Water or vodka in airlock?

[gauthierk]

I always use Star-san in my air locks.. I keep a ketchup bottle of it mixed up on standby just in case I have to clean something really quick or refill an airlock.. The problem I have found with vodka and other spirits is it doesn't really kill some of the bacteria and other wild yeast that can spoil a batch.. It attenuates it to the point were it slows down their activity to a crawl. Best example is a high gravity beer.. The yeast ferment till the ETOH level is too high for them to go any further.. if you were to add sugar and water to bring the percentage of concentration down, fermentation starts off again.. PBW and Star-san forcefully denature the uglies and render them harmless.. Hope this helps anyone out when making a decision.. Cheers!!!