What Sanitisers and Cleaners are used.

[ohiobrewtus]

I use both iodophore and Starsan, as well. Which one I choose depends largely on habit and which one is closer at the time. I do keep Starsan in a spray bottle, and that is magnificent. Starsan also is easier to mix up in smaller batches, while iodophor seems more suited to larger batches.

I'm off to brew a SMaSH with black patent and cheesy hops, now, cuz Revvy said so.


TL

Also watch out for that tricky in-the-glass-fermentation after you crack open a bottle, TxLaw. That can really sneak up and bite you in the arse!

 

[TexLaw]

Also watch out for that tricky in-the-glass-fermentation after you crack open a bottle, TxLaw. That can really sneak up and bite you in the arse!

I'm well aware of that, believe me. In fact, I got to witness a bit of that just recently while judging a particularly pickley Dixie Cup entry. Oh, joy!


TL

 

[starrfish]

This topic got me thinking about my hot water rinse practices... I've never had trouble but...

Here's what I found as a safe no rinse use of bleach:

How to Mix and Use Bleach Solutions

Normally, one tablespoon ( = 15 milliliters = 0.5 liquid ounce) of concentrated bleach per gallon of water at normal room temperature is considered to be the equivalent of 200 PPM. This is the standard for cleaning food preparation surfaces. Cleaning equipment requires a higher concentration than utensil rinse or treatment of food preparation equipment.

1/4 cup bleach to 5gal water at 75°. dip 1 min. drip dry. No rinse.

I just need to back off on my heavy handed bleach use, and I could go to no rinse bleach.

Source: http://www.allqa.com/ChlorineSanitizing.htm

 

[thrstyunderwater]

This topic got me thinking about my hot water rinse practices... I've never had trouble but...

Here's what I found as a safe no rinse use of bleach:

How to Mix and Use Bleach Solutions

Normally, one tablespoon ( = 15 milliliters = 0.5 liquid ounce) of concentrated bleach per gallon of water at normal room temperature is considered to be the equivalent of 200 PPM. This is the standard for cleaning food preparation surfaces. Cleaning equipment requires a higher concentration than utensil rinse or treatment of food preparation equipment.

1/4 cup bleach to 5gal water at 75°. dip 1 min. drip dry. No rinse.

I just need to back off on my heavy handed bleach use, and I could go to no rinse bleach.

Source: http://www.allqa.com/ChlorineSanitizing.htm

Sorry, I can't take you that serious because of the picture you have as your avatar.:cross:

 

[starrfish]

Shane MacGowan never drank my beer.... If he had he may have had some teeth left! LOL LOL!

 

[schweaty]

I use Star San exclusively but sometimes I think about switching to Iodophor. I like the fact that you can swirl Iodophor around in your carboy/keg and get zero foaming. Star San foams like crazy when you shake it up. I know everyone says not to fear the foam and I don't but I don't like the oil slick it leave behind in my beer.

 

[mmb]

If he told me to throw dirt in my beer to clear it, then I would and I would guarantee it would work, because Revvy said it.

I'd tell you to use time with your beer, but use dirt for a clearing agent in your wine...

Bentonite is clay...

I figured you were just trying to throw something "insane" out there but I found it funny none the less.

 

[Whut]

I like the pretty foam in the carboys too!

So I think this is the answer I"m looking for. I don't need to worry about the foam StarSan leaves behind, right?

Edit: Never mind, I found my answer here in this thread.

 

[MBasile]

Because of Iodophor staining issues I started with StarSan. It hasn't failed me so I see no reason to switch.

 

[iparks81]

I had always used Idophor...switched to Star-San about 4 batches ago...Love it!
Ive started using it for all sorts of things beyond brewing beer...whenever I need to sanitize anything it gets a good squirt down of Star-San
my big question about it though is how long does it have to be in contact with the surface to be completly sanitized

 

[Scut_Monkey]

Completely sanitized is kind of a tricky word as this word does not have a quantifiable measure as far as I know. Completely sterilized is another thing. The manufacturer suggests a 1 minute contact time but has said that 30 seconds is a valid time as far as I remember. This is from a thebrewingnetwork.com podcast so someone call me out if I'm wrong as I'm half drunk......... Ok full drunk.

