Can I use isopropyl alcohol to sanitize winemaking/cidermaking equipment?
February 26, 2011 by Instant Wine
Filed under Fermentation
Question by Rupert8: Can I use isopropyl alcohol to sanitize winemaking/cidermaking equipment?
I already sanitize equipment but occasionally a sanitized item will touch something which has not been cleaned. In this case, it is useful to hit it with something from a spray bottle instead of sending it through the whole sanitation process again.
If not, is vodka an acceptable alternative?
Many thanks!
Best answer:
Answer by Small Town Guy
I would not use isoprpyl alcohol or vodka. Some of the best sanitizers and cleaners are:
B- Brite- cleaner/sanitizer that removes fermentation residues
BTF-Iodophor- a good sanitizer that doesn’t corrode stainless steel
Campden Tablets- inhibits harmful bacteria and yeasts. This does contain sulfites that some people are allergic to though.
Chlorine/household bleach- very effective in sanitizing
CL-9 sanitizer- a concentrated chlorine-based sanitizer in granular form
One Step- non-toxic, environment friendly sanitizer
Potassium Metabisulfate- antibacterial agent that produces bacteria/yeast inhibiting sulphor dioxide gas.
Soda Ash- product used in winemaking to sweeten new oak barrels.
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If you need something quick that will work, I would use diluted bleach.
Isopropyl isn’t safe for consumption so I can’t possibly recommend that. Vodka would theoretically work, but you need things to stay perfectly sanitized and vodka might not provide enough killing power. If you wanted to use a form of alcohol, the only thing I could imagine being helpful would be Everclear 190; they use this in laboratories to extract DNA from tissue, so I’m inclined to believe that it would sanitize things as well.
Forget the isopropanol. Vodka might work, if the part were soaked in it. Learn the difference between cleaners such as B-brite and sanitizers, such as One-step. Of the things suggested, bleach is the strongest and might work as a spray, but you would have to rinse the heck out of the part before letting it touch the wine of cider. Either ignore the problem (not much will grow in wine) or keep a bucket of sanitizer handy and leave your tools in that until they are needed.