Sanitizer Tier Ranking | Ex LHBS employee opinions

In today's Journey, we rate Sanitizers from best to stop using dumb stuff before something bad happens. Below is a collection of useful information about these products. In order of appearance.
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Star San (Best) - The best and fastest all-around sanitizer for homebrewers, High Foaming Sanitizer. What we use for our daily driver. Spray items, wait ~30 seconds, then use still wet.
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1 ounce per 5 gallons.
6 ml per gallon.
1.1 ml per 750 ml
Contact time: 30 seconds to 3 minutes
Saniclean (Best Second place) - non-foaming star san that takes extra time. For those that fear the foam. Spray and use wet
amzn.to/36XzlQy
2 oz per 5 gallons.
12 ml per gallon.
2.2 ml per 750 ml
Contact time: 2 minutes to 3 minutes
Dish Soap (Danger) - Do No use, Stop the joke.
amzn.to/3uCB1XS
Bleach (Worst Case) - Emergency use only. Completely submerge times to be sanitized. Must air dry completely, and/or rinse with boiled water before use.
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1 tablespoon of bleach to 1 gallon.
Contact time: 20 minutes
Isopropyl Alcohol (Danger) - Do Not Use, Not Food Safe
amzn.to/3tPqPfk
Potassium/Sodium Metabisulphite (Worst Case) - Old school, better for wine than beer. use if bleach is your only other option. Completely submerge items to be sanitized.
amzn.to/3IPcyUb
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2 oz (~8 teaspoons) Per Gallon of Warm Water
Contact Time: 5 Minutes
Straight - A (Worst) - Better than Bleach but still needs to be rinsed. a better cleaner than sanitizer. Use it if it's what you got, but there are better options out there these days.
amzn.to/3Dn15dr
1 tablespoon per Gallon
Easy Clean (Approved) - The entry-level' sanitizer,' there are just better options out there to use that make brewing and venting a more enjoyable hobby. Items must be submerged to be sanitized. Also a nice mild cleaner too for when PBW is too aggressive. Not sprayable.
amzn.to/3wK9Ugh
1TableSpoon per Gallon
Contact Time: 2 minutes
IO Star (Best Second Place) Iodophor: High Power sanitizer that is much more broad-spectrum at killing bacteria and wild yeast. Cheap, sprayable, and reliable. It's an only downside is its longer
amzn.to/3LtpnVU
1 ounce per 5 gallons.
6 ml per gallon.
1.1 ml per 750 ml
Contact time: 1-2 minutes.
Sprayable: Yes, but not ideal
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[@96FiRE96]

Good comparison, I've always wondered. Starsan for the win, thanks!

[@nikkol2121]

I can't believe this only has 16 likes when it has a disembodied hand.

[@thymeparzival]

Can you make a video on the safest sanitizer? I'm curious if the one-step and no-rinse sanitizers leave residual chemicals in the product that creates a toxic load over time.

[@BrewVintChill]

That is a bit out of my depth to declare something the "safest." But I can say that sanitizers aren't on the same level of danger that cleaners like PBW are. One Step is basically powdered hydrogen peroxide, Starsan and most others are phosphoric acids or other acids, and most others are iodine-based. I would need sophisticated lab equipment and training to test toxic levels beyond what the regulatory bodies already do.

[@CraftyWiners]

Awesome video! You're making a habit of this!!

[@Hacky2447]

Star San makes it difficult to run through a pump for sanitizing kegs and fermentation equipment. That’s where Sani clean comes in. In this case contact time is not that big of a deal. That said it’s stated that the sani clean needs to air dry.

[@VektrumSimulacrum]

I had a big bottle of starsan last me 2-3 years... until the caps eventually split open along the molding lines on the plastic. By that point I'd used most of it anyways. Put the last bit of it in a squeeze bottle, ordered a new one.

[@KorrakotK]

Remember to distill ethanol for sanitizing purposes. And don't tell anyone LOL.

[@r.s.5431]

How does one-step stackup?

[@BrewVintChill]

Not technically a sanitizer, but I used to use it as one all the time and would still recommend it for a first-time brewer. So overall, a C. It can't be sprayed well and is not as broad spectrum in comparison to other options like Iodophor or StarSan to work forever for a long-term brewer. But it is cheap, easy to use, and less toxic/harmful than the alternatives. It gets bonus points for being a cleaner too, just nowhere near as strong as PBW. It is like a two-in-one shampoo, it works fine but not the best of either.