 

[menschmaschine]

Completely sanitized is kind of a tricky word as this word does not have a quantifiable measure as far as I know. Completely sterilized is another thing. The manufacturer suggests a 1 minute contact time but has said that 30 seconds is a valid time as far as I remember. This is from a thebrewingnetwork.com podcast so someone call me out if I'm wrong as I'm half drunk......... Ok full drunk.

There is a quantifiable measure of "sanitize". Sanitize means to reduce the risk of contamination by 99.9%. This is measured by the product, at a given concentration and contact time, destroying 99.9% of E. Coli and/or Staphylococcus aureus.

 

[iparks81]

ahh yes, I had known that Fully sanitized was hard to determin givin all the possibble variables just as long as star-san doesnt require anythign more than 1-2 min at recomended diluted strength
anyways sorry to drag the thread off topic
STAR SAN all the way!
hah

 

[imaguitargod]

Anyone know of I can use Straight-A to clean my stainless steel boil kettle? Should be fine right since it "cleans with the power of oxygen", right?

 

[New-B-Brewer]

So have I ruined my bottles?

After reading this thread I soaked a case of bottles I got from a craft brew bar in Sun Oxygen Cleaner (Wallyworld's generic version of OxyClean with no perfumes). Many of these bottles had yeast deposits in the bottom so I figured this would get much of that out and free me of the hassle of having to scrub these bottles.
I soaked them for about 20 hours and when I got them out they felt like they were almost etched. This texture would not rinse off with cold or hot water. I found if i rubbed hard with a dish cloth I could get it off but what a pain. Of course, the inside has the same residue as the outside. I think I can get all (most?) of it off the inside using a bottle brush. This is certainly not easier than my old method of cleaning them.
Did I soak them too long? Is the residue safe if I don't get all of it off the inside of the bottles or will it cause off flavors, no carb, poor head retention?

 

[rico567]

No. It's just the wrong water. I can't use Oxi-Clean, because it does exactly the same thing to my bottles- leaves a film on them. Use an acid wash of white vinegar to remove the coating, and use something like PBW instead of Oxi-Clean.....or use different water.

 

[strohs]

I have used one step since day one and its never let me down!

 

[Bdogg]

I use TSP for cleaning and sodium metabisulfate for sanitizing. All came with my wine making equipment. You have to rinse the sodium metabisulfate off as good as you can, I always do, and have never had any problems (infections).


Lately the TSP has been cloudy as soon as I mix it. I think something must be up with my water.

 

[Stephen]

No. It's just the wrong water. I can't use Oxi-Clean, because it does exactly the same thing to my bottles- leaves a film on them. Use an acid wash of white vinegar to remove the coating, and use something like PBW instead of Oxi-Clean.....or use different water.

What is the "wrong water"? I just bought the same oxy product from the local wallymart, mainly from this thread. I was looking for things to clean and sanitize my equipment with out having to run to the local brew store(which isnt so local).

 

[rico567]

What is the "wrong water"? I just bought the same oxy product from the local wallymart, mainly from this thread. I was looking for things to clean and sanitize my equipment with out having to run to the local brew store(which isnt so local).

Specifically, we are in the country, on a well. Our well water is loaded with dissolved calcium and iron. This will not make good beer (or coffee, and we don't use it for drinking or cooking, although we could).

I could invest in a sufficiently sophisticated filter system (regular particulate filters or carbon filters for chlorine or chloramine won't filter what we've got), probably a big aquarium reef tank system, but rather than deal with that expense and complexity, I buy the RO (reverse osmosis) water from the machine at the grocery store for $ .33 per gallon.

I suppose we'd eventually recoup the cost of a filtration system, but it would take quite a while, and I try to employ the K.I.S.S. principle wherever I can. Same way with all my brewing: ferment in plastic buckets, mash in a converted cooler, boil in a cheap SS pot, bottle in plain 12 oz. longnecks. People are constantly trying to evangelize on this forum to go to keggles, RIMS, HERMS, kegerators, etc. Don't need that stuff, and what I use makes great beer, so I don't want it.

