# cleaning with laundry powder



## Ducatiboy stu (21/5/14)

When you run out of Sodium Perc...etc

Use everyday laundry powder. 

Laundty powder is a mix of washing soda, sodium perc and enzymes ...and perfume..

You will need to rinse in hot water to remove the perfume.

Laundry powder does make an excellent and cheap soaker and sanitiser.


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## Bribie G (21/5/14)

Let Aldi Tandil dishwashing concentrate be your friend.


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## Ducatiboy stu (21/5/14)

That stuff is awsome


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## Ducatiboy stu (21/5/14)

And the dishwasher Tabs are even better...


Just wear gloves.....******* things will eat your soul...


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## Airgead (22/5/14)

Cleaner, yes... sanitiser though? Not so sure about that. Especially if it needs a water rinse...


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## Ducatiboy stu (22/5/14)

Its not perfect, but works if you have nothing else available.


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## Airgead (22/5/14)

Fair nuff.


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## Dave70 (22/5/14)

What do they use for the foaming agent in no rinse sanatizers? 

The last bottle I bought is colorless, odorless, AND foamless (possibly also flavorless but I have yet to drink any). 

Feels kind of like I sanatizing equipment on faith. 

Lord of sanitation, hear my prayer.


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## Ducatiboy stu (22/5/14)

Foam allows penetration and longer contact time.


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## Dave70 (22/5/14)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Foam allows penetration and longer contact time.


Yeah..but..what its made of? Could I just add a drop of two of Palmolive to the squirter bottle?


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## Ducatiboy stu (22/5/14)

Suppose you could.

The stuff in star-san has a really long name starting with benzo.........


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## Airgead (22/5/14)

I'm giving serious consideration to switching to a no foam sanitiser. I was happy with iodophor... it foamed a little. Switched to starsan. Now everything I do i have this huge amount of frickin starsan foam sitting in whatever it is I am putting my brew into. I know they say son't fear the foam but frankly, I fear the foam. OK so it breaks down via magic into some thing that apparently acts as a yeast nutrient but I don't want yeast nutrient when I'm racking into a keg (which is half full of foam). I have tried waiting for the foam to break down but that stuff hangs round for ages and its such a solid foam that you can't pour it out.

Freaking me out.


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## mkstalen (22/5/14)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> And the dishwasher Tabs are even better...
> 
> 
> Just wear gloves.....******* things will eat your soul...


My understanding was that the active ingredient in dishwasher tabs is caustic soda, hence the "eating your soul". Still a great cleaner though, pretty sure straight caustic is what a lot of the breweries use.


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## manticle (22/5/14)

> I'm giving serious consideration to switching to a no foam sanitiser. I was happy with iodophor... it foamed a little. Switched to starsan. Now everything I do i have this huge amount of frickin starsan foam sitting in whatever it is I am putting my brew into. I know they say son't fear the foam but frankly, I fear the foam. OK so it breaks down via magic into some thing that apparently acts as a yeast nutrient but I don't want yeast nutrient when I'm racking into a keg (which is half full of foam). I have tried waiting for the foam to break down but that stuff hangs round for ages and its such a solid foam that you can't pour it out.
> 
> Freaking me out.


I use starsan all the time and don't really get a mass of foam. Maybe you are using more than you need?

I chuck half a cup in the keg, shake and then run it through the lines back into the bottle. Bottle foams up but the keg looks OK.


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## mckenry (22/5/14)

Airgead said:


> I'm giving serious consideration to switching to a no foam sanitiser. I was happy with iodophor... it foamed a little. Switched to starsan. Now everything I do i have this huge amount of frickin starsan foam sitting in whatever it is I am putting my brew into. I know they say son't fear the foam but frankly, I fear the foam. OK so it breaks down via magic into some thing that apparently acts as a yeast nutrient but I don't want yeast nutrient when I'm racking into a keg (which is half full of foam). I have tried waiting for the foam to break down but that stuff hangs round for ages and its such a solid foam that you can't pour it out.
> 
> Freaking me out.


