Guys, 'soaking' with sod met solution, as in filling the fermenter with water, is doing nothing at all until you pour off the solution. The residual sod met then gives off a sulphurous gas and that is what does the sterilizing. Also hot water ruins sod met.
For a soaker use unscented bleach at 4-8ppm which is 1/4-1/2 a cup measure in 25l. Alternatively use half a cup of napisan and fill with water. Then to be sure, rinse, put a heaped teaspoon of sod met in with 500ml of water, shake, pour off (reserse for other uses if you wish), put the lid on and leave it for a few hours rotating occaisionally. Remember the gas is doing the work, don't breath it either. Rinse with clean water and you will have a very sanitized brew vessel.
Bleach is a very cheap and good cleanser. I was soaking my bottles in blue drums but nearly got frostbite fishing them out in winter so I've changed. As I drink them I give three good shake rinses with hot water, two shots from a spray bottle filled with neat bleach then fill with cold water and put them in a crate. On bottling day I whip through them with a bottle brush while in the crate, empty, quick rinse with hot water and onto the tree. It's working well.
For the fermenters I prefer a 24 hour full soak with no frills napisan as it just melts off krausen crusts, sponge out, rinse then 1/2 tsp sod met shaken through with 500ml water, drain, no rinse and hang upside down while I prepare the next brew.
Everyone seems to find their own sweet spot that works. Bottles are still a pain but I've got the time down to half what it took me when I started almost a year ago. I'm also making good beer
Cheers, Geoff.
) Will this brewshield do the job? How long do I have to leave it for, and do I fill the fermenter to the top with a mixture of this and water? It doesnt say that, but it mentions that when sanitising, use a mixture of 30mL per litre of water. Using that much would use 4 bottles of this stuff a fermenter. 
I only use about 1/2 of it.