Using StarSan to sanitize i have noticed the water gets really cloudy like really thin skim milk. Is this normal? I am getting similar with the low-foaming Saniclean, muddy water. I am using well water through a carbon filter.
I use well water, too, and my StarSan mixture gets cloudy within a few minutes. The pH remains below 3, though, so I’m pretty confident that it’s OK to use. Checking the pH is the only way to know what’s really happening.
You can use distilled water to mix with an d it will stay clear for weeks or months. I mix up 5 gallons in a old bucket with a well sealing lid and keep it around for ages.
Like Denny said, as long as the ph stays around 3 it will work fine.
Paul
***Edited for the normal reason. I can’t type. 8^(
Even though I have super soft water mine will get lightly cloudy after a few weeks or a months. I was concerned so I contact 5 star. They pretty much stated what Denny has said under a pH of 3 you are good to go.
I used to fall under the false assumption that cloudy meant not effective until I got my ph meter. Under 3 is good for me ;D
The cloudiness is due to the water hardness. Use either RO, distilled, or ion-exchange softened water to prepare your Star San sanitizing solution. I have used both RO and softened water and they both stay clear forever.
And you thought there was no use for ion-exchange softened water in the brewery.
Enjoy!
I have some in a spray bottle that is 4+ years old. Crystal clear and effective. I make it with RO water 1/2 gallon at a time in a five gallon bucket. It’ll get a bit murky with sediment and I’ve had bugs floating in it- which didn’t affect anything. Still, I like to toss it periodically. Crazy at how well it works.
I thought I was the only one.
It also helps to keep the previous batch of StarSan around as a pre rinse. With that I get about 6 batches of beer out of one 5 gal batch.
Kai
Does it take much change in mineral content to see it clouding up? In the past I have seen it take a week to a month for mine to cloud up, but for the brew session I had on Monday, after six hours my bucket looked like skim milk. As far as I can tell, my water comes from a (Maryland) river and is held in a reservoir till needed. If I could I would tell you the makeup of my water, but the water report I can get online is pretty much useless from a brewing standpoint (no numbers for pH, alkalinity, etc.).