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How to use Chemsan and Chemclean – The Workhorse of the Home Brewery

Written by Josh Charig

27 June 2022

Cleaning and sanitisation are such important parts of brewing it’s almost impossible to brew without some sort of strict cleanliness regime. With it being an integral part of the brewing process, how do we homebrewers ensure our equipment stays clean and sanitary?

Chemisphere has two products to help with that – Chemsan and Chemclean, both specialising in sanitising and cleaning respectively. They make keeping the brewery cean easy.

Chemclean is a powerful cleaner which removes dirt, krausen, yeast deposits etc stuck on fermenters and bottles, and is also useful for rinsing kettles, mash tuns, Grainfathers, basically any plastic, stainless steel or glass surfaces. It even cleans dirt off silicone hosing.

Chemsan is a no rinse sanitiser. It’s great for sanitising fermenters and other equipment which touches wort or beer to help prevent infections, and it doesn’t need to be rinsed afterwards. It can be reused many times, so it’s possible to make up a batch, use it for rinsing equipment then kept in a bottle for next time.

Both are incredibly simple to use, just follow these easy instructions.

Chemclean

It’s not possible to sanitise something without it being clean, and that’s where chemclean comes in. I use this to clean fermenters after fermentation, rinse bottles, clean brewing equipment, pretty much clean any brewing equipment I have!

Measure out 10g per litre of water for manual cleaning or 10g per 20L to leave to soak. Use hot water for Chemclean to be its most effective. For manual cleaning, leave for five minutes before scrubbing with a soft sponge and whatever the Chemclean hasn’t removed will come off really easily.

If soaking, leave for 20 minutes and check on how clean the equipment is. It may require longer, or could be scrubbed and any dirt should come off with relative ease.

Warning! When cleaning plastic fermenters, always use the soft side of a sponge and never apply too much pressure. This will help avoid scratches which can harbour bugs and ruin your brews.

Rinse out any equipment which has been cleaned with Chemclean before use.

Sounds good? Click to get some Chemclean.

Chemsan

Once equipment is clean, it needs to be sanitised before use, and that’s where Chemsan comes in handy. It’s incredibly simple and user friendly, and one bottle can last a long time if used right. It needs to be diluted into a solution to use. In a five litre sealable jug, measure out five litres of water and 10ml of Chemsan (there is actually a 10ml measurement on the bottle).

In a hard water area the solution may turn cloudy but it will still be equally effective. As long as it’s below a pH of 3.5 it will still be able to sanitise. If in doubt, throw it out and make a new solution.

Once in a solution, it can be used in a couple of ways. To sanitise things like fermenters, pour in the solution, place the lid and airlock on the fermenter, then swirl the fermenter around, give it a shake, roll it on its side for a few rotations, turn it upside down, basically ensure all the inside surfaces come into contact with the solution. If there’s a tap, run the solution through it. Once done pour the solution back into its storage bottle for next time.

It can also be poured into bowls so small items like bottle caps, bungs, airlocks etc can be sanitised. Again the solution can be saved and used for next time.

Another way to use Chemsan is to make up a solution as above, then pour it into a spray bottle. This allows for equipment to be sprayed with sanitiser which saves a lot of time and is very efficient. For example, you rehydrated a yeast pack and need to sanitise the top of the container before pitching it into the wort. It’s not possible to submerge it in a solution, so spraying it will achieve the same results! All breweries should have a handy spray bottle of Chemsan!

Also sounds good? Click to get some Chemsan.

These are two great products no brewery should be without. If you need any more help with them don’t hesitate to get in touch.

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