How does the sanitizer work with Mr. Beer home brew kit?!
Answers: The sanitizer pack says not to rinse it off. It says I should also use a plate with sanitizer to rest the tools on. Does anyone have tips on how this works? I don't want to drink the sanitizer in the beer and I don't understand how to use it.
It's an oxygen based sanitizer, and works similar to hydrogen peroxide. The oxygen cleans and sanitizes the germs, then you don't have to rinse it off, because if it gets in the beer, its just basically oxygenated water, which is good for starting yeast. Here's a quote from a website on why its good stuff:
"This oxygen based cleanser sanitizes on contact. Environmentally friendly and non-toxic. No rinsing required. What makes One Step different from other powdered cleansers? One Step is an environmentally sound no-rinse cleanser. Other powdered cleansers either require rinsing due to their alkaline nature or use materials that can be harmful to the ecosystem. One Step uses active oxygen to do its work. One Step is a unique substance which consists of oxygen entrained with a mineral crystal. When added to water, this crystal dissolves and releases the oxygen in such a way to form hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide does its work and degrades into oxygen and water, leaving only the minerals behind. Those minerals are naturally occuring compounds in the environment and are quite stable."
You can wash it off immediately before use. I also think the sanitizer has a very short life so it becomes non-toxic very quickly.
I use it for my wine making and have noticed no difference when I wash it off or don't.