Sanitation and cleaning

[Ragnarsmead89]

I'm just curious if there is a cheap easy way to sanitize equipment? I found som food safe sanitizing solution, but I don't always have the money to spend. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[CKuhns]

Couple of options

Small amount of bleach in some water. Mix per instructions on the container. Then rinse with clean water.

Boil everything for 5 minutes. Place on a clean dry linen towel to dry or jnyil needed.

 

[davidabcd]

Bleach water (1/4 C per gallon) is a restaurant standard (until the owners get sold on some other method).
Starsan is expensive, relatively, but it lasts and lasts which makes it economical. That's probably because I bottle. I can't say how much I would use if I kegged. And I don't save it for next time or anything.
Really attentive cleaning with unscented soap and water and rinsing well makes almost any form of sanitizing viable.
Some folks (at least on the UK sister site) bake their bottles to sanitize (after they've been properly cleaned.

 

[Ragnarsmead89]

Thanks guys. This was very helpful.

 

[bwible]

After years of star san I’ve started using iodophor again. Iodine based sanitizer that is not all that expensive. You only use a small amount. It works well for bottles and glass but will stain plastic orange brown color over time.

 

[bwible]

Couple of options

Small amount of bleach in some water. Mix per instructions on the container. Then rinse with clean water.

Boil everything for 5 minutes. Place on a clean dry linen towel to dry or jnyil needed.

You really do have to rinse bleach well. Even small amounts are going to create a band aid flavor in your beer. Its cheap but not really ideal.

 

[videojunkie1208]

I use the free and clear oxyclean for cleaning, and then follow (after heavy rinsing) with one-step sanitizer. The one-step comes in a 5lb bucket that lasts a while (depending upon your brewing schedule).

 

[Ragnarsmead89]

If I use dawn original would that hurt anything?

 

[MaxStout]

PBW to soak, then rinse well. Starsan to sanitize.

If it's plastic and cheap to replace from time to time, I do so. Tubing, plastic buckets, bottling bucket valves, etc.

 

[videojunkie1208]

If I use dawn original would that hurt anything?

Make sure you over rinse. The issue is with any soap that gets into nooks and crannies and doesn't get rinsed out.

Keep in mind that soap and water isn't sanitation. You have to sanitize once everything is clean. That's where bleach, star-san, one-step, etc come in.

 

[TLaffey]

If I use dawn original would that hurt anything?

I would recommend never using anything that has a scent added. This is part of why I use PBW for cleaning and StarSan for sanitizing.

 

[SFC Rudy]

Sanitation is one area where I do not try to save pennies. Get it wrong and you lose dollars down the drain.

 

[Jacob_Marley]

For beer it is fine ... but bleach in a winemaking operation is worth avoiding due to Trichloroanisole taint (TCA) ... aka "cork taint".
Like others have said, I would just scrounge up the money to buy some Star-San or similar.

 

[davidabcd]

If I use dawn original would that hurt anything?

Plus one on avoiding scents. Hard to remove.