Bottling sanitizing

[Traumabrew]

When I go to bopttle my LS products, I have been using isopropyl alcohol. Pour a bit in and swish around. This gets tedious. I was wondering if I could sanitize the bottles the way I sanitize beer bottles before bottling.

I use this product. Anyone have an idea if it would react with the soap as it is a no rinse product. Immerse in it and let it dry.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064O7YFA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

the main active ingredients are a blend of phosphoric acid and dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid

 

[Cellador]

There is another member who uses Star-San, though I can't remember who it is...But, I believe they used it for lotion products, not soap. Hopefully, they will chime in.

 

[lsg]

I spritz the inside of my containers with rubbing alcohol and turn them upside-down on a clean paper towel.

 

[DeeAnna]

Irish Lass uses Star San and I'm using it more and more. Any residue that might remain after thoroughly draining and drying is minuscule, so I honestly doubt there would be enough residue to cause problems with liquid soap. But Brewer George may chime in about this with better thoughts -- I think he uses it in his brewing and knows more about the product than I do.

The problems (so I've read) with spraying alcohol to sanitize a bottle or other container are -- (1) the alcohol doesn't fully cover the surface (it beads up and/or runs off) so it can't fully sanitize the surfaces, and (2) it evaporates fast so it may not stay on a surface long enough for thorough sanitizing. Fully immersing an item in Star San for a sufficient amount of time will address those problems.

But I have to say, in my alcohol spraying days, I have not had a visible contamination problem in my lotions when using unused, new containers that had been taken directly from their package and alcohol sprayed. I have had mold growth in lotion that I put in reused containers that had been thoroughly washed and then alcohol sprayed. (Yes, I always use the recommended amount of broad spectrum preservative.) My conclusion is that new containers are already fairly sanitary to begin with.

And then there's the issue of the higher pH of liquid soap being its own preservative of a sort IF it's not loaded with microbial food sources (sugars, milk, aloe, etc.)

 

[BrewerGeorge]

I'm sure Starsan would be fine, though Saniclean might be slightly better because of the lack of foam. You would have to put them on labels, of course.

If you're not using one of these, you should be. I think that would make isopropyl bearable, and isopropyl is a lot cheaper than starsan.

 

[dibbles]

I am wondering if a bleach solution would work, or why it wouldn't.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Bleach needs to be rinsed.

 

[dibbles]

Thanks, BG!

 

[IrishLass]

Irish Lass uses Star San and I'm using it more and more. Any residue that might remain after thoroughly draining and drying is minuscule, so I honestly doubt there would be enough residue to cause problems with liquid soap.

Yes- I use StarSan. I love the stuff. I use it for sanitizing my lotion-making equipment and containers, and I also use it with food-storage containers before filling them with left-overs, etc... (makes a huge difference in the stored food's freshness/longevity and keeping mold at bay).

I don't see why it wouldn't work for liquid soap bottles, too.

That contraption that BrewerGeorge linked to looks pretty cool! I don't have one of those. I just make up a 5-gallon bucket of the StarSan diluted with distilled water at the proper dilution and just dump the things I need sanitized into it to soak for 3 minutes. Then I take them out (using long-handled sanitized tongs) and let them air dry.

Expense-wise, the StarSan has been very cost-effective for me because the diluted solution lasts for quite some time and can be re-used over and again as long as it remains clear and the pH goes no higher than 3, according to the manufacturer. I check the clarity and pH every time I use it, and found I am able to use the same solution over and again for many, many months, although I do toss it out and make up a fresh batch once a year, even if I don't need to, just because. I follow the manufacturer's directions and always make sure to never add any soiled things to it, i.e., everything I put into it to soak has been pre-washed in regular soapy water and dried beforehand.


IrishLass

 

[BrewerGeorge]

I never considered using it on food storage stuff. That's genius!

And just in case anybody decides to go buy some Starsan after reading this thread, let me save you some grief. This stuff will DESTROY your countertops. Laminate - bleached white. Granite - stained. Marble - literally eaten. It's not a problem at diluted, useful strength, but the original concentration is trouble. I have not used Starsan in several years because I prefer a different sanitizer for beer. A few weeks ago I brought the stuff into the kitchen to use as a soak-cleaner for copper, and my rustiness using it earned me two bright rings on my kitchen counter that will never go away. The classic mistake is that little bit that dribbles down the side of something when you pour it and slides down to the bottom to become a ring. I did that one better by moving the jar. The concentrate will bleach many fabrics, too.

