Sanitizing

[Vinegar]

What is a inexpensive sanitizer? I've always used bleach then rewash with Dawn. Never had a issue but looking for something different.

 

[BigDaveK]

Star San

 

[RylanJacobs]

Star San is by far the best, although not the cheapest.

LD Carlson makes a no-rinse cleaner for brewing/winemaking. I have found it in small quanitities, and it seems to work well. It does not foam like star-san, and sometimes the powder does not dissolve evenly. It is cheap because LD Carlson did not put it through the rigors of FDA approval for typical sanitizers. Star San et al. is expensive because of the approvals they sought.

https://www.amazon.com/LD-Carlson-6016B-No-Rinse-Cleanser/dp/B00Q7LXHXI

 

[winemaker81]

K-meta and acid work fine, although I run a fan when working with K-meta. I use 2 Tbsp K-meta + 1 Tbsp acid (tartaric is supposed to be best, but I use whatever I have most of) in 1 US gallon water.

 

[Sailor323]

K-meta, 3 T/gal can use over and over for quite a while.

 

[Rice_Guy]

10% alcohol is a good sanitizer, you will not grow food poisoning organisms.

An anaerobic environment is a good preventative for any spoilage organisms as Acetobacter (vinegar)

The simple elimination of visible organic matter with hot water removes most microbial contamination. I clean more than sanitize.
Bleach removes color from organic material, not necessarily the organic film.
I never use dish soap since it has a low level of perfume

 

[Jim Welch]

+1 to Star San; -10 to any kind of dish soap.
Star San seems expensive but is very cheap in the long run. I make it up it with distilled water and if stored properly it can stay good for years!
Whatever one uses to sanitize, if there’s any residual matter it probably will not sanitize effectively

 

[mainshipfred]

I've always been told equipment has to be clean in order to be properly sanitized. For cleaning I use unscented, chlorine free OxiClean, which is basically sodium percarbonate. Once it's clean I sanitize with a K-meta/citric solution.

 

[wineview]

In the scheme of things, Star San is not that expensive. I purchased 16 ounces in October of 2021 and still have 8 ounces left. I mix 1.2 tsps per gallon of distilled water and reuse the solution up to six times or more. As long as the PH is below 3.0 it is viable. One minute contact time and you are ready to go. I also use a spray bottle which really makes the Star San go a long way. You have to wait up to 10 minutes for K-Meta and I do use it in certain applications. I have a gallon of k-meta solution mixed and only use to spray buckets that I transfer the wine to. Not only am I sanitizing the bucket, I am also adding a bit of K-Meta to the wine.

 

[Christopher Anderson]

In the scheme of things, Star San is not that expensive. I purchased 16 ounces in October of 2021 and still have 8 ounces left. I mix 1.2 tsps per gallon of distilled water and reuse the solution up to six times or more. As long as the PH is below 3.0 it is viable. One minute contact time and you are ready to go. I also use a spray bottle which really makes the Star San go a long way. You have to wait up to 10 minutes for K-Meta and I do use it in certain applications. I have a gallon of k-meta solution mixed and only use to spray buckets that I transfer the wine to. Not only am I sanitizing the bucket, I am also adding a bit of K-Meta to the wine.

What do you store your gallon of Star San in? And how long can you store it in a spray bottle?

 

[wineview]

What do you store your gallon of Star San in? And how long can you store it in a spray bottle?

I buy a gallon of distilled water and mix 1.2 teaspoons of starsan. I store the solution in that gallon jug with a cap firmly in place. Then I take a marker and indicate the date. I’ve had it in a spray bottle for months. I do check the ph just before use if some time passed just to make sure it is below 3.0.

 

[Christopher Anderson]

I've always been told equipment has to be clean in order to be properly sanitized. For cleaning I use unscented, chlorine free OxiClean, which is basically sodium percarbonate. Once it's clean I sanitize with a K-meta/citric solution.

Oxiclean: Power or liquid? 1lb bag or the 5 lb bag if powder? How much to use.

 

[ratflinger]

Easy Clean in general & the Beer Clean for the bottles.

 

[Christopher Anderson]

Easy Clean in general & the Beer Clean for the bottles.

Do you do beer also?

 

[Vinegar]

But what's cheap vs star san

 

[Christopher Anderson]

But what's cheap vs star san

StarSan is about $30.00 for 32 oz. not bad.

 

[Vinegar]

StarSan is about $30.00 for 32 oz. not bad.

How much do you use per carboy?

 

[Vinegar]

StarSan is about $30.00 for 32 oz. not bad.

I keep finding stuff on Amazon that's like $10 per one carboy wash

 

[Christopher Anderson]

How much do you use per carboy?

 

[Vinegar]

?