Once sanitized, how long does it last?

[Thor]

Brewed my first batch thos afternoon, after reading lots of great info here and in several weblogs and the Complete Joy Of Homebrewing. After reading sanitize, sanitize, sanitize, sanitize... I did my level best to get everything well sanitized. I used bleach and tap, hot water rinse, which some here like and some don't.

Assuming my efforts worked, how long after sanitizing and rinsing do things stay sanitized? I waited until the wort / kettle was in an ice bath before removing things from the bleach solution and rinsing. Later on, I saw photos on "How To Brew" by John Palmer that show him just starting his wort with his primary at his side on the floor. Is that OK? That is, does a sanitized bucket or other equipment remain sanitized for, say, a half hour? An hour? More? Less?

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[gibfried]

Well Thor,

I think you are O.K. Sanitize it all, then relax. As you brew, you will make all these little mistakes along the way. My first batch I stuck my harry arms in the wort before I realized, "maybe this isn't so sanitary!". I haven't lost one yet to the evil nasties.

The key is, get it clean, get it sanitary - then relax. We aren't bubble-boy brewers. If your yeast is strong, they will outgun any nasties that are leftover.

 

[david_42]

There's always a few floaters, but not many. Once you have sanitized, you should be good for the session. I like to sanitize a cookie sheet, so I have a safe place to set the spoon, thermometer, etc while I work. Unless of course you are brewing out on the patio and the wind starts blowing leaves all over or the dogs knock the fermenter over. Contrary to everything you learned as a child, dog drool is not sanitizer!

Oh, and clean before sanitizing. Bleach will not break though the biofilms surrounding a bacterial colony.

 

[El Pistolero]

Brewed my first batch thos afternoon, after reading lots of great info here and in several weblogs and the Complete Joy Of Homebrewing. After reading sanitize, sanitize, sanitize, sanitize... I did my level best to get everything well sanitized. I used bleach and tap, hot water rinse, which some here like and some don't.

Assuming my efforts worked, how long after sanitizing and rinsing do things stay sanitized? I waited until the wort / kettle was in an ice bath before removing things from the bleach solution and rinsing. Later on, I saw photos on "How To Brew" by John Palmer that show him just starting his wort with his primary at his side on the floor. Is that OK? That is, does a sanitized bucket or other equipment remain sanitized for, say, a half hour? An hour? More? Less?

Thanks for the feedback.

After rinsing, just cover it with some aluminum foil to keep anything from falling in...it will still be sanitized when you're ready.

 

[Fudd]

So to really answer your question, sanitizing lasts until something unsanitary touches it but usually nothing does if you follow the basic guidelines. I have a thread in beginners forum titled the OCD of home brewing but now I sanitize the equipment I am going to use and leave it on a paper towel till I need it, and for the bucket I sanitize while the wort is a boiling and just leave the lid loosely on. Some people have sneezed in there beers and still had them come out right. I guess they just want you to be careful cause it must really suck to lose a batch...

 

[Orfy]

From what I've read It seems that the real problem is house hold dust that can carry bacteria and wild yeast so like the others said, if you cover the equipment with something clean then it should be fine for a while.