You want Saniclean. Star san's brother.


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## Airgead (22/5/14)

manticle said:


> I use starsan all the time and don't really get a mass of foam. Maybe you are using more than you need?


1.6ml of concentrate in a liter of water. Into the keg and shake it up. Damn thing is half full of foam...

You only use half a cup of the diluted stuff in a keg? F me sideways... will that even cover the sides?

And my standard three squirts with my bottle spayer gizmo thingy when bottling mead leave the wine bottles full of foam as well.

Cheers
Dave


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## manticle (22/5/14)

I squirt the surface of the keg first, then tip in the small amount. It's enough, provided the keg is clean and I make sure it's clean.

Rinse out residue, Boiling sod perc, boiling water rinse, starsan, beer.


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## Airgead (22/5/14)

Might cut down my usage and see if that helps.Not sure how I'll measure out the 0.2ml of concentrate i'll need for half a cup but we'll see how it goes.


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## manticle (22/5/14)

Mix up a litre in a spray bottle and tip out what you need, when you need it. That's what I do.


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## Airgead (22/5/14)

You'll have to forgive my slowness...being an iodophor user up until recently I'm not used to the concept of a sanitiser you can mix up and keep around.

How long does it keep diluted? And how do you tell if its still active. Iodophor you could see the colour - brown = ok, clear = not OK and it would go off in a few hours as the iodine sublimated. What's the deal with this new fangled starsan stuff.

I've been making it up and chucking it each time.


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## manticle (22/5/14)

The main thing that matters is pH. I keep a 500 mL bottle at all times but I go through it fairly quickly so I have not worried about pH testing. Should last a good length of time.

This is what makes it so easy and economical.


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## manticle (22/5/14)

Distilled water will make it last even longer (we're talking months)


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## Bribie G (22/5/14)

Starsan, whilst useful for home brewers, is principally manufactured as a restaurant / food premises sanitiser, and is designed to be sprayed in most cases. Awesome on Stainless steel surfaces as it also keeps them "passivated" i.e. sealed with a layer of Chromium Dioxide, which is how SS actually works.


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## Beer Ninja (22/5/14)

Airgead said:


> You'll have to forgive my slowness...being an iodophor user up until recently I'm not used to the concept of a sanitiser you can mix up and keep around.
> 
> How long does it keep diluted? And how do you tell if its still active. Iodophor you could see the colour - brown = ok, clear = not OK and it would go off in a few hours as the iodine sublimated. What's the deal with this new fangled starsan stuff.
> 
> I've been making it up and chucking it each time.


I'm new to starsan and some of the stuff I've read on here is that it keeps about a week if diluted in tap water, store it in a darkish place. Apparently it goes cloudy when no longer effective. If you use distilled water it keeps for much longer, weeks. Maybe even months.


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## jaypes (22/5/14)

The shelf life of starsan diluted with non DI water is directly proportional to the level of calcium in your water. Ca+ reacts with the acid group, and the insoluble particulate is the cloud that's left behind. If your batch is cloudy, but still below 3.0 pH, you've bound all of the free calcium in the water and should be good to keep on sanitizing.


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## mckenry (22/5/14)

Airgead said:


> You'll have to forgive my slowness...being an iodophor user up until recently I'm not used to the concept of a sanitiser you can mix up and keep around.
> 
> How long does it keep diluted? And how do you tell if its still active. Iodophor you could see the colour - brown = ok, clear = not OK and it would go off in a few hours as the iodine sublimated. What's the deal with this new fangled starsan stuff.
> 
> I've been making it up and chucking it each time.


@Airgead #Airgead

You want Saniclean. For what you're worried about, Saniclean is the #answer.


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## Crypto (12/6/14)

I'm just changing from pink powder c tsp ( looking for new cleaner) and from sodium met to starsan

For a cleaner can I just use pure sodium perc?


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## Ducatiboy stu (12/6/14)

Yes.


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