Sanitising Gear

[QldKev]

Does Star San have any smell or aroma? I purchased a no rinse phosphoric acid blend sanitiser from a LHBS which was supposed to "impart no off flavors or odors" but it has a definite soapy smell. I used it to sanitise the bottles when I bottled my last batch and later noticed a slight soapy aroma/taste in the beer which I'm thinking must be from the sanitiser?

I might have to switch to star san if its better?

No smell or aroma. Any product that is soapy does not belong anywhere within the brewery.



QldKev

 

[stux]

Not sure why you say this. As a kit & kilo brewer you're just as likely to get an infection from poor sanitising as a full grain brewer.

StarSan is the bomb, you can get it from Craftbrewer in the sponsors above. The 1L bottle will more than likely last you a lifetime.

I'm fairly liberal with my starsan... think its coming on 18 month and my 1L(ish) bottle is down 100ml... wow.

I make up 2-3L (ie 3-4.5ml) use that in my fermenter (or kegs) and chuck everything in for a good slosh...

afterwards I replenish my starsan spraybottle with whatever is left over, give most of my kegfridge a good spray, and fill airlocks, blow-off bottles, etc, then refill the spraybottle and toss the remainder

Every now and again I hit everything with an iodophor soak (30ml in 30L)... just figure one will get what the other misses.

 

[Nick JD]

I make up 500ml spray bottles of starsan (3ml per liter as I spray it into freshly rinsed vessels with a film of water on them and don't want it diluting too much). Spray the inside and leave it 3 minutes.

Tip out the maybe 20ml and fill. Works a treat.

 

[Mags]

Just wondering if anyone has used / or could recommend if this would be suitable to soak and clean?

Coles Ultra Booster Everyday Soaker
Ingredients: Contains Sodium Percarbonate 346 G/Kg Equivalent To 4% W/Wavailable Oxygen

It is $2.70 opposed to the Napisan equivalent at $8.09

 

[Paulielow]

No smell or aroma. Any product that is soapy does not belong anywhere within the brewery.



QldKev

So if I use dishwashing liquid to wash my fermenter it'll impart off flavours?

 

[sponge]

Definitely.





Sponge

 

[Paulielow]

Definitely.





Sponge

Ok so let's say if someone did wash there fermenter's in dishwashing liquid but haven't used them yet how would they go about making them safe to brew in again without worrying about off flavours

 

[sponge]

Wouldn't hurt soaking them in sodium percarb/napisan for 24-48 hours, then rinsing, and spraying with starsan once rinsed.

Another way to remove odours from HDPE (from what I am aware) is to leave them out in the sun for a few hours once cleaned and that will help remove any soapy/other flavours.

Someone who has done the sun method before would be able to confirm that for you though since I have not done it before.




Sponge

 

[Paulielow]

Wouldn't hurt soaking them in sodium percarb/napisan for 24-48 hours, then rinsing, and spraying with starsan once rinsed.

Another way to remove odours from HDPE (from what I am aware) is to leave them out in the sun for a few hours once cleaned and that will help remove any soapy/other flavours.

Someone who has done the sun method before would be able to confirm that for you though since I have not done it before.




Sponge

Ok so pretty much any laundry soaker with sodium percarbonate is ok?

 

[QldKev]

Ok so pretty much any laundry soaker with sodium percarbonate is ok?

yep, napisan but ensure it is unscented. The Aldi one rocks.

 

[Paulielow]

yep, napisan but ensure it is unscented. The Aldi one rocks.

Good to know thanks kev.... And sponge

 

[Mardoo]

OK, ancient thread, but I just found this webpage/document which has a very good explanation of sanitising and sanitisers. It's from a foodservice perspective, but it all applies to us.

If you prefer, here's a pdf to download: View attachment Sanitising for Foodservice.pdf

 

[wobbly]

It has been mentioned a couple of times under this topic that Sodium Percarbonate "isn't" a sanitising agent which needs to be challenged as Coopers use it in their sanitiser and it is also the sanitiser of choice by Williamswarn mixed at a ratio of about 5g per liter of warm water. They also state that it is a no rinse sanitiser at those concentrations and should jut be left to air dry. The Williamswarn product contains 100% Sodium Percarbonate unlike the "soakers" available from the super markets which in general only have a concentration of around 30%

Not knocking Star San or Iodophore just saying that there is some miss information being stated about Sodium Percarbonate not being a sanitiser

Also there was a post in another topic by Ducatiboy Stu where he advised that it was listed by the New Zealand Government as a sanitiser

Cheers

Wobbly

 

[Judanero]

I thought Sodium Perc was a sanitiser if used with boiling water? Typically if I am running through my proper sanitation regime it will involve boiling water and sodium perc, rinsed with boiling water, star san let to sit for a minute, rinsed with boiling water.

 

[jibba02]

I thought Sodium Perc was a sanitiser if used with boiling water? Typically if I am running through my proper sanitation regime it will involve boiling water and sodium perc, rinsed with boiling water, star san let to sit for a minute, rinsed with boiling water.

Sodium perc is a great cleaner and that's it. Rinse with hot or cold water. Soak in starsan and its ready to go. Don't rinse off the starsan...

 

[Judanero]

Sodium perc is a great cleaner and that's it. Rinse with hot or cold water. Soak in starsan and its ready to go. Don't rinse off the starsan...

I understand that perc is an effective cleaner but thought that the decomposition to hydrogen peroxide also made it an effective sanitser?

 

[BottloBill]

I understand that perc is an effective cleaner but thought that the decomposition to hydrogen peroxide also made it an effective sanitser?

Hydrogen peroxide h2o2 is an oxygen single bond meaning it's basically water with an added oxygen atom, and lends itself to an oxidizer , bleach and disinfectant.

Sodium carbonate will break down to soda ash ( peroxide) meaning allowed to dry becomes odourless and tasteless.
Ideally any no rinses cleaner should be rinsed with cold water then sealed to eliminate contamination.

Correct me if I'm wrong though!

 

[Rocker1986]

Sodium percarbonate breaks down into water, oxygen and soda ash (sodium carbonate). Which is basically just water with some oxygen and minerals in it. There should be no need to rinse this off, however, I do anyway because it feels 'soapy'. I then spray it all with Starsan and tip the wort or beer in or whatever it is I'm doing. Never had any problems with this regime.