sanitizer?

[ery2]

hi,
can i use 99% ethanol as sanitizer ? to clean my bottles and everything ?

 

[Harleybrew32]

i think you can dilute it down some too, i think 70%
but yeah I read it awhile ago, some homebrewers used everclear and cut it with some water.
seems like a waste of everclear, rather make Lemoncello with it

 

[VikeMan]

hi,
can i use 99% ethanol as sanitizer ? to clean my bottles and everything ?

You'll need to clean your bottles first, with a cleaner. Then sanitize, with a sanitizer. Pure (or nearly pure) ethanol is, rather unintuitively, not a very good sanitizer. It's more effective when diluted down to 70%-80%.

 

[myndflyte]

Is there a reason why you aren't just using a designed sanitizer like StarSan?

 

[IslandLizard]

I wouldn't waste (good) alcohol on sanitizing mundane brewery equipment. There are much better options.

Cleaning and sanitizing are 2 different processes, using different "chemicals."
Good brewery cleaners:

• Oxiclean
• (homemade) PBW
• Washing soda

Good home brewery sanitizers:

• Starsan. Working solution remains active for weeks or months, when kept clean.
• Iodophor or IO Star. Iodine based sanitizers remain active for only 1 day.

Remember: Things need to be (thoroughly) clean first, before you can sanitize them. You can't sanitize dirt.

 

[Calder]

I'm not asking why ethanol - I think previous posts have done that. Seems like a waste.

I think you need to be above 60% alcohol to be an effective sanitizer. I use 90% isopropyl alcohol on wipes for spot sanitation on containers.

I don't know the science, but I think pure alcohol is not as effective as 60%.

Alcohol will not clean. If you have some 'gunk' that is harboring bugs, the alcohol will not clean the gunk, nor will it kill any bugs that may be in it. A sanitizer will only work on a clean surface.