Sanitizing EVERYthing

[Kristi]

How do you guys make sure that you sanitize everything you use in the wine making process? I always find one more thing that didn't get sanitized AFTER I dump out my star san mixture. I should just dump it in a big giant bowl and keep it available for sanitizing stuff I forgot.

What do you guys do?

 

[bsassy2]

Kristi,
I always keep a tub of one step on hand to clean items during working with my wines. I am always cleaning things when I am working with my wines. Also, I like to use it when I am done to rinse my stuff off before I put it away.

 

[Bartman]

At the risk of corrupting the newbies, I will admit that I do not sanitize as fervently as I used to. I have made over 100 kits, frozen buckets, and fresh grape batches, and never had a contamination issue (that I am aware of), so maybe I have been extremely lucky, but I doubt it. I clean/sanitize enough to satisfy my personal standards of "not distasteful" or "questionable", but I am a long way from OCD. I trust the alcohol in the wine to keep most of the contaminants at bay.

Rinse it as soon as you are done and keep things visibly clean, is my general rule.

 

[sour_grapes]

How do you guys make sure that you sanitize everything you use in the wine making process? I always find one more thing that didn't get sanitized AFTER I dump out my star san mixture. I should just dump it in a big giant bowl and keep it available for sanitizing stuff I forgot.

What do you guys do?

Well, for one thing, I do not dump out my star san mixture for a few days. I leave it in a bucket, and use it to sanitize my funnel, SG testing cylinder, thief, etc, for a few days.

 

[cmason1957]

If you dump that star San solution into something with a lid, like a one gallon container it will keep for at least 4-6 weeks.

 

[barbiek]

I keep empty gal jugs under the sink where I work the wine and make sure my funnel is always available that way your not tempted to just throw it out it gets costly! And I always forget something easy enough just reach under the sink
Barbie

 

[Boatboy24]

I keep a spray bottle handy and filled with KMETA solution. Everything gets spritzed prior to use - including the bucket they are kept in while I'm working.

 

[JohnT]

My approach is this..

I CLEAN all equipment after use, but SANITIZE all equipment before use.
I use squirt bottles of k-meta to sanitize. I have 4 or 5 of them handy at all times....
When I grab a piece of equipment, I give it a rinse....

 

[DoctorCAD]

I keep a spray bottle handy and filled with KMETA solution. Everything gets spritzed prior to use - including the bucket they are kept in while I'm working.

Same as me...everything gets sprayed, including my hands.

 

[Kristi]

Thanks everyone! Love the idea of keeping the Star San mixture in a bucket--very good idea, especially since I'm on septic (is it bad that I'm putting that down my sink, by the way?? I never even thought of that until now.)

I'll have to take a look for k-meta. I love the idea of just spritzing stuff, that actually sounds like it might work better for me just in case the Star San isn't good for my septic.

 

[GreginND]

I have a spray bottle of star san solution at the ready at any given time. That being said, I don't always sanitize something if I know it is absolutely clean and dry and I'm using it on something that either is not as sanitary as the item (e.g. grapes from the vineyard full of bird droppings, bugs, etc. - yeah, it's true. Your wine has good protein in it for the yeast to grow ) or well protected wine (proper SO2).

 

[Rodnboro]

I mix Star San in gallon jugs of distilled water. It lasts for several months and gives you a container to store it in. When sanitizing my equipment, I use plastic dish pans and let the equipment soak while I'm working. When done, just funnel it back in the jugs.

 

[Kristi]

So many fantastic ideas! Thanks guys!

 

[wineinmd]

Starsan made from reverse osmosis water can last a long time. As long as the pH is 3.0 or lower, it is still effective. I just dumped some out that I'd had since March and I know several brewers who keep it for even longer. I used it for several batches of beer and wine (probably 200 beer/wine bottles, plus all of the other regular stuff). I also keep a spray bottle around as well for the little things (hands, lids, measuring spoons, etc.)

 

[wineforfun]

At the risk of corrupting the newbies, I will admit that I do not sanitize as fervently as I used to. I have made over 100 kits, frozen buckets, and fresh grape batches, and never had a contamination issue (that I am aware of), so maybe I have been extremely lucky, but I doubt it. I clean/sanitize enough to satisfy my personal standards of "not distasteful" or "questionable", but I am a long way from OCD. I trust the alcohol in the wine to keep most of the contaminants at bay.

Rinse it as soon as you are done and keep things visibly clean, is my general rule.

While I use to be like the others and keep everything "in a bubble and free of anything living", I have since adopted Bart's theory and have yet to have any issues.

 

[Norske]

If you are on a septic system, before you dump saniclean or starsan down the drain, buffer the pH with baking soda till you are close to 7.

 

[wineinmd]

While I use to be like the others and keep everything "in a bubble and free of anything living", I have since adopted Bart's theory and have yet to have any issues.

My take on the situation is that Starsan costs maybe $1 if you mix up a couple gallon batch and dump it each time. The cost goes down even more if you reuse it. It takes a couple minutes to sanitize the equipment.

A nice kit costs $150ish. It can take months/years to do its thing.

The risk/reward in this situation makes it a no brainer. It's essentially a $1 insurance policy.

 

[willie]

I am now in the habit of sanitizing everything so I guess I will continue to do it.

Will

 

[wineforfun]

My take on the situation is that Starsan costs maybe $1 if you mix up a couple gallon batch and dump it each time. The cost goes down even more if you reuse it. It takes a couple minutes to sanitize the equipment.

A nice kit costs $150ish. It can take months/years to do its thing.

The risk/reward in this situation makes it a no brainer. It's essentially a $1 insurance policy.

I get that and may get "bit" sometime but I have had no issues yet by rinsing with very hot water and wiping dry when doing things such as taking an SG reading(hydrometer and test tube), stirring my must(long, plastic spoon), etc. For me, I am not going to spray everything down, twice a day, during the fermentation time when I am stirring the primary twice a day.
Again, this works for me.............so far.
When I am ready to put these items away for a few weeks/months, then I hit them with one-step cleaner and star san sanitizer, but not every time I touch them.
I am sure if my tools and buckets were located in a basement, shed, etc. I would re-think things but being located in a spare bedroom I am not too worried about things for now.

 

[wineinmd]

I get that and may get "bit" sometime but I have had no issues yet by rinsing with very hot water and wiping dry when doing things such as taking an SG reading(hydrometer and test tube), stirring my must(long, plastic spoon), etc. For me, I am not going to spray everything down, twice a day, during the fermentation time when I am stirring the primary twice a day.
Again, this works for me.............so far.
When I am ready to put these items away for a few weeks/months, then I hit them with one-step cleaner and star san sanitizer, but not every time I touch them.
I am sure if my tools and buckets were located in a basement, shed, etc. I would re-think things but being located in a spare bedroom I am not too worried about things for now.

To each their own. A couple squirts from a spray bottle adds less than one minute to my timeline and a couple pennies to the overall cost. I'm busy, but not so busy that I can't fit that in.

Maybe the brewer in me is making this a bigger deal than it needs to be in winemaking. It seems like there are a half dozen posts each day on the sister site about infections. I would be sad if I had to dump a $30 batch of beer that I'd been working on for a month. I shudder at the thought of dumping $150 down the drain that I'd been working on for many months, all the while knowing it could have been prevented by a couple quick squeezes on the trigger of a spray bottle.