Best practices for Iodophor use?

General Homebrew Discussion
1

At the MoreBeer site

I note the following.
“Allow solution to contact surface for 2 minutes, then air dry.”

Air dry? How long will this take?

What do others, using iodophor do? Mix as recommended, ensure the corny keg insides come into contact with the iodphor for the recommended length of time, drain and use?

Or, do others actually drain and wait and wait and wait and wait… for the surfaces to dry?

Or, a different process?

Thanks.

2

Drip dry works fine. a minute or so is all it takes.

3

I mix a batch of iodophors, pour it into the fermenter, splash it up on the sides and onto the lid while my wort is cooling. I then pour the iodophors into a bucket and turn my fermenter upside down on top of the bucket and let it drip dry. By the time I am ready for it 2 minutes have passed.

In a keg I remove the oxygen by filling it completely with iodophors then push it out with with CO2.  I then tip the keg towards the gas out post with trimmed dip tubes and use a QD to drain any residual sanitizer. Then I replace the CO2 with beer via “closed transfer”.  The only drying time is the time it takes me to move the keg into position under the fermenter, move the now full bucket of sanitizer out of the way, set up the hoses, and open the fermenter spigot. Maybe 2 minutes [emoji2369]

4

I think the “air dry” instructions really mean don’t rinse and don’t dry with a towel. Just let it sit, but that doesn’t mean the surface has to dry completely. After a couple of minutes the iodophor has killed any germs whether the surface is still wet or not.

5

Thanks for all the input!

6

I’ve been using iodophor for many years. I make sure all surfaces come into contact with it for one minute, then drain and invert the fermenter so residual liquid can trickle out. At this point, the water is just a thin film, and any remaining iodine should volatilize pretty quickly–which is the reason for that recommendation, to get rid of any remaining iodine. But you definitely do not have to wait for it to be dry for this; minutes will do (unless the water is ice cold or something).

7

all of the above, except i’ve been even more lax about ensuring every amount of iodophor solution is removed. i always heard that it was so volatile you should make a fresh solution after more than an hour.

people on here say that that is not true though and you can use iodophor solution up to 12 hours or so after being mixed.

i can’t remember ever having an infection while using iodophor (used on ~75% of all batches ive ever made), but i did have one when i used starsan i believe.

8

It’s totally unnecessary to make a new solution each time. I keep a standing solution of iodophor on hand, that I re-use over and over. Been doing this for years as a water-saving measure. About every 7-10 days I’ll add a little more iodophor to fortify it. I just go by color. I know what shade of orange/amber it needs to be, and then I make it a little stronger than this to compensate for any slacking. I only make a fresh solution when enough garage detritus  (dog hair, dirt, etc.) has settled into the bucket to make it look gross.

It’s only very volatile at higher temps. At room temp or less, it does not gas off that fast. A fresh solution at room temp or less should stay concentrated enough to be effective for at least several days to a week. Go by the color.

9

good to know, heck if anything i could simply seal the container its stored in