cleaning kit before using starsan

[barry44]

Gents,

starsan seems to be a very popular choice for sterilisation on here and it interests me, particularly the no rinse for the bottling.

What do you all use for the cleaning of your kit?

I was sold VWP by my lhbs and was going to use this for both cleaning & sterilisation for both kit and bottles but i am interested to hear what you all use.

Cheers,

Barry

[orlando]

You will probably receive a welter of alternatives for what to use as a pre-cleaner and it will vary based on what you are trying to clean as to what is most appropriate. E.G. cleaning an FV compared to a plate chiller. The main point to make is as long as all visible dirt is removed and properly rinsed it will give whatever you use to sanitise a good start. I use Starsan and have found it to be effective with everything and so far at least no infections, which at this time of the year and with water that is to high in pH is tetimony to how effective it is.

[far9410]

Where is the best place to buy starsan?

[barry44]

@orlando, do you use starsan to clean as well?

[drunkpapaj]

Hi Barry
Starsan is only a steriliser/sanitiser

[orlando]

@orlando, do you use starsan to clean as well?

Emphatically no, it's what you use only after a thorough clean.

[orlando]

Where is the best place to buy starsan?

Can't say it is the best but I got mine from the Home Brew Shop here

[Kev888]

For cleaning physical crudd, my preference is PBW (also available from the homebrew shop) or murphys alkaline cleaner seems to work well too.

More generically, lots of people use laundry-type oxy-cleaners. Or perhaps marginally less effective, soda crystals. Or marginally less effective again but with useful sanitising power too, strongish bleach solutions (if the equipment can take it without being pitted/eroded) followed by much rinsing.

I have used caustic soda (drain cleaner) or oven cleaning potions for really tough jobs but they're nasty, harsh and I don't like to use them routinely.

Cheers
kev

[barneey]

Have a listen to one of the Brew Strong Network Podcasts http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/Brew ... 8-Cleaning

PBW + Starsan seems to be good combo

[barry44]

after a very paranoid evening last night where i was convinced that my use of VWP has chlorinated my first kit, i went on line and bought PBW and star san based on a lot of recommendations on here.

I am looking for advice in the usage of these when it comes to cleaning my coopers kit.

With the VWP, i filled the fv to 27 or so litres and added the vwp, i then put the spoon, bottling wand, trial jar, hydrometer, etc, into the fv and left for a couple of hours.

Is this the correct way to use PBW?

Or is it possible to fill the fv with, say, 10 litres of water and swish the water around to remove all dirt, sponging as required?

When it comes to the starsan, i have read about keeping some in a spray bottle for instant sanitising which i will do for the bottles but how do i go about sanitising the equipment?

Would refilling the fv with 10 litres of starsan and dunking everything in followed by a swish around the walls of the fv be suitable?

I have also read that you can keep the star san after application so would i be able to drain the fv back into plastic bottles for re use?

apologies for all these newbie questions...

[orlando]

When it comes to the starsan, i have read about keeping some in a spray bottle for instant sanitising which i will do for the bottles but how do i go about sanitising the equipment?

Would refilling the fv with 10 litres of starsan and dunking everything in followed by a swish around the walls of the fv be
suitable?

I have also read that you can keep the star san after application so would i be able to drain the fv back into plastic bottles for re use?

apologies for all these newbie questions...

Starsan diluted to 10 litres of course. I use one of those big plastic document storage boxes with lid to store my diluted starsan in.



I can pour this into FV's, kegs etc. or drop anything that needs to be sanitised into it.

No need to apologies, it's the point of all this.

[barry44]

I assume that you pour it all back into the document storage box after swilling it around the fvs?

[orlando]

Correct, it's also handy to balance the FV upside down on the sides to let it drain and alow starsan to reach all sides. I use a lid as well so that goes in too. The other one you can probably tell has all sorts of brewing bits in. You could of course just use a spare FV, I tend to have beer in mine though

[Kev888]

With the VWP, i filled the fv to 27 or so litres and added the vwp, i then put the spoon, bottling wand, trial jar, hydrometer, etc, into the fv and left for a couple of hours.
Is this the correct way to use PBW? Or is it possible to fill the fv with, say, 10 litres of water and swish the water around to remove all dirt, sponging as required?

Yep, although you can leave it longer (say overnight or a day) if necessary to dissolve stubborn crudd. The joy of separating the cleaning and sanitation stages is that theres no longer any microscopic mystery about the cleaning part - you can tell when its clean just by looking at it (unless its something you can't see into, anyway).

You can use a damp sponge and so on to help it along (or in some cases even just scrub with warm water), though the benefits of soaking gently with a good cleaner are that it won't scratch things, especially soft plastic fermenters for example. Scratches are harder to clean and sanitise properly, so personally I try not to scrub any equipment used post-boil, or for kits (with no boiling stage) thats pretty much everything.

When it comes to the starsan, i have read about keeping some in a spray bottle for instant sanitising which i will do for the bottles but how do i go about sanitising the equipment? Would refilling the fv with 10 litres of starsan and dunking everything in followed by a swish around the walls of the fv be suitable? I have also read that you can keep the star san after application so would i be able to drain the fv back into plastic bottles for re use?

Yes submerging smaller parts and swishing it around bigger vessels is perfect, ideally perhaps a couple of swishes over the period of a minute or something just to make sure its all been wetted, and of course try not to miss any spots. Personally I also use the spray bottle to squirt the insides, lid and rim of the fermenter so that I can see I haven't missed anything. You'll find it foams when you spray or swish it - this helps it stick better and longer to stuff, rather than instantly running off, which helps it keep in contact for the brief time it takes to work. It can make draining less easy but don't worry - the foam won't harm your wort/beer/yeast in the slightest and you can fill a FV or keg thats still got loads of foam clinging to it with no issues at all.

I don't bother to collect and keep the small quantities used in spraying, but any that I've used for dunking things in (and haven't lost by sloshing it all over the kitchen!) goes back into a sealed plastic bottle for next time. If it starts to look cloudy though, then its usually becoming past it. Also if it goes cloudy straight away then its 'usually' because your tap water is too base/alkaline - if so you can use Tesco Ashbeck water (amongst others) or deionised/distilled/reverse-osmosis water; a bit of a pain but you'll find you use so little starsan compared to VWP that its not actually a problem.

Best of luck,
Kev

[barry44]

gentlemen, you are a credit to your hobby!

thanks very much