Microsol IMS 70% spray

[colin84]

Right, I've got a bottle of Microsol IMS 70% spray. According to the label, it contains (unsurprisingly) "industrial methylated spirit BP 70% in purified water".

The stuff is used for the 'rapid disinfection of hard surfaces' in hospitals. It just sprays on and then dries in a matter of seconds/minutes. I assume if it's good enough to clean things down in hospitals than it's good enough for homebrew cleaning? Is it safe to use do you think?

I plan on cleaning all my stuff with VWP first, but it'd be nice to spray this on afterwards just to make sure everything is properly dead and no bis were missed. Any used it before or have any thoughts on it?

If this is safe to use, would I be able to get by with cleaning with fairy liquid followed up with a quick spray of this (as my VWP supply is running low)?

Thanks in advance!

*edit*
Just found this http://www.bio-techsolutions.ltd.uk/PDF/MIMSS.pdf which seems to suggest you need to ingest 300 ml in less than an hour for it to be harmful, I guess that makes it safe to use, but is it going to be effective at sanitising?

more info: http://www.bio-techsolutions.ltd.uk/microsol.html

[boingy]

It's the residue you need to worry about. Any residue could taint the beer, or in the case of an FV could kill off the yeast. Why bother risking it? Just use one of the many tried and tested methods. Cheap thin bleach is probably the cheapest.

[delboy]

You might be best giving it a miss its denatured in two ways, with methanol so that not sane person would drink it and with Denatonium benzoate which should stop even the insane from drinking it (its the most bitter compound known).
Its got a melting point above 160 C so the ethanol and methanol will evaporate but this nasty bitter little compound will probably stay and ruin your beer (unless you rinse which kind of defeats the purpose of a no rinse sanitiser anyway).

Some bumpf from wiki.

Denatonium, usually available as denatonium benzoate (under trade names such as Bitrex or Aversion) and as denatonium saccharide, is the most bitter chemical compound known. It was discovered in 1958 during research on local anesthetics by Macfarlan Smith of Edinburgh, Scotland, and registered under the trademark Bitrex.[1] Dilutions of as little as 10 ppm are unbearably bitter to most humans. Denatonium salts are usually colorless and odorless solids but are often traded as solutions. They are used as aversive agents to prevent accidental ingestion. Denatonium is used in denatured alcohol,[2] antifreeze, nail biting preventions, respirator mask fit-testing, animal repellents, liquid soaps, and shampoos. It is not known to pose any long-term health risks.

[adm]

If it's that bitter, it could save a few quid on hops!

[colin84]

Most bitter compound known to man? Lol, I'll guess I'll be sticking to VWP!!

And no athletes foot here, just trying to be lazy as cleaning always seems to take longer than expected and I can't see to help but get water and stuff everywhere - the disadvantage of using a shower and having a small flat!

[Bobba]

The only use in brewing for that stuff is when you're being extra sterile, such as yeast culturing. It can be used to spray down surfaces, the outside of the bottle to culture, and your hands beforehand, but that's about it.