sits empty most of the time. Seeing at it gets fresh sanitizer before anything else goes in, I see little risk in sharing it. I haven't had a problem yet, but I will revise that statement if I do.

 

[WI_Wino]

Anyone have separate carboy and bottle brushes? I have duplicates of everything else.

 

[TAK]

Ok, good. I always kept them separate, but just got to wondering if I needed too. I thought maybe this was just more of my crazy, hypervigilant attempt to keep my bugs out of everything. Good to know others have the same caution.

I've always sanitized the buggy stuff separately. I usually wash all my gear in a plastic utility sink in my basement, but being plastic, I don't want to wash bugs down it, lest they take hold. So I even wash my bug gear in the kitchen sink to keep it segregated.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Ok, good. I always kept them separate, but just got to wondering if I needed too. I thought maybe this was just more of my crazy, hypervigilant attempt to keep my bugs out of everything.

Yes, that's it. It is a bit crazy. If your sanitizer can get infected, then I highly suggest using a different sanitizer, since it doesn't work.

 

[TAK]

Lando, I guess I took your first post in a way you didn't intend. I thought you meant it like, "if your sanitizing bucket gets infected, you have some serious problems... because then everything else will get infected too." But I see now you meant it like, "If your sanitizing bucket gets infected, you have some serious problems... because why would you're sanitizing bucket get infected if it's a sanitizing bucket?"

The later is why I posed the question, and now there's not the lean towards a conservative consensus like I thought.

Maybe I have been crazy.

 

[sweetcell]

Is there any chance that by sanitizing my Brett or Bacteria infected tubing or plastic that there could be cross contamination with clean equipment sanitized in the same bucket?

assuming your SS is properly made (right mix/concentration, right pH, etc) then there is virtually zero chance of cross-contamination in the bucket of SS.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Lando, I guess I took your first post in a way you didn't intend. I thought you meant it like, "if your sanitizing bucket gets infected, you have some serious problems... because then everything else will get infected too." But I see now you meant it like, "If your sanitizing bucket gets infected, you have some serious problems... because why would you're sanitizing bucket get infected if it's a sanitizing bucket?"

The later is why I posed the question, and now there's not the lean towards a conservative consensus like I thought.

Maybe I have been crazy.

Overly cautious. Not crazy. What is this abundance of caution really going to cost you? A five gallon bucket, a lid, 5 gallons of distilled or RO water and an ounce of Star San. That's a very cheap investment for putting your mind at ease, if it is not at ease. My intent was to assuage your concerns, but some guy on the internet may not be able to do that. If this concern is going to continue to plague your mind then go ahead and set up that second bucket.

 

[hirschb]

assuming your SS is properly made (right mix/concentration, right pH, etc) then there is virtually zero chance of cross-contamination in the bucket of SS.

This is dependent on the water! I had a horrible infection problem when my star san got contaminated. I was using unfiltered tap water, and over time the pH must have shot up. I've even heard horror stories of bleach filled buckets with infections growing on them. I now regularly change my star san, and make sure it was made out of RO water.

 

[sweetcell]

assuming your SS is properly made (right mix/concentration, right pH, etc) then there is virtually zero chance of cross-contamination in the bucket of SS.

i forgot to specify one other condition: what you put into the bucket needs to have been cleaned beforehand.

if you put dirty equipment in the sanitizer, large chucks of debris could fall off. the outside will be sanitized but the sanitizer might not be able to make it to the center of that dirt-ball. it could contain all sorts of nasties.

 

[robotinc]

I share sanitizer between sour and clean beers and don't have issues, but I don't keep it around very long.