Home Distiller

I have read a lot on here about prepping the still with the vinegar run and sacrificial wine run to clean it for use. What about the rest of the equipment? I don't see much here on that.
- How do you clean your mash/wash pails? Soap and water or some type of sanitizer?
- How do you clean the jars you use for cuts? Just dump them and rinse with water? Does the water leave a residue that will haunt you next run? I have hard water here.
- I was into a wine making place the other day and the guy had plastic bag liners in the fermenting pails. Would that be acceptable to use something like that in a barrel or pail?

for my beer brewing i use laundry oxy as a cleaner/soaker, and starsan for a no rinse sanitiser, if u dont mind rinsing a 10% Thin bleach solution is a cheaper sanitiser.

Where is Jimbo on this?

From my reading he is a god of sanitation - left over from his many years of brewing beer.

I am the noobiest of the noobs but have learned enough to just ask for Jimbo!

Actually upon further searching - sanitization... that'd be a great "sticky" for the Novice section.

I use pbw brew cleaner(found at most homebrew shops) and star san sanitizer for pretty much everything. Any kind of brew cleaner/sanitizer combo should be fine. Edit to say: i too started as a beer brewer about 7 or 8 years ago, but took a few years off before getting into this forum and whatnot, but i do know Jimbo and he's a great source for pretty much any info you could need. in short, a big +1 to that aqua

Use a store bought cleaner with Clorox in it. Rinse out and let air dry. Done

I use stan star no rise stuff

I'm am anal with my sanitation...

I have two spray bottles that I use, the first is a cleaner and is a sodium percarbonate solution. This is great at cleaning anything and everything, but it needs to be rinsed.

The second spray bottle is a no rinse sanitiser which contains hydrogen peroxide. Star san would be very similar, just different chemicals. After cleaning, I give it a good rinse, then spray the no rinse sanitiser very heavily and leave for a few minutes. If this is a fermenter, I will up end it just to pour out the excess prior to filling it with my wash.

I also use the no-rinse sanitiser on everything that touches the mash or wash prior or during to fermentation. If I am mixing the mash with a spoon, i'll spray it with sanitiser before it goes in, same as thermometers, pH meters, eVeRyThInG

Brendan wrote:
I also use the no-rinse sanitiser on everything that touches the mash or wash prior or during to fermentation. If I am mixing the mash with a spoon, i'll spray it with sanitiser before it goes in, same as thermometers, pH meters, eVeRyThInG

I ruined a BlueLab PH meter doing that once. Cost me $100 to replace the probe because it would never stay calibrated after.

Now I use pH probe cleaner from the manufacturer

Haha I'd like the see you with your little spray bottles Brendan, I do like that idea though . I'm slack with my cleaning, but I'm slowly changing my ways thanks to people like you and others here . I'm a slow learning and finally think, if I want the best quality drink, I need to do the best quality prep.

Brendan wrote:I'm am anal with my sanitation...

I have two spray bottles that I use, the first is a cleaner and is a sodium percarbonate solution. This is great at cleaning anything and everything, but it needs to be rinsed.

The second spray bottle is a no rinse sanitiser which contains hydrogen peroxide. Star san would be very similar, just different chemicals. After cleaning, I give it a good rinse, then spray the no rinse sanitiser very heavily and leave for a few minutes. If this is a fermenter, I will up end it just to pour out the excess prior to filling it with my wash.

I also use the no-rinse sanitiser on everything that touches the mash or wash prior or during to fermentation. If I am mixing the mash with a spoon, i'll spray it with sanitiser before it goes in, same as thermometers, pH meters, eVeRyThInG

I love my spray bottles. Same setup. Great for anything while on the go. Sodium perc is great for soaking items as well. Limit contact in stainless.

Thanks for all the input guys. I need to make a trip to the beer supply store to get some cleaning supplies.

A question on this, will star san, being that it is acid based, damage copper? I faintly remember hearing this somewhere but I cant find it now.

I'm pretty picky when it c ones to cleaning. I only use hot water, 130°F and starsan. I'm not fond of soaps but bleach is good when necessary. When I mash I always thoroughly clean up afterwards. It is important do do so. Any spilled mash left un-cleaned is a feast for undesirable bacteria. If your work area gets an unwanted infection it WILL infect your next ferment as well as the next and the next. This will continue until your entire work area. That's a lot of work. Since I am lazy I prefer to prevent this from happening in the first place.

I use starsan to clean my immersion chiller when brewing. It needs to be properly diluted. And will definitely take the copper to a shine in 10 mins or so. But it has not pitted it up at all yet. Maby ten cleanings done? I keep starsan in a bottle and spray EVERYTHING as I'm working. including surfaces. conectors. plastic bits. even my hands.

I am fairly lax on sanitizing but I clean very well. I use oxy based products, no name from Wallyworld. I now have a power cleaner with a pump and bucket. Works wonders and no labour at all.
For sanitising I too use a spray bottle with Starsan, if you mix with distilled water it lasts a very long time.