Fumes from sodium metabisulphite

[tbayav8er]

Hi Everyone,

I'm sure you all know the fumes I'm referring to. It's especially strong while sanitizing bottles. Are these fumes concentrated enough to be harmful? Also, after sanitizing my bottles and letting them drain on the bottle tree, I don't rinse them. My logic is that the residual sulphites left on the inside of the bottle are very minuscule. Does everyone else agree with that?

Thanks!

 

[Boatboy24]

In sufficient quantity, yes, they can be harmful. I believe that the quantities we home winemakers see are probably not sufficient. That being said, it is best to work with the sulfite in a ventilated area. Many of us are working in not so well ventilated basements, but even then, putting a fan on would be a little helpful.

As to your second question, no, I don't rinse after sanitizing. I get my bottles sanitized, then let them drip dry for a few minutes - usually while I do one final racking. Then straight to bottling.

 

[richmke]

Sulfur fumes are irritating. IMHO, you will know when they are irritating enough to be a problem. If it is uncomfortable to be in the room, leave. I suggest working in a room with a ventilation fan, like the kitchen. I do have a gas box to keep equipment sanitized while stored. It can be quite an experience when opening the box.

I use stuff like starsan to sanitize, so don't have the sulfur irritant while sanitizing bottles.

Leaving the small amount of residue in the bottle is fine. It is the Sodium version of Potassium Metabisulfite (k-meta). Sodium is in table salt, so no problems. Rinsing can actually re-introduce what you are trying to get rid of.

FYI: Since I have to buy k-meta anyway, it is more cost effective for me to buy larger bags of k-meta and use k-meta for sanitizing.

 

[Rice_Guy]

* in concentration meta is toxic! meta produces SO2 which is volatile and toxic!
* I still sanitize with sulphite sanitizer, to the extent possible I use vacuum for all transfer operations, ,,, it was stupid on my part to ever start a bottle/ carboy siphon by mouth after sanitizing. FYI for those with good lung function, expect breathing in sulphite will cause coughing and burn the lung, possibly not at age 40 but at some time it will!
* while on sulphite sanitizer, it is corrosive to ALL metal! rinse metal/ garbage disposal/ stainless sinks to lower the risk of damage

 

[Val-the-Brew-Gal]

No matter how careful I am with ventilation, if I get the slightest whiff of PM at sanitizing strength, I immediately start coughing and have what I would consider an asthma attack. I even have issues emptying lemon juice into a primary bucket when I start a batch of Dragon Blood. I finally smartened up and now add it after I've placed some water in the bucket first. I no longer use it for sanitizing and stick strictly with StarSan. I can get away with the 1/4 tsp at the end of ferment before backsweetening but other than that, keep that stuff away from me!

 

[cmason1957]

When I walk into my wine area to do any type of wine work, two things get turned on (Hey Alexa, play something) and the fan on medium. I have very low air flow in the area with that second and the sulphite at sanitizing strength gets to me pretty quickly.

 

[pete1325]

As a gag I used to have my girls (when little) take a whiff of in in the gallon jug. It was funny at first, not so much now....I do test the jug to make sure it smells before using, it tell me it's still working.

 

[tbayav8er]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I think from now on, I will sanitize the bottles out in the sunroom with lots of ventilation. Having the bottle of sanitizer open for a short period of time to pump sanitizer through my autosiphon and things like that doesn't seem to have any effect on me, but when I'm sanitizing bottles in the basement, I can definitely feel it in my lungs. I think during the summer months from now on, I'll be sanitizing bottles in my sunroom, and in the winter, I'll have my basement windows open.

When I'm making beer, I always sanitize with starsan, since I don't want any sulphite in my beer. The reason I stick with sulphite for sanitizing wine equipment, is because I don't have to rinse the sulphite sanitzer off of my equipment, and any residial sulphite that makes it into my wine during the bottling process from my equipment will only serve to further protect my wine from oxidation.

Thanks for the replies!