Iodophor

[Beer-lord]

Anyone use Iodophor? I've not used it in ages and I thought you had to rinse it out so I stopped using it. But I heard a podcast talk about how, even if you use StarSan, you should use Iodophor every month or so because it kills things that StarSan doesn't. And, it appears you no longer have to rinse after using it. You do need to let it contact for 2 minutes or so and air dry. But, it's cheap and goes a long way.
I may get some to do a thorough killing of all things in the brewhouse. I've even read it can kill Aids!

[dbrowning]

Iodophor is ALL I use
I don't like the foam from star san
I don't care if its ok
I don't like
I have never had a problem using Iodphor

[MadBrewer]

I switched to Iodaphor...well the 5 Star version of it that makes Starsan. I did so about 6 months ago. I had a string of batches that were just slightly off and thought maybe I had picked something up that Starsan wasnt killing off. It is true Iodaphor works better as a Sanitizer. It kills bacteria that Starsan cant. I forget exactly where Starsan falls short in that repect but it can ge researched. It is widely used in the food and Dairy industry and is the most tested and proven sanitizer.

I listened to a podcast with an Interview with the makers of Iodaphor. True, it does need 2 mins of contact time but that doesnt mean it what you are sanitizing needs to be fully submerged or wet for the 2 mins. You can say dunk a spoon or piece of tubing and it will be sanitized within 2 mins...as it dries. The common problem with Iodaphor is it is often mixed in the wrong stregnth. Need to follow the directions for it to be a non rinse sanitizer and poperly mixed to be a adequate sanitizer. It also is a one time use product, since the Iodine evaporates, it is not stable enough to reuse. Personally I like using it much better. Dont get me wrong, Starsan is fine and has done well for me for several years but I see no going back to starsan for me. And...I feel better knowing Im getting a more Sanitary situation for my equipment.

[John Sand]

I may get some to do a thorough killing of all things in the brewhouse. I've even read it can kill Aids!

I always wear protection when doing a strange beer!

[Beer-lord]

I switched to Iodaphor...well the 5 Star version of it that makes Starsan. I did so about 6 months ago. I had a string of batches that were just slightly off and thought maybe I had picked something up that Starsan wasnt killing off. It is true Iodaphor works better as a Sanitizer. It kills bacteria that Starsan cant. I forget exactly where Starsan falls short in that repect but it can ge researched. It is widely used in the food and Dairy industry and is the most tested and proven sanitizer.

I listened to a podcast with an Interview with the makers of Iodaphor. True, it does need 2 mins of contact time but that doesnt mean it what you are sanitizing needs to be fully submerged or wet for the 2 mins. You can say dunk a spoon or piece of tubing and it will be sanitized within 2 mins...as it dries. The common problem with Iodaphor is it is often mixed in the wrong stregnth. Need to follow the directions for it to be a non rinse sanitizer and poperly mixed to be a adequate sanitizer. It also is a one time use product, since the Iodine evaporates, it is not stable enough to reuse. Personally I like using it much better. Dont get me wrong, Starsan is fine and has done well for me for several years but I see no going back to starsan for me. And...I feel better knowing Im getting a more Sanitary situation for my equipment.

Did you get rid of your slightly off batches after using it? This is where I stand. My last few beers have been fine but not stellar and they all seem to taste very similiar (yes, I am pretty much using similar ingredients with minor changes to the malts and using different hops) but the podcast made me think it might not be a bad idea to do a thorough brewhouse cleaning every now and again.

Here's the info sheet on Iodophor if anyone is interested.

[MadBrewer]

@Beer-Lord...Yes, I believe it helped my batches. I had a string of batches that seemed like they formed a slight pellicle, the best I can describe it. Nothing crazy, more like a film and I had some underattentuation problems. Doesnt seem to match but only time I ever had problems with yeast crapping out early. Beers werent clearing, odd smells, slight rubbing alcohol aroma and flavor and all that has seemed to go away. I have slowed down my brewing a lot but things seem to be doing better. I brew out in my garage so who knows what I can be bringing into the batch. Iodaphor is a broad spectrum sanitizer, Starsan has limited capabilities and is innefective to some wild yeasts and bacteria.

[Inkleg]

I swap between the two just to keep the bugs on their toes.

