Sanitizer Question....

[Seanwallner]

Just thought of something... I don't have a faucet that facilitate a washer. Do you think the dishwasher cycle the morning of would suffice? Thanks

 

[Xaphoeous]

I have been using 4.5oz of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide (the stuff used to clean cuts) in 1 gallon of water for sanitation. It is cheap (less than $4 per gallon of h2o2) which makes 30 gallons of sanitizing solution. It's also a nice cleaning agent for removing gunk...just don't leave metal stuff like scissors in there too long or they'll start to rust!

I have used this for the past 9-10 batches with no problems, no infections, just delicious beer. It's also no-rinse and doesn't discolor any buckets or tubing, and won't stain your clothes. It doesn't dry my hands out either.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[MarkB]

Reading, reading, reading. I'm doing lots of reading around here. Reading is a good thing, and it is oh-so-much-better to be prepared with knowledge than to end up with a bad batch after all that work.

I boiled and primary(ed) my first 1/2 batch Saturday night. I used a no-rinse sanitizer on all my stuff (I'm not at home now, so can't say for sure which one) after I thoroughly washed/cleaned all my equipment up to the point of primary fermenting.

My question is thus though, since I do live in a more rural area, and have a septic system, is there /any/ information out there about how these sanitizers and cleaners react with a standard household septic system?

There are so many 'good' bacteria in the septic for doing what they're good at, breaking down waste in the septic, that I would surely hate to pour my sanitizers and cleaners down my drain after using them and have them start destroying all my needed 'good' bacteria in the septic.

In fact, this first batch I've ever brewed, I took my sanitizing bucket out to the street to pour into the storm drain instead. So, likely NOT the safest either, depending on what these little cleaners can do, but better than having me need my septic pumped out often because I'm killing the 'good stuff' in there.

If I lived in a municipality I wouldn't think twice of pouring down gallons of cleaners and sanitizers down the drain, since thats what they do at the treatment plants anyway, but at home, I'm not so sure.

Also, sorry if this is off topic here, but this is a discussion on Sanitizers, and I couldn't find any other spot to ask. I may also be over-thinking it...

 

[Revvy]

If you listen to the podcast I linked for Starsan you'll hear that starsan is very septic friendly. Just like it breaks down to become yeastfood, the bugs in your septic system love it as well. There's also a few threads discussing this. You can do a search for septic.

 

[MarkB]

10-4 Thank you sir!

I have the podcast already downloaded, and will be listening to it on my drive home tonight, and finish it while mowing.

Certainly better to hear that my fears are unwarranted than the other way around.

 

[Bryali]

Well I've thumbed through several pages of this thread and figured I'd revive it a year later....

I tried using bleach for my first 2 MB kits and had no major issues. I mixed it at a ratio of 1tbsp per gallon of filtered and boiled tap water. I let it drip dry and then I brewed or bottled. Then I bought a tub of 1step and I'm not completely happy with it. I've put a few batches through using the 1step and the beer tastes just fine. My problem with it has been that the powder does not fully disolve. I've tried adding it to luke warm water, hot tap water, just-off-boil water--and there are ALWAYS little crystals of powder suspended in the water. The suspended particles end up collecting on my spoons, bottles, and other equipment and dry--leaving visible deposits on the equipment. It has never skunked my beer, but (to me) chemically clean (sanitized) should also be visibly clean (no spots).

Has anyone else had these issues with 1step? If so, when those people switched from 1step to StarSan, did the deposits go away? If I'm using 1step incorrectly, someone help me out but I've read the directions on the tub several times and I don't see where I'm messing up.

I did, on my last batch, run the bottles through the dishwasher on the high-temp rinse and high-temp dry setting. I didn't use any soap or rinse agent. I did that with half the bottles and I used 1step with my sulfiter/bottle rinser/vinator on the other half so I'll be able to compare the different results.

Any thoughts/comments?

