Sterilisation of Bottles

[dwhite60]

I rinse mine after decanting and spray in about 1/2 teaspoon of diluted iodophor. I leave this on the counter and shake it whenever I think to. After a couple days I dump it out and recap. I save my old pry off caps and place them on the empty crimp top bottles before putting them away. Most of my bottles are screw cap

Bottling day they get hit with some OneStep then get filled.

 

[Pezza24]

With regards to wearing gloves when handling chemicals.... Technically you should. Definitely be careful with neat starsan. Also oxi cleaners and bleaches etc at the concentrations we would use them the risk is very low but they will draw the natural oils out of your skin l, drying your hands out and cause irritation over long periods of usage. You can tell if you've got caustic/bleach/alkaline product on you because your hands go slimey as it strips the oil from your skin.

 

[MZonard]

Bottle tree mod using pipe attachment. Eliminates the drips on the worktop from Chemsan rinse to tree.

 

[Pezza24]

Ok so I put my bottles in the dishwasher this morning..... Now I've just finished rewashing all the little bits of label that have been shot into the bottles out. Rookie error that.

 

[Hop_it]

Brilliant, I joined to ask a question and this thread has pretty much answered it. I've been brewing beers for about 9 months now (always wanted to and lockdown gave me an excuse...). Smallish extract batches mostly: 10-15 or so bottles. My wife's also had a go at a couple of 40 pint cider kits with some success. So far we've mostly been sanitising the bottles by filling them with milton and leaving them to stand for a bit before emptying them out and rinsing. Obviously this is a bit tedious!

So a quick spray using Star or Chemsan and one of these is most appealing! I was a bit concerned though: Chemsan says it needs 2 minutes minimum contact time but, if I just spray, then surely some of the bottle won't have contact with the liquid for that long as it drains off? Presumably this isn't a problem?

Thanks...

My post on 21st Dec gives an overview of my process, and how I use Chemsan. I've not seen the information that you refer to stating that you need >2 min contact time. This may be so, but the manufacturers do say on the bottle label that spraying is an acceptable means of application (see below). I guess that the draining time on the bottle tree is more than 2 min, and the bottles remain wet inside, so it would appear to be enough.
I think that it's worth restating that bottles need to be thoroughly clean before using any form of sterilising liquid . . . . . the steriliser will not clean off the crud.

 

[Hop_it]

Thanks! I've seen it on the websites of a few suppliers (e.g. here) but seeing what the manufacturer says is really helpful. Knowing that you've got personal experience of doing it that way is good enough for me :)



Yes indeed. I usually rinse the bottles out straight after using them so they're clean but just needing sanitised by the time I'm ready to fill them.

I keep my empty bottles in my garage, which although relatively clean (compared with my garden shed) is still a good home for spiders and various other bugs. So, as well as putting them away clean, I always give them a soak in VWP or sodium percarbonate solution prior to sterilising. It's probably an overkill, but I got an infection in a batch of beer many years ago, and I cussed very loudly when I had to poor away ~20l . . . . . So, never again