[TonyKZ1]

Hmm, interesting topic. I use one-step and it seems to be working fine, but I was given a bottle of Iodophor when I bought some of my brewing gear. I might have to try it.

[BlackDuck]

I use IO Star, which is Five Star's version of Iodophor. I like it and have never had any issues with it. As mentioned above, it does not keep long like Star San, so I do keep some Star San on hand though for the times that I need to do a quick sanitization, like spraying the spigot of my fermentor before drawing for a gravity reading.

[Beer-lord]

So when using Iodopher, you don't rinse but you just let it air dry? How crucial is it that it is dry versus damp? Basically, will a little affect the beer and flavor?
I would probably just use a sprayer, let it sit then turn the fermenter upside down a bit.
Wonder if it would hurt to rinse out with Star San shortly before adding beer or if the little bit of interaction between the two would be problematic.

[mashani]

It needs to air dry, it should dry in a few minutes. Don't worry about rinsing with it star san, the Iodophor solution is killing things the entire time it's air drying and if you turn your fermenter upside down your pretty much for sure good (beer bugs fall in they don't crawl up). You won't get off flavors if you use in the proper concentration, but if you don't let it dry you might not fully sanitize at no-rinse levels. But if you were to go with higher concentrations of iodine in solution then you might get flavor impact. Kapish? That said, I don't know of any reactions between the two, but I've never considered using both.

I like Iodophor and would be using it if Easy Clean didn't work for me. I used to use Iodophor when I used glass carboys.

I use Easy Clean which is the same thing as One Step except a lot less expensive. I don't ever get unintentional bacterial infections due to sanitation issues, only one I had I can attribute to unfiltered raw honey with bee parts that I didn't pasteurize effectively. I get Brett, but that just falls into my wort from my air. Although both aren't registered as "sanitizers" with the FDA, that's just because it costs a lot of money to do so. Bleach is a sanitizer too, but only certain brands will have a label that claims so. Because only certain larger brands pay the man. We just ignore the labels on the "off brands" because we know bleach kills things.

The main reason I use it is that it doesn't trash my skin, where even a mixed solution of Star-San does.

Iodophor doesn't hurt my skin either, it just leaves stains. Since my fermenters are all plastic, now I think Iodophor would turn them orange. But that would just be a visual thing, it wouldn't "hurt" them. Iodophor is really inexpensive, so although doesn't last as long as Star San, it's still "cheap". It seems that the Iodophor preparation provided by the Star San people lowers your solutions PH, so it stays stable longer. But not all Iodophor is like that (stuff I used to use was certainly not), and if it doesn't do that it's not going to remain stable for very long. I actually wonder if the Star San brand of Idophor would be as gentle on my skin since it lowers the PH so much to try to keep it stable.

As far as rotating sanitizers these days, I simply bleach bomb my fermenters once in a while. Because bleach is cheap too.

[Inkleg]

I don't rinse the 5 Star Iodophor I use it just the same as Star-San. I agree that it doesn't seem to last as long as Star-San meaning it get floaties in it. I've not checked the pH to see if it's below 3 it just looks dirty. Next time I'll check the pH to see.

[Kealia]

StarSan here. I don't see myself switching because I don't have any problems and I don't trust myself using something that can stain.

[John Sand]

I use Starsan for sanitizing, often One Step for cleaning.
Thanks for the Easy Clean recommendation Mashani. I'll check it out.

[mashani]

I use Starsan for sanitizing, often One Step for cleaning.
Thanks for the Easy Clean recommendation Mashani. I'll check it out.

If you have trouble finding it in a search, it's distributed by LD Carlson, it comes in packets and 5# pails like One Step. As far as I know, it's just rebranded same stuff. It is what you'd get in an LD Carlson beer kit if you bought one as your sanitizer in a little packet like Mr. Beer or BrewDemon kits. That's how I discovered it.

A 5# pail runs around $17, that lasts me ~6 months, pail is identical to a One Step pail except a different label is stuck on it. I use it to sanitize, and then also use it to clean dirty things before it gets unstable (works for me because of how I rotate fermenters and/or collect rinsed bottles and clean when I have it mixed up). You can actually get a 50# pail if you want, but I don't trust myself to keep it sealed and dry.