Sanitize keg with bleach?

[Djanvk]

Does anyone sanitize their corny keg with a bleach mixture? I read you shouldn't because i can be corrosive on stainless steel. Is this true?

Thanks

 

[kornkob]

There is much debate on the use of bleach in brewing.

The assumption that watered down bleach will etch your vessel is wrong. Star San is an acid and is capable of etching your kegs with long term exposure. (Most bleaches, by comparison, are bases)



Bottom line is this: properly used, there's no risk of damaging your equipment using bleach (or star san).

 

[samc]

I did at first but BTF Iodophor Sanitizer or Star San is much easier and IMO more effective since you don't have to rinse. Rinsing introduces potential bacteria & yeasts that are waterborne from your plumbing or atmosphere. The corrosive element does not mean much because you can do a short term bleach soak - but you still have to rinse.

 

[jpc]

There is much debate on the use of bleach in brewing.

The assumption that watered down bleach will etch your vessel is wrong. Star San is an acid and is capable of etching your kegs with long term exposure. (Most bleaches, by comparison, are bases)

Bottom line is this: properly used, there's no risk of damaging your equipment using bleach (or star san).

It has nothing to do with whether bleach is an acid or a base... the fact is that chlorine can cause pitting of stainless steel, even when diluted to sanitizing strength. It typically happens over long periods, but I've seen it happen in a matter of about two hours.

IMO, there is no need to use bleach anywhere in the brewing process. StarSan is relatively cheap, can be reused for months (as long as the pH stays low), and doesn't require a rinse. There are plenty of other areas where you can save money in brewing... this should not be one of them.

 

[Malticulous]

I've had no problems using bleach with glass or plastic but I would not use it on metals. Bake them or use Iodophor.

 

[springer]

I used bleach in a Craftsman SS garden pump sprayer to get rid of some mold on house left it about a week and there were holes in the SS. Now I know you wont be leaving it in there for that long but SS and Bleach don't mix all that well.

 

[malkore]

Bottom line is this: properly used, there's no risk of damaging your equipment using star san.

this much is truthful. I"ve left properly diluted star-san in a keg for months, and no pitting occured.

if you wanna try that with diluted bleach, use your own keg for the experiment. I like mine pit-free.

 

[HomebrewJeff]

There is much debate on the use of bleach in brewing.

The assumption that watered down bleach will etch your vessel is wrong. Star San is an acid and is capable of etching your kegs with long term exposure. (Most bleaches, by comparison, are bases)

Bottom line is this: properly used, there's no risk of damaging your equipment using bleach (or star san).

The other issue with bleach is that it's NOT a no rinse sanitizer. It works just fine to sanitize, but then you have to rinse it out, which kind of defeats the purpose of sanitizing.

To the OP, I would highly recommend getting some StarSan / Saniclean and a spray bottle.

 

[Brew-boy]

Why??? when we have such a great product called Star San.