Can i re-use my sanitary water?

[richard_langford]

Hi,
I've recently finished a batch of beer and I knocked up 60ltrs of warm water in a tub and sanitised my bottles and bottling bits in, but I don't want to throw it away if I can reuse it on the next batch, it has a lid on top, have noticed its all dropped to the bottom but if I add warm water again will it be usable?

 

[Blauhung]

What chemical did you use for sanitation?

 

[richard_langford]

VWP cleaner steriliser from a uk homebrew shop

 

[richard_langford]

Picture attached

 

[Blauhung]

looks like that's a bleach based cleaner so the stuff you see on the bottom is probably salts created by having a warm bleach solution. When bleach is heated it self oxidizes and produces salts which precipitate out of solution. Also when heated it can put out Chlorine gas which is nasty. But if it was just warm water (<35'ish C) chances are that's just the bleach oxidizing gunk you were cleaning and dropping out of solution.

Try mixing with room temperature water and see if you get the same precipitate over time. In general, household bleach when mixed has a shelf life of about 6 months at optimal hypochlorite levels (shorter when hot), so you probably don't have much of a time crunch, but it will only have cleaning/sterilization powers for a set amount of gunk cleaned. I would think as long as you can still smell bleach and your solution is clear you should be fine.