 

[piank9800]

So, I thought I'd try also to post here and see if I can get a response. Tomorrow is supposed to be brew day, and I realized I'm out of sanitizer. My LHBS is 1.5 hour drive one way, but I do live in a rural area with tractor supply stores and feed stores. I have a few questions. Should I go with bleach, which I have on hand, or should I try to find an Iodine based solution at one of the local stores?

I saw that our local Southern States has Betadine, 5% and another Povidine-Iodine solution, 7.5%. Would it still be safe to use one of these, and just use less in the solution? For instance, since it's been stated you use 1.5tsp/gallon with a 1.5% solution, I would use roughly 1/3 the amount or 1/5 the amount, respectively. Thanks for any help.

 

[Revvy]

I think that's been covered throughout this thread. I would use either the betadine or providine iodine solution and calculate what is required to dillute it to the proper PPMs for a no-rinse solution.

 

[menerdari]

Listen to this podcast, the inventor of StarSan tells exactly how to use bleach as a sanitizer.
http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrewing/bbr03-29-07.mp3

 

[piank9800]

Thanks for the quick response. I wanted to use the Betadine rather than bleach so I wouldn't have to rinse since we're on well water, but I wasn't sure about the higher concentration. I did read through the thread, and didn't remember seeing any mention of any higher concentration than 1.5% - though I've read through several tonight, and my eyes are starting to glaze over. Thanks again, this will make brew day much easier!

 

[bemenaker]

I keep seeing people compare one step and oxy clean, and I have yet to see anyone explain or understand the differences. (read the labels) Oxy Clean is one step and a soap mixed together. One Step is just the Oxy part. When it is dissolved in water, it basically turns into hydrogen peroxide.

 

[bobot]

With 5 batches to my name, I'm no expert. When I first bought my cleaning supplies, I picked up one step (no rinse) and PBW (rinse). Star San came included with my kit.
I've come to use PBW to clean everything except my glass carboy. PBW is slippery stuff.
I use one step to clean my glass carboy, but when the supply is out I'll probably settle on PBW, and be careful.
I use neither as a sanitizer, and neither claims to be a sanitizer.
I use Star San for that, and the no rinse and the foam are my friends.
No infections in my first 4 batches, and the 5th is now fermenting.
I haven't tried Oxyclean, and as long as PBW and Star San continue working the way they have so far, that's what I'll continue doing.

 

[geim32]

Oxyclean is pretty much the same thing as PBW but a lot cheaper cuz u buy it at Walmart.

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

Oxyclean is pretty much the same thing as PBW but a lot cheaper cuz u buy it at Walmart.

PBW is percarbonate (Oxiclean) with some sort of detergent in it.

I mix my own PBW solution, which if you search HBT for you'll find the recipe.

Anyhow, PBW and Oxiclean have the same main ingredient, but they are not "the same".

 

[AnimalHouseBrewery]

Thankful for all the conversation here spanning several years!
I put this together so I thought I would share it in case someone else found it helpful, let me know if any errors.

Also, the price is best on midwestsupplies.com price, but i looked other places and everyone is pretty close.

 

[fozzie14]

From what I've read, the jets from the dishwasher can't get up into the narrow openings in things like beer bottles or lots of other brewing equipment (hoses, autosiphon, ...), so make sure everything is clean first, use the sanitize cycle for sanitizing only.

The dishwasher sanitizes by filling up the space with steam and keeping it hot for a while, so it basically just boils the bacteria to death, since steam can be hotter than water and transfers heat better than dry air.

My dishwasher does not have a Sanitize cycle, but I thought about using the Rinse Only cycle to wash the bottles. However, I read somewhere that using your dishwasher to clean your bottles could allow your dishwasher's rinse agent (i.e. Jet Dry, etc.) to get inside the bottles. Rinse agent is what causes sheeting action to prevent streaks on your glassware. It also can prevent your beer from forming a head, from what I've heard. So I emailed KitchenAid to ask if I used the Rinse Only cycle on my dishwasher, if it released the rinse agent, and their reply was "Rinse aid is dispensed in any rinse cycle." So I avoid using the "rinse only" cycle unless I've run out of rinse agent. Anyone have any comments or experience using the dishwasher to rinse bottles?