PostModern
Iron Wolf Brewery
- Joined
- 9/12/02
- Messages
- 5,293
- Reaction score
- 8
I generally use iodophor for sanitation and it's great. Odourless, rinse free only 20 mins contact required, etc... but it has it's drawbacks. If plastic things are left soaking in it, they turn yellow. I've even read a case of someone using it in their wet-towel cooler and getting stains in their fermentation cupboard when the solution evaporated... my biggest concern tho is super-bugs developing that are iodine tolerant, at least at the low concentrations we brewers use.
So I have a solution. Every third or fourth batch, I sterilise my fermenters and bottles with diluted bleach - I soak bottles for 10 mins in the laundry sink in batches then rinse thoroughly two or three times (third rinse water becomes first rinse for the next batch, etc). Then I splash about some 50:50 diluted methylated spirits, then rinse again twice. I figure if a bug survives iodophor, it probably won't also survive bleach. The alcohol rinse will clean up anything left behind after that and hopefully blow away any scents or stray non-water-soluble compounds from the bleach as well.
I realise that I might be a bit paranoid and there is the potential that I'm creating a new superbug in the process, but I reckon if there's a bacteria floating around that is tolerant to all of iodine, bleach and alcohol, it'd have shown itself by now. Also, I only go thru this routine every so often, as it does take a fair amount of time and uses heaps of water, although I recycle a lot of it within the process and toss bucket loads of third rinse water onto the plants and lawn.
So, does anyone else have weird or zealous sterlisation practices? Or should I seek professional help?
So I have a solution. Every third or fourth batch, I sterilise my fermenters and bottles with diluted bleach - I soak bottles for 10 mins in the laundry sink in batches then rinse thoroughly two or three times (third rinse water becomes first rinse for the next batch, etc). Then I splash about some 50:50 diluted methylated spirits, then rinse again twice. I figure if a bug survives iodophor, it probably won't also survive bleach. The alcohol rinse will clean up anything left behind after that and hopefully blow away any scents or stray non-water-soluble compounds from the bleach as well.
I realise that I might be a bit paranoid and there is the potential that I'm creating a new superbug in the process, but I reckon if there's a bacteria floating around that is tolerant to all of iodine, bleach and alcohol, it'd have shown itself by now. Also, I only go thru this routine every so often, as it does take a fair amount of time and uses heaps of water, although I recycle a lot of it within the process and toss bucket loads of third rinse water onto the plants and lawn.
So, does anyone else have weird or zealous sterlisation practices? Or should I seek professional help?