Cleaning and sanitizing- same principle. I clean mostly with Dawn dishwashing liquid & where necessary, with PBW. Bottle cleaning can be elimiinated after delabeling with a good PBW soak by rinsing each bottle thoroughly at the time the beer is poured. Sanitizing can be done easily and cheaply with Star San. Some people are put off by the high price of the Star San concentrate, but when mixed according to directions and sprayed on with a spray bottle where possible, it's extremely cheap.

 

[Stephen]

I currently use pretty much the same, dish washing liquid to clean everything and a one step no rinse sanitizer. I will try the oxy with the water I have and see how it works. Never had my water tested, I use a filtered water in my coffee maker and I do have to clean my fixtures with vinegar every so often to get rid of build up. I use spring water to make my beers. We will see, thanks

 

[sanch]

my LHBS sold me some CIPTON it is a caustic cleaner because i had a blemish in a carboy that i could not remove; with oxy clean, iodaphor bleach, elbow grease fantastick and any thing else i tried. the CIPTON took it off no problem in a 1/2 hour soak. has any body used this before? it worked wonders for my carboys. I thought one was clean and then i soaked it in the CIPTON it looks two shades clearer than i have ever seen it. has any body else used this? I am going to use it every time!

 

[FrostyBeverage]

When using star-san does everyone just make the 5 gallon batch? I am just starting up brewing. I bought the bigger than God intended bottle of star san that has the small chamber marked at 1/2 oz and 1 oz. I would like to make a smaller than 2.5 gallon batch of it for smaller jobs.

 

[Frosty86]

Ive been thinking that i could use the sani tabs (you know the blue stuff used for sanitizing beer and drink glasses at a bar). You see I work at a bar and I could trade the boss a few beers for acouple bottles of the tabs. It says on the bottle it kills HIV virus. ...............................................Any thaughts?

 

[Frosty86]

Might I add its a no rinse.

 

[menschmaschine]

Ive been thinking that i could use the sani tabs (you know the blue stuff used for sanitizing beer and drink glasses at a bar). You see I work at a bar and I could trade the boss a few beers for acouple bottles of the tabs. It says on the bottle it kills HIV virus. ...............................................Any thaughts?

Quoting myself from another thread on this:

Quaternary ammonia sanitizer would work fine as far as "sanitizing" goes (as Gila says, it is or it isn't). However, for brewing, the quat would leave a residue that would significantly reduce head retention. So, you could use it, but you would have to rinse everything with pre-boiled water.

 

[mpalmer772]

I have a quick question. I'm at the end of my fermentation so I racked from my plastic fermentor to a glass carboy. I may have screwed up though so I need to know what happens if I rinsed my carboy with B-Brite (sodium carbonate) but I forgot to rinse after I washed. I must have had a brain fart and I was thinking it was the same as Star-San. This just happened s I can still re-rack the beer to yet another carboy or I might go ahead and put it back in the fermentor and get ready to bottle.

What do you think, will I have funny tasting beer?

 

[mpalmer772]

I have a quick question. I'm at the end of my fermentation so I racked from my plastic fermentor to a glass carboy. I may have screwed up though so I need to know what happens if I rinsed my carboy with B-Brite (sodium carbonate) but I forgot to rinse after I washed. I must have had a brain fart and I was thinking it was the same as Star-San. This just happened s I can still re-rack the beer to yet another carboy or I might go ahead and put it back in the fermentor and get ready to bottle.

What do you think, will I have funny tasting beer?

Everything is bottled up now so I guess we'll see what happens

 

[starrfish]

should be ok. rhahb! as long as you used the recommended amount of b-brite and didn't go heavy you should be ok.

from a winemaking forum:

You should be fine. As you said, it is a percarbonate cleaner just as Easy Clean or One Step. You can use these products no rinse. I use Oxy Clean and Sun Brand (other percarbonate cleaners) and normally don't rinse after using it.

 

[MBCUK]

can you use baby sterilizing fluid as a cleaner? Diluted in a spray bottle