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There is a difference between cleaning and sterilizing. Cleaning involves removing all the grunge and physical debris from an item. Sterilizing involves killing all the invisible microbial life that lives on it. You typically cannot sterilize an object that is not clean, so cleaning comes first.
| Item | Description | Picture |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|
Straight A Cleanser |
This is our default, all-purpose general cleaning compound. It works great, and we actually sell a fair amount of it to people who want to use it in their houses, irregardless of beermaking. It is an oxygen-based cleaner, contains no phosphates, and is safe to use on metals. |
$4.25/1 pound $18.50/5 lbs. |
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PBW Cleaner |
This is considered the top-of-the-line homebrew cleaner by many. It is definitely more powerful than Straight-A, but also cost a bit more. For the serious homebrewer that wants and needs aggressive cleaning, PBW is great. |  |
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One Step Cleaner |
Although many people love One-Step and swear by it, I'm as not as big a fan of it as I am Straight-A. It "hints" at being a cleaner and sterilizer, no rinse compound, but I still like to follow up my cleaning with a shot of Iodophor. I think I am just biased, though. One-Step is well-liked by many of our customers. |  |
$4.25/1 pound $18.50/5 lbs. |
BLC Cleaner |
This is used for cleaning kegging product lines. It is best used with some kind of pump mechanism to force it through the lines. A pressurized Cornelius keg can be used, instead of a hand pump, to push the cleaning solution. |
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$4.95/4 oz. |
TriSodium Phosphate (TSP) |
This is a paint removal/all-purpose cleaning compound. It can be found at many hardware stores, but is not considered food-grade. Use this at your own discretion. We do not recommend it, but only mention it because it has been used through the years by homebrewers. |
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We do not sell TSP. If you want to use this, you can buy it at a hardware store. Use all appropriate precautions. |
Sterilizing involves killing bacterial life. This must be done after cleaning. You cannot sterilize a grungy piece of equipment, at least not very easily or repeatedly. Here are a few of the sterilizers we keep in stock at the store:
| Name | Description | Picture | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| BTF Iodophor | This is our most commonly-used sterilizer. It is food-grade, contact-killing and no-rinse-necessary. It is also relatively inexpensive. What more could you want in a sterilizer. For those that say the household bleach is better and cheaper, here is a brief article with my opinion on that. |  |
4 oz. - $5.00 1/2 liter - $8.95 1 Quart - $14.95 1 Gallon - $40.00 |
| Five Star |
