Sanitizer paranoia

[fozzie14]

After reading the labels of Star San and other sanitizers, I'm getting paranoid about brewing in our recently remodeled kitchen. Should I be concerned about damaging our granite counter top or hardwood floor if sanitizer spills on them? I'm not know for neatness, so I fully expect to be splashing stuff.

 

[duboman]

I personally don't believe so but I know that Five Stars Customer Support staff is awesome and very responsive, you can call or email them

http://www.fivestarchemicals.com/breweries/

Cheers!

 

[tre9er]

I can't think of anything that StarSan has hurt since I've been using it for over a year, even if it spills in it's raw form. Of course that's purely anecdotal

 

[broadbill]

My impression is that the undiluted stuff is what damages countertops. If you had a scrap piece of the material, you could do some testing on the diluted stuff, or drop a small amount in an out of the way location.

Easiest thing to do is mix the sanitizer somewhere other than the kitchen.

 

[Psych]

Granite I bet would be fine, but I've left a small puddle (dime sized) on my painted counter in my brewing area and it removed the paint, all smudged and swirled there now. This was a 25 year old kitchen counter.

So I'm real careful to clean up starsan spills now. I'd be concerned on hardwood floors if it was left for a bit.

edit: I'll also clarify this was diluted starsan, just sanitizer solution I had slopped over the side of my item I was cleaning.

 

[brewinchef_fairfax]

I splash it all over the place when I'm working and have yet to see any negative effects other than the metal hinges on my EZ-Cap bottles - it tends to react with them even when diluted..

 

[CUrchin]

I'm new here, but I've taken to doing the mixing of Star San in my laundry room sink so as to avoid the risk of getting the undiluted stuff on my laminate counter tops. From what I read around here it sounds like it is only an issue when it is undiluted.

 

[scottkct]

I would fear the undiluted stuff. When properly diluted, it's completely safe.

If I may make a suggestion. Get a 1 gallon glass bottle and fill with distilled or RO water and squirt 6oz of StarSan concentrate in it. Have a small squirt bottle on hand squirt everything as you brew. Don't fear the bubbles. The second properly diluted StarSan touches a liquid, it dilutes it beyond effectiveness. Squirt a stirspoon, let sit for a minute or so and the second you dip it in your wort the StarSan become yeast nutrient.

 

[alter]

I did the Star San in the spray bottle thing and it works great, however I left the star san in the spray bottle for a few weeks and now the spray bottle isn't spraying as well as it used to. I'm wondering if the star san has deteriorated the sprayer pump. Anyone else have this problem?

 

[scottkct]

I've had a Home Depot brand spray bottle constantly filled with starsan for a few months now without much issue. I did notice recently that the spring in the trigger seems to be weakening but I think that's just from a lot of use.

I'm not sure of the long exposure effects to the plastic are. I do know with StarSan being an acid based sanitizer, it shouldn't have any reaction with most plastic. The StarSan concentrate is stored in a plastic-type bottle. All acids are typically stored in plastic-based containers due to it being non-reactive to acid.

 

[alter]

scottkct,
Thats exactly what happened to mine, the spring is weakened and stays depressed so that it can only be partially pumped. I suspect its the starsan that did it.

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

I remeber reading a story here where a guy like yourself (not the cleanest) left the bottle and cap on "his wifes counter", ended up being a small amount of raw star san under the cap and bottle thus leaving an imprint in the granite/marble top (not sure what it was) that would not come out.

I would be very carefull with it undiluted. It is after all an acid based sanitizer

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

scottkct,
Thats exactly what happened to mine, the spring is weakened and stays depressed so that it can only be partially pumped. I suspect its the starsan that did it.

This should not be the case or the whole spray bottle itself would feel "gummy" and soft. The springs in these sprayers do go after normal wear and tear.