It's great stuff, just keep the concentrate away from things you care about.

ETA: Oh, and mix it with distilled water for best effect, unless you have really soft tap water.

 

[IrishLass]

Ditto what BewerGeorge said- be careful that you don't dribble the actual concentrate straight from the bottle onto anything you care about and let it sit for very long. One of the first times I used it, I accidentally dribbled a drop or two of the concentrate onto my counter and didn't notice until later in the day. By then it was too late- the damage was done. I now have two permanent, droplet sized bleached spots on my counter. If you accidentally spill any, don't let it sit- make sure and clean it up right away and you should be fine.

I never considered using it on food storage stuff. That's genius!

You should try it some time! It works amazingly well! The first time I tried it was with a batch of clotted cream I had made. I don't know if you've ever made homemade clotted cream, but it doesn't last much longer than a week in the fridge (at least for me anyway). When placed in jars (and lids) sanitized in properly diluted StarSan, the clotted cream keeps fresh in my fridge for at least a month. It might stay fresh for even longer than that, but since we eat it all by then, we just don't know.


IrishLass

 

[Traumabrew]

I have Star San in my inventory due to my home brewing (I am an all grain brewer) and usually have a water sprayer bottle mixed up at all times. I have not used Saniclean before. My thought was to have about a 1-2 gallon bucket made up with Star San and then just immerse the caps and bottles in it then pull out, dry and fill. I currently use alcohol but pouring it in each bottle swishing it around and draining becomes tedious quickly. I also just bought a manual filling machine from Amazon to make the task easier. I find the bottling of products to be a real pain. Free pouring, using a funnel etc usually ends up with a mess. So I was going to use Star San to sanitize it too, similar to how I sanitize my brewing rig.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

I have Star San in my inventory due to my home brewing (I am an all grain brewer) and usually have a water sprayer bottle mixed up at all times. I have not used Saniclean before. My thought was to have about a 1-2 gallon bucket made up with Star San and then just immerse the caps and bottles in it then pull out, dry and fill. I currently use alcohol but pouring it in each bottle swishing it around and draining becomes tedious quickly. I also just bought a manual filling machine from Amazon to make the task easier. I find the bottling of products to be a real pain. Free pouring, using a funnel etc usually ends up with a mess. So I was going to use Star San to sanitize it too, similar to how I sanitize my brewing rig.

You really should try that pump mechanism I linked above. It will make whatever you decide to use to sanitize bath and body stuff much easier. And if you happen to still be bottling beer (rather than kegging) you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

 

[Ford Prefect]

Great thread, thanks for the info!

 

[DeeAnna]

You really should try that pump mechanism I linked above. It will make whatever you decide to use to sanitize bath and body stuff much easier. And if you happen to still be bottling beer (rather than kegging) you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

Some of the reviews I read said the pump-spray thingy you're talking about is designed to work with wine or beer bottles and don't work so well with other sizes and styles of bottles.

For example, I often use a 4 or 8 fluid oz plastic bottle with a 20 to 24 mm neck -- a smaller neck and shorter overall height than a beer bottle.

What is your opinion, BG?

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Some of the reviews I read said the pump-spray thingy you're talking about is designed to work with wine or beer bottles and don't work so well with other sizes and styles of bottles.

For example, I often use a 4 or 8 fluid oz plastic bottle with a 20 to 24 mm neck -- a smaller neck and shorter overall height than a beer bottle.

What is your opinion, BG?

I'll have to measure the post and get back to you. I haven't used it in a long time and I don't honestly have a strong, instinctive concept of 20 mm. That's diameter, right?

 

[DeeAnna]

Yep. About 3/4 inch-ish in diameter. Thank you for checking into it -- I appreciate your help!

 

[slk]

great thread - i was wondering the same about starsan for lotion making - recently purchased some for cheese making.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

How can I link video here?

https://i.imgur.com/2FWMpBa.mp4

Here's an 8 oz bottle being filled. I added some iodophor to the water so it would be easier to see.

 

[DeeAnna]

I tried downloading the file, but the video doesn't play for me. It's only 41 Kb, so maybe it's not a valid video file?

I get the idea from your comment, however, that it does work for the little bottles too -- that's great to hear!