I’ve had a few people tell me they use Iodine as a sanitizer instead of Starsan.
Does anyone else use Iodine? If so have you noticed any advantage or disadvantage to using it?
Iodophors are great; they’re actually more broad-spectrum than acid sanitizers like Star San. But either is plenty effective for brewing use (when used properly, of course). Iodophor effectiveness can be accurately gauged by its color; Star San needs to be checked for pH. Iodophor can only be stored in an open container for a few hours to a day, but Star San leaves a residue on plastics. It’s pretty much a toss-up.
I have a spray bottle of Starsan solution that gets refilled every couple weeks; I use RO water for that. Otherwise, when I keg or for my fermenter on brew day, I’ll make a fresh couple quarts of Starsan solution. Nothing sits around for too long unless it’s in a stored and pressurized keg. In that case, there may be a couple cups of Starsan solution sitting in there for weeks.
I am a fan of iodophor. You could not pay me to use Star San. Star San has limited yeast and mold killing ability. If you live in a rural or semi-rural area where crops that harbor wild yeasts are grown, you may want to skip using Star San and use a halogen(iodine or chlorine)-based sanitizer or peracetic acid. The halogen-based sanitizers and peracetic acid are broad spectrum antimicrobials.
I use both. I realize that star san has shortfalls, but I’ve yet to have any issues using it on well cleaned class and stainless steel equipment.
Anything I have any doubts about get hit with iodophor.
Thanks to Saccharomyces I have switched to iodophor. I usually do a quick star san rinse to make sure the is no off flavor from the iodophor.
I use Star San (in distilled water) after thorough OCD cleaning and don’t have issues. But once or twice a year I soak all plastic items in a fermentation bucket full of bleach solution to kill any potential wild yeast/resistant infection. Extra insurance, whether I actually need it or not.
Like Mark says - Star San fails on wild yeast and molds- so I use Iodophor generally.
I alternate, and have for years.
Do you have staining issues on tubing using Iodophor?
+1 This. Peracetic acid is a great idea for at least every few batches.
Do you make your own peracetic by mixing vinegar and peroxide or do you buy it?
I started with Iodophor. Years back, I had a persistent low level infection that wasn’t ruing the beer, but definitely effecting the flavor. I switched to StarSan and it went away, so I’ve used StarSan for the last 10 years or so. But recently, I’ve switched back to Iodophor for the bulk of my cleaning. I’ve been traveling for business with a couple guys from National Chemical, who make BTF Iodophor. After talking to one of their chemists, it looked like Iodophor would do at least as good a job, if not better. I still keep a spray bottle of StaSan for instant use, but the bulk of my sanitizing is done with Iodophor.
I use starsan for most sanitizing applications but always fill my kegs with iodophor to sanitize them prior to filling.
Not on tubing that I ever noticed. Certainly not on my Better Bottles. Some buckets had a yellow tinge to them that faded over they years (not fermenting buckets, but ones used for cleaning/soaking).
I like the idea of Iodophor or Paracetic as an occasional cleaner or on certain parts where I’d be most worried about wild yeast or mold hiding out (i.e. transfer tubing). I haven’t had any issues, but I always worry about the silicon tubing I use to transfer to the fermentor as well as the vinyl tubing I use to transfer to the keg.
My typical cleaning regimen includes boiling for the silicon tubing and cam locks. Since I use a pump and I don’t like taking my valves apart every brew, I end up recirculating boiling rinse water through all my hoses for 5-10 minutes after cleaning with PBW. Since I transfer my wort to the fermentor through that same loop, I clean and sanitize it like it’s cold side. Same boiling regimen before I start the brew day (just a small amount to clear anything out before adding my strike water).
As it stands the boiling seems to do OK for the silicon. I just replace the vinyl every few brews, but with a different sanitizer maybe I could stretch that a little bit longer and feel a little less worried about some of the other parts by giving them a good soak now and then.
I use a 3 foot length of silicone tubing for transferring hot sparge water, then soak it in iodophor before it is used to transfer the boiled and chilled wort to the fermenter. Then an alkaline cleaner, rinse, iodophor soak and hang to dry. No problems yet, but I would not hesitate to boil it if a problem arose.
Timely thread. Long time iodophor user and my supply is low. Looks like I am going to stick with it. Plus, I like the smell ;D
I make it and try to do so when no one else is home.
I started with iodiphor and liked it, then decided to try some Star San and didnt really care for the slipperiness and foaming. I have both on hand and use both since I have a quart of it to use up. What I do like about Star San is I can mix it in a spray bottle and it will keep for some time.