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hepcat

hepcat

Worker Bee
Registered Member
Feb 7, 2012
282
4
18
Central Florida
Well I looked around on here and elsewhere online and could not find the answer to a question I have about b-brite cleanser/sanitizer. And it does not say on the container(which seems weird to me):

How long does contact with b-brite and brewing equipment need to be for effective sanitization? Thanks.

And any opinions on b-brite also appreciated. Thanks again.
 
maykal

maykal

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 28, 2011
50
0
0
Bucharest, Romania
Found this on another site somewhere:

B-Brite is very effective in cleaning and sanitizing, but it does cost more than TSP and bleach. B-Brite has the active ingredient, Sodium Percarbonate. This is a mixture of sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide. The sodium carbonate is for cleaning and the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) provides the sanitization. The sanitizing time for B-Brite is 15 minutes. B-Brite is also very effective at reducing odors and is not environmentally damaging. Use as directed.
Click to expand...

Hope it helps.
 
Loadnabox

Loadnabox

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 17, 2011
849
3
0
Ohio
I'm always a proponent of Star-San or iodophor because they're contact sanitizers.

Instead of having to soak you can use them from a spray bottle.

If it really does that 15 minutes for B-Brite then oxyclean is a better alternative, it would only take 5 minutes for 1 scoop/gallon of oxyclean to sanitize.
 
hepcat

hepcat

Worker Bee
Registered Member
Feb 7, 2012
282
4
18
Central Florida
Good to know, loadnabox.
So by contact sanitizer you mean it's a no-rinse sanitizer?


Loadnabox said:
I'm always a proponent of Star-San or iodophor because they're contact sanitizers.

Instead of having to soak you can use them from a spray bottle.

If it really does that 15 minutes for B-Brite then oxyclean is a better alternative, it would only take 5 minutes for 1 scoop/gallon of oxyclean to sanitize.
Click to expand...
 
Loadnabox

Loadnabox

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 17, 2011
849
3
0
Ohio
hepcat said:
Good to know loadnabox.
So by contact sanitzer, you mean it's a no-rinse sanitizer?
Click to expand...

It is no rinse as well, but it does all it's killing in under 1 second so soaking is by no means required. That's why it works to spritz it on an object with a spray bottle. Not all sanitizers can do that, many require a good soak.
 
akueck

akueck

Certified Mead Mentor
Certified Mead Mentor
Jun 26, 2006
4,958
11
0
Ithaca, NY
B-brite is no-rinse because it is low concentration, thus the long contact time. Oxyclean, PBW, or similar are higher concentration of the same stuff as b-brite (sodium percarbonate) and will sanitize quickly, but should be rinsed off due to the high salt content. If you rinse with sterile water, you're fine, otherwise you need to do a sanitizing cycle anyway with something like Iodophor or StarSan. The nice thing about B-brite is that it is also a mild cleaner (unlike Iodophor or StarSan which only sanitize) so if your stuff is a tiny bit dirty it will take care of the dirt and then sanitize it all in one step. Funny enough, another no-rinse version of percarbonate is called 1-step.

Contact time for Iodophor and StarSan is usually more like a minute or two, not just 1 second. StarSan in particular has a surfactant, however, that will keep it in contact with surfaces for quite some time before it sheets off or dries. This way a spray bottle is very effective. Iodophor would not work as well as a spray since it does not have the surfactant.
 
akueck

akueck

Certified Mead Mentor
Certified Mead Mentor
Jun 26, 2006
4,958
11
0
Ithaca, NY
StarSan tends to get cloudy as it ages. If it's cloudy, toss it and make some new stuff. The best way to tell is the pH: if it is below 3 then it is good to go. As mentioned, if you make it with distilled water it should last for awhile. With tap water, maybe only a few days to a week.
 
Loadnabox

Loadnabox

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 17, 2011
849
3
0
Ohio
akueck said:
B-brite is no-rinse because it is low concentration, thus the long contact time. Oxyclean, PBW, or similar are higher concentration of the same stuff as b-brite (sodium percarbonate) and will sanitize quickly, but should be rinsed off due to the high salt content. If you rinse with sterile water, you're fine, otherwise you need to do a sanitizing cycle anyway with something like Iodophor or StarSan. The nice thing about B-brite is that it is also a mild cleaner (unlike Iodophor or StarSan which only sanitize) so if your stuff is a tiny bit dirty it will take care of the dirt and then sanitize it all in one step. Funny enough, another no-rinse version of percarbonate is called 1-step.

Contact time for Iodophor and StarSan is usually more like a minute or two, not just 1 second. StarSan in particular has a surfactant, however, that will keep it in contact with surfaces for quite some time before it sheets off or dries. This way a spray bottle is very effective. Iodophor would not work as well as a spray since it does not have the surfactant.
Click to expand...



Interesting, I ran into a webcast with a VP of BTF on their iodophor product. He made very dissimilar claims, I'll see if I can dig it up.

EDIT:

Here it is Though it's actually national chemical, not BTF as I recalled.
 
akueck

akueck

Certified Mead Mentor
Certified Mead Mentor
Jun 26, 2006
4,958
11
0
Ithaca, NY
I'm paying by the byte here in the cafe, so I'll have to listen later. What did he say? Spray bottles are good? If they have a surfactant in there, that makes all the difference. You don't need to have the thing underwater, just a surface layer of sanitizer is enough.

Another variable is concentration. If you mix it up to a higher concentration, it will work faster (to a point...). You run the risk of crossing the no-rinse line though, depending on what kind of surface you're spraying and how vigorous you are.
 
hepcat

hepcat

Worker Bee
Registered Member
Feb 7, 2012
282
4
18
Central Florida
The StarSan directions also say: For all applications, allow to air dry(but surface must remain wet for at least one minute), do not rinse after application.

So, do y'all do that? Let it air dry before you use what you sanitized?
Because if you do, I don't see the big advantage time wise, over what I've been doing(bleach in water for 15 minutes) since it would take I would think, a good 15+ minutes for whatever you sprayed with the StarSan to air dry....

"Contact time for Iodophor and StarSan is usually more like a minute or two, not just 1 second. StarSan in particular has a surfactant, however, that will keep it in contact with surfaces for quite some time before it sheets off or dries. This way a spray bottle is very effective." Akueck
 
Loadnabox

Loadnabox

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 17, 2011
849
3
0
Ohio
akueck said:
I'm paying by the byte here in the cafe, so I'll have to listen later. What did he say? Spray bottles are good? If they have a surfactant in there, that makes all the difference. You don't need to have the thing underwater, just a surface layer of sanitizer is enough.

Another variable is concentration. If you mix it up to a higher concentration, it will work faster (to a point...). You run the risk of crossing the no-rinse line though, depending on what kind of surface you're spraying and how vigorous you are.
Click to expand...

It's been a while since I listened to the whole thing.

As I recall (memories being the funny things they are) he said the instructions on the bottle call for a 2 minute soak because that is the health code restaurant standards, however, it works just fine as a surfectant on non-porous materials.

He is very specific that things that have nooks and crannies to get into provide hiding spots for uglies (as we all well know) and a short soak is recommended for those items.
 
akueck

akueck

Certified Mead Mentor
Certified Mead Mentor
Jun 26, 2006
4,958
11
0
Ithaca, NY
Probably true, those recommendations come from The Man and thus have large safety factors. (Can't have bacteria in your food now...) Still I'd trust StarSan in a spray bottle a little more than Iodophor. But most important is that the surface is wet, so if you see that the Iodophor spray keeps it wet then it is all good. ;D
 
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