Sanitizers and cleaners

What are you using to clean and sanitize your equipment and your bottles?  What procedures do you follow religiously and have you ever had a "bug" ruin a batch of beer?

I am brand new to this too. I am using "easy clean" which is the same as "one step". It is a cleanser...but if you let things soak in the solution for 15 minutes or more...they are sanitized. I also have "star-san" , I fill a 32 oz. squirt bottle with water and added .05 oz. of "star-san" to have around on brew day. When I would pick up a spoon or something, I would give it a quick squirt to re-sanitize them. Star-san only needs 2 minutes of contact time to work.....and others on this site advised me that was the way to go.

For bottles; I'd normally load them upside-down on the bottom rack of my dishwasher with a small amount of detergent, and use the "Sanitize" feature with heated dry. Once dry; I'd top each bottle with a small square of foil sprayed with Star San and place back in the cases for storage. This way; when I need bottles, they're clean, sanitized, and ready to go.

If your dishwasher has a drying agent dispenser for Jet-Dry or similar, be sure it is either turned off (if possible) or empty as this stuff can leave a coating in your bottles that can affect head retention in your beer. When our dishwasher runs out of Jet-Dry, I'll do my bottles then to avoid this problem. Of course; letting them soak in the tub with hot water and Star San works also, but requires a drying rack - the dishwasher rack works for this as does a bottle-tree (available at your local homebrew supply).

For my plastics (buckets, funnels, etc.) I use a new sponge that hasn't been used for anything else (I dedicate this as my "Plastics Sponge") and use a neutral unscented dish soap (the Organics section of your local supermarket should carry this stuff) - you won't want to use regular dish soap or hand soaps; especially those that claim to be anti-bacterial - these will leave your plastics with a scent that could become a component of your beer (yuk!) All of my plastice are then sprayed with Star San before use.

For everything else; PBW and Star San is all you'll ever need.

I've never had a bug ruin a brew so (thankfully) I cannot speak from experience on that one.

I clean my bottles with oxy clean in a keg cooler tub and then run them through the dishwasher on sanitize also, but instead of detergent I use a little bleach.Dont put bleach in a stainless interior dishwasher it will pit it

PBW for cleaning and StarSan for sanitizing. That's it.

I made the mistake of using a scrubbie pad on the inside of my plastic primary fermenter and then it took 5 batches of ruined beer before I tracked the problem back to those tiny scratches! dam! 

Now I'm using nothing but glass, primary and secondary, cleaning religously after each brew session with PBW and sanitizing with StarSan before brewing.  After a thorough cleaning I sterilize my bottles in the oven at 340F for one hour with the bottles topped with a small square of aluminum foil.

I am curious about a product called OneStep.  I have a 5# jar of the stuff.  Anybody have any experience with it?

I have been using OxyClean, and Star San.  ....and of course,...a good bottle brush if bottling.

puddlethumper said:

I am curious about a product called OneStep.  I have a 5# jar of the stuff.  Anybody have any experience with it?

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I asked the owner of the local brew supply shop about this stuff. He said it "will" act as a sanitizer if you let things soak in the solution for a good 15 minutes. It is listed as a cleanser...in order for "One-step" to be listed as a sanitizer, the company must undergo a lot of testing, documenting, blah-blah-blah...which costs a lot of cash. It works by oxidation(I was told), and a prepared batch will last 3 to 4 weeks.
Easy-clean by LS Carlson is the same exact stuff...where as "star-san" is different. Different chemical agents, different sanitation times and even acts different...it foams. I was told the foaming action helps get into the small scratches in your plastic bucket to help sanitize.

This is what I have learned anyway...someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

@ Gwapogorilla -

You've got it right on the Star San - foaming and all - gets into all the tight spots. It's the mere mention of scratches in the plastic bucket that scares me.

Paranoid Alert: If you've got scratches in your bucket, no matter what the sanitizing technique, save autoclaving, you will have an increased risk of contamination thus when you see or feel scratches, it's time to replace.

Buckets are not that expensive - replacements can be found at most hardware stores and the homebrew suppliers often put them on sale. You know what they say; "an once of prevention..."

Does anyone use Saniclean instead of Star Scan? 

...Just wondering because this supposedly does not foam so I have thought about switching.  I saw some warning about soft metals (aluminum) but that is not an issue for me.

He said it "will" act as a sanitizer if you let things soak in the solution for a good 15 minutes. It is listed as a cleanser...in order for "One-step" to be listed as a sanitizer, the company must undergo a lot of testing, documenting, blah-blah-blah...which costs a lot of cash. It works by oxidation(I was told), and a prepared batch will last 3 to 4 weeks.

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That's what I was wondering.  The label says it is a cleanser and the folks at Midwest say in their FAQ sheet that it will last 3-4 weeks like your guy said.  But where do they get off saying it is "OneStep"?  Trying to say it is a cleanser and a sanitizer in "one step"?  And does it clean as well as PBW?  Should I just toss this stuff or is there some good use for it in my brewing/cleaning process?

I'm not enough of a chemist to understand the chemistry involved...I just don't want any dam bugs in my beer.  Been there and done that and don't want to go back!

I just don't want any dam bugs in my beer.  Been there and done that and don't want to go back!

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I ran into a string of infections a few years back. This was after many years without a single infected batch.

Replaced all my plastic tubing, retired all my plastic buckets for uses other than as fermentation vessels, switched to glass only, and started using PBW and StarSan exclusively.

Haven't had an infected batch since.

I can't attribute it to any one change, but I got to tell you it's a heck of a lot simpler using only two products.  PBW is a powder like B-Brite. I leave a spoon in the container and sprinkle what I need.  StarSan is remixed in a bucket and for refilling a spray bottle. PBW works great at cleaning. Once things air dry I spray them down with StarSan and let them air dry again. Away everything goes.

Easy peasy.

Simple and easy sounds good to me.  I've been using StarSan from the beginning and the PBW for a couple of weeks.  Think I'll leave that OneStep on the shelf until I find some good use for it.  Thanks for the input.

I use Oxyclean powder to clean carboys and kegs. I sanitize those and everything else with Starsan. I submerge my chill plate in the bottom of the kettle during heating of strike and sparge H20.

kedro38 said:

Does anyone use Saniclean instead of Star Scan? 

...Just wondering because this supposedly does not foam so I have thought about switching.  I saw some warning about soft metals (aluminum) but that is not an issue for me.

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the warning for metals is if you don't rinse it off (as in if your brewpot is aluminum you should rinse the outside off since your wort will dilute/remove the starsan).
StarSan uses acids to sanitize and these cause most metals to eventually pit, if you upgrade to stainless steel you should not have a problem.

if saniclean is the product i am thinking off from the same company it is just a different chemical (can't remember) but it also gets used differently (differing times for sanitize, etc).

i agree with MAINE HOMBREWER!

In the latest catalog from Midwest they refer to OneStep as a sanitizer.  The label on the product says it is a cleaner.    Hmmm...