Equipment Sanitization and Cleaning

[BuckeyeBrewer]

This is probably a very basic question but when you are done brewing and/or bottling with all of your equipment (fermentation buckets, tubing, siphons, etc.) do you just simply sanitize everything to clean it before putting it away (and of course before using it again) or do you also clean all of it with a detergent or soap?  I want to be as thorough as possible but I also don't want to take a bunch of unnecessary steps either that might be overkill and wast a bunch of time. 

[captjpr3]

Personally, I just rinse everything with clean water and let it air dry. I avoid detergents unless there is a visible amount of gunk to get off. I want to a kid leaving behind an unseen film of soap. Most residue off with water and a sponge.

[Oddball]

I usually do the same, just rinse everything off and then sanitize everything when i go to use it next time. No use in wasting extra sanitizer, and i also agree with the fear of soap film.

[KernelCrush]

Five Star says to sanitize before storage, it leaves your 'stuff' in an acid state.  Don't trap water or sanitizer in any tubing, I hang mine over a peg to drain and dry.

[BuckeyeBrewer]

Thank you everyone for the replies so far.  As far as my fermentation buckets go, specifically the primary, which has that nice ring of yeast around the the top as well as all of the other particulates stuck to it, I wanted to know if my method of cleaning it was enough.  I dumped the yeast cake out, filled it a bit with some hot water and wiped off everything stuck to it then filled the bucket with sanitizer and thoroughly wiped it out and then let it dry.  Is this enough?

Also, I have been using One Step as a sanitizer and wanted to know if anybody has any thoughts on it or is there something better out there that I should be using? 

[KernelCrush]

For bucket cleaning I would fill with hot water & PBW and soak it.  I try not to touch the inside of buckets with anything to prevent scratching. For really difficult stains I use a bleach solution with a short soak and good rinse with hot hot water until you cant smell it anymore.  Many will frown on bleach on plastic but it has hasn't caused me problems...yet.

[Maine Homebrewer]

For siphoning equipment I clean with hot water, spray with StarSan, then hang to dry.

Everything else I clean with PBW, again spray with StarSan, and then air dry. Except the brew pot. That I don't sanitize.

I go through a half dozen terrycloth towels every brew day. Those white ones with a blue stripe that I used in my restaurant days.

[Freak]

I rinse with hot water when I am finished and sanitize with boiling water when I get ready to use it again. I have never used a drop of sanitizer or soap in 23 years. PBW on occasion.

[poorboy]

I try to keep it simple. Anything used pre-boil gets scrubbed clean and rinsed then either set upside down or hung to dry. No sense sanitizing if it's gonna get boiled anyway. Post boil, same thing after use. Before use, I run Starsan through all racking hoses and soak utensils in it till needed. Whatever can't be immersed gets shot with my trusty squirt bottle of Starsan. I leave the Starsan on, no rinsing. No infections so far.

[texasdan]

I started out using Onestep as a cleaner and sanitizer but learned that it wasn't really a sanitizer, so a couple of years ago I started using Oxiclean "Free" (Approx $7 grocery, 3 lb. or $5 Big Lots when they have it, seldom; lasts me about a year) as a cleaner and Starsan as a sanitizer.  Haven't had one case of infection.  Oxiclean "Free" does not contain any additives or perfumes so no chance of picking up unwanted effects, odors or tastes in brewing.

I wipe out and discard any gunk from pots/buckets with paper towel or cloth and hot water, then add 2-3 gal hot water with 1-2 tablespoons Oxiclean free.  After wiping down I dump that to the next de-gunked bucket/pot and do the same.  If also cleaning a carboy I first de-gunk that with hot water and a carboy brush, discard, then pour the hot mix to that and clean that by swishing and brush if needed .  That way I get multi uses from the Oxiclean.  I do rinse with plain water after cleaning and let dry.

I do sanitize "everyting" just before using it again.
Hope this helps.

[Roadrocket]

I scrub everything with a weak solution of PBW in very hot water then rinse it thoroughly. I make sure everything is thoroughly clean then sanitise everything used post boil before storing it. I sanitise it again before using.

[Beer Lover]

I clean everything with PBW after brewing.  I drain the hoses so there is no trapped water/PBW mixture in the hoses.  I then use PBW and StarSan before brewing.

[Maine Homebrewer]

I then use PBW and StarSan before brewing.

StarSan leaves an acidic film on whatever it is treated with, and that film stops things from growing on it. It doesn't sanitize something that might be dirty. It keeps clean things sanitary. It should be used before stuff is put away, not when stuff is taken out.

[Baron Von MunchKrausen]

StarSan leaves an acidic film on whatever it is treated with, and that film stops things from growing on it. It doesn't sanitize something that might be dirty. It keeps clean things sanitary. It should be used before stuff is put away, not when stuff is taken out.

The more common approach seems to be at least one minute of star-san on everything after the boil.

[Maine Homebrewer]

The more common approach seems to be at least one minute of star-san on everything after the boil.

I filled a squirt bottle with StarSan. No dipping or soaking. Just mist the stuff wet with the squirt bottle and let it air dry before putting it away. Then when I get the stuff out it's got sanitary little white spots where the StarSan bubbles accumulated before drying.