Starsan or Iodophor

[Adam's Apples]

Ok, after some consideration I have decided to ditch the chlorine based cleaner and sanitiser I have been using up until now, in favour of an oxygen type cleaner followed by either Starsan or Iodophor.

Trouble is, my water is quite high in carbonates and I think my Starsan solution would likely be cloudy and therefore inneffective. This is why I'm leaning towards Iodophor.

Before I make my decision though, can anybody confirm if a simple addition of something like citric acid would allow me to make my water 'Starsan compatible'? I really like the sound of Starsan and would like to give it a go if I could make it work.

Cheers

 

[Nurmey]

Cloudy isn't a great way to judge Starsan. My Starsan is cloudy for the start with my water but I know it's good because I use test strips on them.

 

[Revvy]

You don't want to mess with your water chemistry to use starsan....like Nurmey said use test strips...even if it is cloudy it is useable, just not necessarily STORABLE for a long time...you could either use RO or Distilled Water to mix it up in.

I usually keep a gallon of distilled water on hand to mix either Starsan or Iodophor in spray bottles...they last forever that way.

 

[Nurmey]

Good point Revvy. I don't store mine for long periods when I use my tap water. Keep a mixed bottle of distilled water/Starsan for the little jobs. I use a bit more Starsan because I mix it more often but it's still worth it.

 

[Revvy]

Good point Revvy. I don't store mine for long periods when I use my tap water. Keep a mixed bottle of distilled water/Starsan for the little jobs. I use a bit more Starsan because I mix it more often but it's still worth it.

It would be worth mixing up a small amount with tap water and checking the PH over time to see if tap water really does affect the storage potential...I know people say it does, but they might just assume because it is cloudy it is unusable.

 

[Adam's Apples]

You don't want to mess with your water chemistry to use starsan....like Nurmey said use test strips...even if it is cloudy it is useable, just not necessarily STORABLE for a long time...you could either use RO or Distilled Water to mix it up in.

I usually keep a gallon of distilled water on hand to mix either Starsan or Iodophor in spray bottles...they last forever that way.

Good call on test strips guys, I know this would give me a meore reliable indication.

Starsan just sound like the ultimate hassle free sanitiser. After my normal cleaning regime, I usually fill a large container with my sanitiser and immerse everything in there until I need it. I thought I would keep this process the same, but just use Starsan / Idophor, which would also cut out any rinsing and therefore add an extra level of cleanliness, since I used to use cold tapwater.

This would mean buying lots of distilled / RO water, especially if I wanted to soak my carboys too and I would much rather use tap water if possible. I may by the smallest container I can get and see what ph I achieve with my tapwater, this stuff must be acified already. I know that my water has high carbonates though as I already add salts to my brewing water to offset this.

Cheers

 

[Adam's Apples]

You don't want to mess with your water chemistry to use starsan....like Nurmey said use test strips...even if it is cloudy it is useable, just not necessarily STORABLE for a long time...you could either use RO or Distilled Water to mix it up in.

I usually keep a gallon of distilled water on hand to mix either Starsan or Iodophor in spray bottles...they last forever that way.

Good call on test strips guys, I know this would give me a more reliable indication.

Starsan just sounds like the ultimate hassle free sanitiser. After my normal cleaning regime, I usually fill a large container with my sanitiser and immerse everything in there until I need it. I thought I would keep this process the same, but just use Starsan / Idophor, which would also cut out any rinsing and therefore add an extra level of cleanliness, since I used to use cold tapwater.

This would mean buying lots of distilled / RO water, especially if I wanted to soak my carboys too and I would much rather use tap water if possible. I may by the smallest container I can get and see what ph I achieve with my tapwater, this stuff must be acified already. I know that my water has high carbonates though as I already add salts to my brewing water to offset this.

Cheers

 

[TeleTwanger]

I use both. StarSan on everything except airlock and stopper because Starsan is some slippery stuff.

 

[fratermus]

What's the magical pH number again? I know I heard it on the BB podcast. <3?

Mine turns cloudy within an hour so I usually dump it at the end of the session. I do have pH strips so if I could save the StarSan longer that would be great.