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How long are sanitizers effective?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by Scope4Beer, May 28, 2013.

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  1. Scope4Beer

    Scope4Beer Zealot (641) Sep 28, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Trader

    I thought I had read somewhere that once sanitizers are made, they remain effective at sanitizing for weeks to months. I've been using One Step for awhile now and make several gallons of it at a time. I may keep that for a couple months and will reuse it too. I stopped into my LHBS and it came up in conversation and the guy working there said oxygen based sanitizers are only effective for a couple hours after they're mixed. What have others heard, not only about One Step but other sanitizers too?
     
    #1 Scope4Beer, May 28, 2013
  2. MrOH

    MrOH Pooh-Bah (2,989) Jul 5, 2010 Malta
    Pooh-Bah

    StarSan, yes, others... not so sure. I will say that I used OneStep for a while, and suffered from gushers until I switched over to OxyClean Free as a cleaner and StarSan as a sanitizer.

    I make 5 gallon batches of StarSan, and check the pH before use. Once it gets above 3, I toss it and make a new batch.
     
    #2 MrOH, May 28, 2013
  3. utahbeerdude

    utahbeerdude Maven (1,352) May 2, 2006 Utah

    StarSan mixed with distilled water stays good indefinitely, at least according to Vikeman's (ongoing?) experiment. I keep a spray bottle filled with such a mixture for sanitizing all sort of things from airlocks to bottling buckets. Very handy. I believe that there is some debate as to whether OneStep is actually a sanitizer versus being simply a cleaner. I recommend both StarSan and Iodophor as very effective no-rinse sanitizers (when used at their recommended concentrations).
     
    #3 utahbeerdude, May 29, 2013
    jsullivan02130 likes this.
  4. GeckoPunk

    GeckoPunk Initiate (0) Jul 29, 2012 Connecticut

    4-5 weeks ago I used my carboy sitting for around 6 months sealed up with a StarSan solution for my SNPA clone... No sight of any mold... Of course I gave it a good shaking to mix it up prior to disposing the solution. Sure bubbled up pretty good, but lo-and-behold, I did not fear the foam :wink:

    I can certain vouch for the efficacy of it lasting for a half-year with great results.
     
    #4 GeckoPunk, May 29, 2013
  5. HerbMeowing

    HerbMeowing Maven (1,259) Nov 10, 2010 Virginia
    Trader

    StarSan may last forever in distilled water; however...that's not to say it lasts forever in distilled water when it's put to work sanitizing bottles...buckets...tubing...etc.

    The sense I get is VM's StarSan 'test' bucket isn't in service...IOW...it's not being used for its intended purpose.

    VM?
     
    #5 HerbMeowing, May 29, 2013
    utahbeerdude likes this.
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