Sanitizing in dishwasher - A cautionary tale

[menschmaschine]

I get confused reading so much, everyone has a different opinion. So are you saying it's ok to use a dishwasher to sanitize but not for cleaning? Not trying to be a pest here, just want to clarify what i'm doing wrong.

Yeah, that's the idea. Clean the bottles first, then use the dishwasher heat sanitizing feature to sanitize them. Don't put any soap in the dishwasher.

 

[passedpawn]

Check out the page below. You can see that bacteria is killed dead at elevated temperatures. My dishwasher does that. What my dishwasher can't do is get much water up into the bottle because of the small bottle neck (plus I have the bottles staked onto the dishwasher's posts, which also occludes the hole).

 

[knightbeer39]

run a cycle empty then fill with bottles and one cap of idophore

You do this and you will probably have a stained red dishwasher--that would be a SWMBO no-no in my casa.

I soak the bottles in sanitizer, high pressure bottle wash and then run through hot cycle (wash and dry) in my dishwasher with no soap or other detergents.

 

[Revvy]

Yeah, that's the idea. Clean the bottles first, then use the dishwasher heat sanitizing feature to sanitize them. Don't put any soap in the dishwasher.

And don't think about adding any starsan either. We have threads about that on here.

It isn't pretty.

Well I guess it is pretty, but not worth the damage.

I can't find the original thread with pictures, but it was not too different from this.

 

[passedpawn]

Adding starsan to the dishwasher will removed tons of minerals from the inside of the dishwasher and deposit them in a fine powder all over the bottles. This powder bakes on and is VERY difficult to remove (vinegar should do it). I can't divulge my source on this information.