homebrewandbeer.com

StuTee wrote:*bump*
Are any of the above available at the supermarket? I had a bottle of brewshield stuff from brewcraft, but that ran out (and was expensive, from memory), and I'm too lazy to drive far for cleaning equipment.

I posted a similar question months ago and ended up with a great link to an American brewing radio mp3 recording about sanitation. (http://www.homebrewandbeer.com/forum/vi ... gar#p80384)

The bottom line of it was that you can make a great no rinse sanitiser from 5 gallons of water, an ounce of bleach, and an ounce of white vinegar. It had something technical to do about lowering the PH below a certain level. But keep in mind you cant mix the vinegar and bleach at full strength or you end up with a toxic airborne gas.

I use the "looks about right" method to measure my ounce of chemicals to water and always estimate a little high just to be sure. I rinse with boiled tap water and so far it has worked well for me.

Also the guy in the interview said you should never buy the big bottle of bleach as it goes bad after a certain date. Normally you would use upa smaller bottle before its "no good date."

The bottom line of it was that you can make a great no rinse sanitiser from 5 gallons of water, an ounce of bleach, and an ounce of white vinegar. It had something technical to do about lowering the PH below a certain level. But keep in mind you cant mix the vinegar and bleach at full strength or you end up with a toxic airborne gas.

Yes, this bit is crucial. Mixing bleach with either acids or alkalis can result in the release of chlorine gas, which is A Very Bad Thing. Basically, if you get that "swimming pool" smell increasing noticeably for god's sake improve your ventilation. If you get green fumes GET THE HELL OUT, PRONTO! Sanitising your gear is one thing, DIY chemical weapons is another...

Yep iodophor's primary use is in the dairy industry. You didn't think brewers were their primary market did you? I've had a singe 250mL bottle for like a year!

Anyhoo, if you're too lazy, then there's always mail order:

http://www.grainandgrape.com.au/product ... ts_id=7665

And if you're too lazy for that, then get yourself some bleach and vinegar. It'll sanitise anything (but don't use it on stainless steel as it'll etch it). You have to rinse it off though. Podcast on how to use it here:

http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrew ... -29-07.mp3

Edit: crap, didn't read the next page of comments before posting.

if it smells like chicken, keep on lickin...
If it smells like trout, get the f@ck out.....

Don't you mean "Get the feck out"?!?!

Hey Guys,
Working hard today and found this info on iodophor, thought might be of ineterest if you haven't found it already. Think I'll be getting me some. Need to find it in Cairns???

http://www.bayareamashers.org/content/m ... dophor.htm

Cheers

Scooter