Brewed at a friends house this weekend and when I mixed my Star San with his water it instantly got cloudy. Has anyone seen this before? Can poor quality tap water ever reduce the effectiveness of Star San?
When I use my tap water, my star san is always cloudy. But I do measure the PH and it is consistently under 3, so I know it’s effective.
I do mix up a gallon with distilled water and that’s always clear. I gave up on the “if it’s cloudy is no good” opinion years ago.
That cloudiness is a calcium precipitant. While it doesn’t seem to affect the solution’s effectiveness, it does add a slimey coating on your equipment. I definitely worry about that.
Its best to use a very soft water to make starsan solution. RO is great and even ion-exchange softened water is usable. They stay clear.
Oh that is good to know. I’ve been using my RO, but my softened water is cheaper!
Thanks Martin for that tidbit!