Ask The Brewmasters

We have, as a matter of practice, stored all of our clamps, gaskets, and small stainless parts (elbows, extensions, etc.) in an iodophor based solution, in buckets, over the years at the direction of the previous brewmaster.   It was my understanding that the reasoning behind this decision was based on cost (as Iodophor sanitizers were inexpensive at the time) and the visual cues that point to its efficacy (iodophor solutions loose color as their effectiveness wanes).  Recently, however, costs of these Iodophor solutions has skyrocketed (doubling in cost).   This combined with an excellent presentation by Dirk Loeffler at one of our recent District Meetings (Great Plains) that touched on the corrosive nature of off-gassing iodophor on stainless steel has caused me to re-think this practice.   

Many questions come from this:
What would be a suitable and inexpensive alternative to iodophor?  PAA seems like the most likely choice, but it is slightly unpleasant to deal with and highly corrosive and harmful at high concentrations.  Quaternary Ammonium has been suggested as another alternative but I don't like the potential build up of residual films on the parts and gaskets that could result in deleterious effects, namely flavor carry-over and foam degradation.  Is there another alternative?  Do we completely scrap the practice of storing parts in sanitizer and instead move towards storing parts dry, then sanitizing these parts as needed in an appropriate sanitizer for the proscribed contact time?  What is everyone doing out there?  And what is the MBAA's recommended best practice in parts handling?

We have, as a matter of practice, stored all of our clamps, gaskets, and small stainless parts (elbows, extensions, etc.) in an iodophor based solution, in buckets, over the years at the direction of the previous brewmaster.   It was my understanding that the reasoning behind this decision was based on cost (as Iodophor sanitizers were inexpensive at the time) and the visual cues that point to its efficacy (iodophor solutions loose color as their effectiveness wanes).  Recently, however, costs of these Iodophor solutions has skyrocketed (doubling in cost).   This combined with an excellent presentation by Dirk Loeffler at one of our recent District Meetings (Great Plains) that touched on the corrosive nature of off-gassing iodophor on stainless steel has caused me to re-think this practice.   

Many questions come from this:
What would be a suitable and inexpensive alternative to iodophor?  PAA seems like the most likely choice, but it is slightly unpleasant to deal with and highly corrosive and harmful at high concentrations.  Quaternary Ammonium has been suggested as another alternative but I don't like the potential build up of residual films on the parts and gaskets that could result in deleterious effects, namely flavor carry-over and foam degradation.  Is there another alternative?  Do we completely scrap the practice of storing parts in sanitizer and instead move towards storing parts dry, then sanitizing these parts as needed in an appropriate sanitizer for the proscribed contact time?  What is everyone doing out there?  And what is the MBAA's recommended best practice in parts handling?

We have, as a matter of practice, stored all of our clamps, gaskets, and small stainless parts (elbows, extensions, etc.) in an iodophor based solution, in buckets, over the years at the direction of the previous brewmaster.   It was my understanding that the reasoning behind this decision was based on cost (as Iodophor sanitizers were inexpensive at the time) and the visual cues that point to its efficacy (iodophor solutions loose color as their effectiveness wanes).  Recently, however, costs of these Iodophor solutions has skyrocketed (doubling in cost).   This combined with an excellent presentation by Dirk Loeffler at one of our recent District Meetings (Great Plains) that touched on the corrosive nature of off-gassing iodophor on stainless steel has caused me to re-think this practice.   

Many questions come from this:
What would be a suitable and inexpensive alternative to iodophor?  PAA seems like the most likely choice, but it is slightly unpleasant to deal with and highly corrosive and harmful at high concentrations.  Quaternary Ammonium has been suggested as another alternative but I don't like the potential build up of residual films on the parts and gaskets that could result in deleterious effects, namely flavor carry-over and foam degradation.  Is there another alternative?  Do we completely scrap the practice of storing parts in sanitizer and instead move towards storing parts dry, then sanitizing these parts as needed in an appropriate sanitizer for the proscribed contact time?  What is everyone doing out there?  And what is the MBAA's recommended best practice in parts handling?