Hi Chaps,
I did a search on this, but nothing came up quite what I was looking for so..........
I use the StarSans stuff to sanitize bottles... For my last batch, I soaked all the bottles in the sink with warm water and the solution...
However, when I pulled them out of the sink and drained them, there were quite a few bubbles left over in the bottles... so, not thinking, I rinsed them with tap water - even though it says StarSans is no rinse...
Luckily no infections... I think I read somewhere on here rinsing with tap water isn't that bad as there is typically an amount of chlorine in the water... but others say it completely cancels out any affect sanitation has....
What do people suggest? Just let them sit up-side-down and drip dry or rinse??
Thanks guys - all advice is most appreciated!!
Saul
Sanitize / Rinse
Have spoken about sanitizing/sterilizing with one of my wife's friends who is a nurse working in one of the local hospital's autoclaving unit, where all equipment is sterilized.
This lady is a very very annoying "know it all", but regarding sanitization/sterilization I think she "knows her onions".
As she puts it, we HBers sanitize, unless we have access to a hospital grade autoclaving unit. Sanitizing will kill just about any bacteria detrimental to HB. It simply is not as efficient as hospital sterilizing procedures.
As for rinsing after sanitising, she suggests that there is a small chance of reintroducing bacteria that the sanitizing process has eliminated. "Why would anyone take this chance?" she asks (in her hoity toity, know it all tone - think she looks down on HB peeps!).
She backed my wife's suggestion that I use Milton Anti-bacterial tablets, which require no rinsing, and have been used for decades by parents of babies/young children for the purpose of eliminating bacteria from babies food & drink containers.
One of the suggested uses on the packaging of these tablets is for HB equipment.
"No rinse" is very attractive in this part of the country, where we are likely to have Level 5 water restrictions imposed by our council in the next few weeks. A 40% increase in population in the past 20 years, but no increase in water storeage capacities! But that is another story.
Hope this helps, and hope the lady I have quoted does "know her onions".
Milton & "no rinse" have certainly worked for me the last 8 months.
This lady is a very very annoying "know it all", but regarding sanitization/sterilization I think she "knows her onions".
As she puts it, we HBers sanitize, unless we have access to a hospital grade autoclaving unit. Sanitizing will kill just about any bacteria detrimental to HB. It simply is not as efficient as hospital sterilizing procedures.
As for rinsing after sanitising, she suggests that there is a small chance of reintroducing bacteria that the sanitizing process has eliminated. "Why would anyone take this chance?" she asks (in her hoity toity, know it all tone - think she looks down on HB peeps!).
She backed my wife's suggestion that I use Milton Anti-bacterial tablets, which require no rinsing, and have been used for decades by parents of babies/young children for the purpose of eliminating bacteria from babies food & drink containers.
One of the suggested uses on the packaging of these tablets is for HB equipment.
"No rinse" is very attractive in this part of the country, where we are likely to have Level 5 water restrictions imposed by our council in the next few weeks. A 40% increase in population in the past 20 years, but no increase in water storeage capacities! But that is another story.
Hope this helps, and hope the lady I have quoted does "know her onions".
Milton & "no rinse" have certainly worked for me the last 8 months.
Cheers,
Pacman
Pacman
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Anzac Cookies
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Re: Sanitize / Rinse
whats the quality of the water there ahsaul?ahsaul wrote:Hi Chaps,
I did a search on this, but nothing came up quite what I was looking for so..........
I use the StarSans stuff to sanitize bottles... For my last batch, I soaked all the bottles in the sink with warm water and the solution...
However, when I pulled them out of the sink and drained them, there were quite a few bubbles left over in the bottles... so, not thinking, I rinsed them with tap water - even though it says StarSans is no rinse...
Luckily no infections... I think I read somewhere on here rinsing with tap water isn't that bad as there is typically an amount of chlorine in the water... but others say it completely cancels out any affect sanitation has....
What do people suggest? Just let them sit up-side-down and drip dry or rinse??
Thanks guys - all advice is most appreciated!!
Saul
Sounds like a lot of trouble to go to, to steralise a fermenter, not saying it doesnt work but if it did i imagine it would have to be in there for quite some timeAnzac Cookies wrote:Hey just a thought, i wonder if a UV 'lead light' stuffed inside a fermie would eliminate the nasty bacteria that we so eagerly want to kill? Apparently UV light kills some kinds bacteriaJust a thought
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Anzac Cookies
- Posts: 194
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Yeah i dont know the ins and outs of UV sterilisation, but it obviously could be affective, i will look into it, RE: time frames, etc....lethaldog wrote:Sounds like a lot of trouble to go to, to steralise a fermenter, not saying it doesnt work but if it did i imagine it would have to be in there for quite some timeAnzac Cookies wrote:Hey just a thought, i wonder if a UV 'lead light' stuffed inside a fermie would eliminate the nasty bacteria that we so eagerly want to kill? Apparently UV light kills some kinds bacteria
I just twigged that this is the exact thing we try to protect our beer from(brown / green glass) from (UV light) so i thought it might make sense that it would be a natural exterminator
A woman walks into a bar and orders a double entendre, so the bartender gave her one !
