I know everyone has only Game of Thrones on their mind, BUT if you can drag yourself away from that topic and answer a beer-related question:
Id read somewhere that plastics left too long in starsan solution are degraded. I get a sticky feeling on my hands after handling plastics left overnight in some starsan solution; my auto siphon hose is a particular culprit. Not sure if I should reuse that hose or not…siphon assembly itself seems and feels fine.
Its just the hose that came with the auto siphon, and no idea if it was food-grade or not but I wonder if food-grade hose would handle the San better? ANyone have experience in this?
I thought the sticky feeling is caused by a coating deposited by Starsan, not degradation. I use both silicone and PVC food grade hoses. They all get that sticky feeling if left long enough in the Starsan.
Oh, I could definitely be using the wrong word to describe the sticky feeling, it may not be degradation. I cant remember exactly. So you continue to use your hoses without any worries? Good enough for me.
Star San seems to me to get stickier and stickier with time. I mix it with distilled or RO water, keep it closed up, and keep it for a long time, and it stays clear, pH remains unchanged, and (so we are assured) effectiveness remains unchanged. But the stickiness, and I think aroma, increase. I assume it’s something to do with the surfactant carriers. Like Denny, I just rinse it off.
Tubing is cheap. I suppose I’d replace it if in doubt. If you can find a reference on Star San degrading plastic that would be interesting.
Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t take the opportunity to point out that this is just one more reason iodophor should be the sanitizer of choice, with Star San best used as a quick acid rinse after alkaline cleaners and as a spray bottle sanitizer of last resort. There, I feel better now.
