BeerBorg

I've heard of people using sanitizer and storing to reuse. The comments being that it's good until it goes cloudy. So I've thought i'd try it out. Went to reuse it for the first time and noticed that it hasn't gone cloudy but has lost its color and is now clear. Is it still potent, or should I just not bother and make new?

Assuming you're talking about StarSan, mine does that and I don't worry about it. So far, I've never had and infection. 3 yrs. I'm pretty obsessive about spraying everything.

onefatgerman wrote:I've heard of people using sanitizer and storing to reuse. The comments being that it's good until it goes cloudy. So I've thought i'd try it out. Went to reuse it for the first time and noticed that it hasn't gone cloudy but has lost its color and is now clear. Is it still potent, or should I just not bother and make new?

Starsan can be used over and over. The only way to be sure that it's still good is to check the ph. The company's web site says the ph should read 3 or below.
The cloudiness doesn't mean that it's bad. If you make it with distilled or RO water it won't turn cloudy.
The cloudiness is the result of a reaction to the chemicals in the water.

If Starsan made with distilled water turns cloudy I throw it out. If the ph of the distilled,cloudy Starsan is 3 or less it's probably still good but I don't want risk a batch.

PH strips are an easy, inexpensive way to check. They should should read to 3 or below.

I mix mine up 5 gallons at a time. I have these pH strips and check before use. Below 3.2 and it's good to go. My other test is "looks dirty think I'll change it now".

Just in case - If using an oxygen (peroxide) based sanitizer (easy clean / one step / etc.) then use it for a brew day and then make another batch. The peroxide it makes is not stable and cloudy or not has nothing to do with it.

Star San then see posts above.

Lost it`s color? Starsan has a color which is gone the minute you mix it and that is normal.

Thanks for the responses. It's Five Star Chemical's Io-Star Sanitizer, main active ingredient is Iodine. The color might have been strong because when I first made it, I made double strength. I don't remember the color change when I made it the proper dilution. I don't have those pH test strips (yet), but since this is the first resuse I'd bet 5 gallons of beer that I'm safe. Thanks again peoples.

I do not think IO Star is stable for more then a few days. The Star San they are talking about above is the ACID based sanitizer, where what you have is iodine based.

Good to know. I actually haven't brewed yet, so I think I'll throw a few cents away and save my 5 gal of beer.