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Anzac Cookies
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Sorry All, i retract my last statement after reading this:-
Many breweries install ultraviolet (UV) lights in some areas because direct and prolonged exposure to 260-nm light will destroy bacteria and spores. UV light is one of the few agents that actually works better on spores than on live bacteria. Unlike the heat method of sterilization, which denatures or coagulates proteins, UV light damages the DNA or genetic content of the cell. This method is used primarily to reduce infection from airborne bacteria rather than for sterilizing equipment. It cannot penetrate solid material and is therefore useful only for the sterilization of surfaces. Also, be aware that eye protection should be worn when working around UV light because it can cause severe irritation to the cornea.
This is an extract of this article which is quite interesting
http://brewingtechniques.com/library/ba ... aines.html
Many breweries install ultraviolet (UV) lights in some areas because direct and prolonged exposure to 260-nm light will destroy bacteria and spores. UV light is one of the few agents that actually works better on spores than on live bacteria. Unlike the heat method of sterilization, which denatures or coagulates proteins, UV light damages the DNA or genetic content of the cell. This method is used primarily to reduce infection from airborne bacteria rather than for sterilizing equipment. It cannot penetrate solid material and is therefore useful only for the sterilization of surfaces. Also, be aware that eye protection should be worn when working around UV light because it can cause severe irritation to the cornea.
This is an extract of this article which is quite interesting
http://brewingtechniques.com/library/ba ... aines.html
A woman walks into a bar and orders a double entendre, so the bartender gave her one !
Thanks chaps for all your feedback...
I'm in Northern California (San Francisco Bay Area) - even though I'm an Aussie, and the water quality is not too bad....
Again, on the first brew I rinsed in tap water and it doesn't seem to have become infected....
Think I'll experiment with the next brew and see what works best...
Thanks again!!
I'm in Northern California (San Francisco Bay Area) - even though I'm an Aussie, and the water quality is not too bad....
Again, on the first brew I rinsed in tap water and it doesn't seem to have become infected....
Think I'll experiment with the next brew and see what works best...
Thanks again!!
I use milton tablets, diluted in a spray bottle. I spray the fermenter, leave for 1/2 hr, then rinse. I don't want my brew smelling like sterilizing stuff, it's very overpowering, and I dont believe it doesn't impart some taste. I know that when the kids were little, you could taste the stuff in their bottles if you didn't rinse it.
I used to use all the botble stuff, but now I make sure I double rinse the longnecks after finishing. Store and drain upside down. On bottle day I rinse in very hot water, check for anything at the bottom, and that's it.
No infections. The less chemicals the better I say, and I will continue to do it this way until I have a problem...(and probably for a little while after that as well!)
I used to use all the botble stuff, but now I make sure I double rinse the longnecks after finishing. Store and drain upside down. On bottle day I rinse in very hot water, check for anything at the bottom, and that's it.
No infections. The less chemicals the better I say, and I will continue to do it this way until I have a problem...(and probably for a little while after that as well!)
As for hospital-grade "sterilisation," I know someone who used to work as a microbiologist at the Alfred hospital. He was surprised that a lot of nurses did not understand the difference between sterilisation and sanitation. from what I know, the hospital definition of sterile is just a really low level of bacteria, ie sanitation that is done to an acceptable level for a hospital.
Us homebrewers may not achieve the same levels of sanitation as hospitals do, but we don't have to. At least we understand that there are bacteria present after we have used a "steriliser."
Us homebrewers may not achieve the same levels of sanitation as hospitals do, but we don't have to. At least we understand that there are bacteria present after we have used a "steriliser."
I left my fermenter in my other pants
Time to call in the experts blandy, because I have been led to believe that hospital sterilization means "squeaky clean", i.e. all bacteria eliminated!
Surgical instruments, for instance, are supposed to be "sterilized" so that no germs, bacteria, etc., can be introduced into the flesh/blood with which they come into contact. Think this is a trifle more complex & demanding than HB sanitization. Autoclaving equipment is not cheap, and working procedures are fairly strict.
I am not qualified in this area, and have simply quoted someone who is. So I'll say no more, and hopefully we will have someone who is qualified making some comments.
Failing that, we can probably rest assured that standard sanitization procedures used by HB people are adequate for what we are doing.
Surgical instruments, for instance, are supposed to be "sterilized" so that no germs, bacteria, etc., can be introduced into the flesh/blood with which they come into contact. Think this is a trifle more complex & demanding than HB sanitization. Autoclaving equipment is not cheap, and working procedures are fairly strict.
I am not qualified in this area, and have simply quoted someone who is. So I'll say no more, and hopefully we will have someone who is qualified making some comments.
Failing that, we can probably rest assured that standard sanitization procedures used by HB people are adequate for what we are doing.
Cheers,
Pacman
Pacman