Can I use old iodophor solution to water the garden?

Sunfire96

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Assuming the color is faded, indicating the solution is no longer effective as a sanitizer, would there be any negative effects on the plants? I make it in 3 qt batches, and would be willing to use up to 2 additional qts to dilute it first if that meant being able to reuse it. I live in CA and the tap water and gray water charges are ridiculous. I try to recycle as much of my brewing water as possible to use in the vegetable garden. Thanks for your time!
 
Caution - Depending on the strength, you can kill biota in the soil. Some plants have a symbiotic relationship with their soil and could be killed. Soil health is key to plant health, and you need healthy fungi, bacteria, and micro/macro biota for good plant health.
 
Agree with Daniel: I wouldn't do it. We put industrial molasses on our yard to encourage microbial growth, which earthworms feed on, negating the need to aerate the lawn mechanically. I wouldn't even put Star-San on it!
 
In an unrelated note that I absolutely didn't do myself, don't throw boiling water or near boiling water on your lawn after using it to clean pots and pumps. It will kill the grass pretty effectively.
 
Get your pH test strips out...maybe your acidic plants would like it but +1 about killing the microbes in the soil,,,,good points. Do a search on Star San on this forum...reuse, repurposing of left over is a popular subject.
 
Starsan, maybe. Idaphor I wouldn't as it is more of a sterilizer. Diluting could help but... Do some goog searching before you give up the thought though. Maybe contact makers of idaphor.
 
Thanks everyone for the input. So Im gathering here that iodophor is no longer effective as a brewing sanitizer once the color fades, but there's still enough iodine in solution to be harmful to microbes? I've read on this forum that you can't really store iodophor long term once it's mixed, and I was hoping to find a use for it
 
I use left Starsan solution to kill weeds between the bricks on my patio. Hot water from the IC works very well too...learned that it kills grass the hard way...

I also avoid tossing kettle sludge into the compost. It seems to inhibit de-composition.
 
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Thanks everyone for the input. So Im gathering here that iodophor is no longer effective as a brewing sanitizer once the color fades, but there's still enough iodine in solution to be harmful to microbes? I've read on this forum that you can't really store iodophor long term once it's mixed, and I was hoping to find a use for it
I use iodophor (more or less, I use iodine solution for sanitizing (yodogen plus) ) and I do use it for anything around the house once the color has gone due to exposure to air (as in an open bucket)... I have added it to tomato plants and the plants appear to enjoy it (no negative effects). If you have solution with a tint of color, covering it with a sealed lid will allow it to maintain it's effectiveness in destroying contaminants.... it loses effectiveness when exposed to UV or Air. It keeps it's power when sealed from both. I am sure it can inhibit microbes and components in the soil, however it does become much less effective with time exposed to air and UV. I will continue to use it to water plants because I trust that it doesn't damage anything once the concentration is less than visible (<10ppm) in my case. I also use my trub, diluted with water.... to give nutrients to bushes and plants. so far.. the fruit bushes I have placed the diluted trub onto... appear to really flourish. my opinion, my usage... but if it is something very important to you (the fruit or veggie).. than I may be a little more careful.
 
I use iodophor (more or less, I use iodine solution for sanitizing (yodogen plus) ) and I do use it for anything around the house once the color has gone due to exposure to air (as in an open bucket)... I have added it to tomato plants and the plants appear to enjoy it (no negative effects). If you have solution with a tint of color, covering it with a sealed lid will allow it to maintain it's effectiveness in destroying contaminants.... it loses effectiveness when exposed to UV or Air. It keeps it's power when sealed from both. I am sure it can inhibit microbes and components in the soil, however it does become much less effective with time exposed to air and UV. I will continue to use it to water plants because I trust that it doesn't damage anything once the concentration is less than visible (<10ppm) in my case. I also use my trub, diluted with water.... to give nutrients to bushes and plants. so far.. the fruit bushes I have placed the diluted trub onto... appear to really flourish. my opinion, my usage... but if it is something very important to you (the fruit or veggie).. than I may be a little more careful.
This is very helpful, thank you! How big are your batches, and how much do you dilute your trub with? Do you notice an increase in slug/snails with the yeast and hop residue on the soil surface?
 
This is very helpful, thank you! How big are your batches, and how much do you dilute your trub with? Do you notice an increase in slug/snails with the yeast and hop residue on the soil surface?
my batches are 12 to 14 gallons, the trub is not significant as I use a hop screen for the hops, which are contained, the remainder of the trub is diluted with only about a gallon of water, just to rinse the kettles prior to cleaning. I just add water, swirl and toss onto my fruit bushes... I had not noticed any more slugs/snails than what is normal prior to using these solutions. same with the fermenters, I add water, swirl and toss.... so the trub and yeast water mixture reaches the base of the plants. I have blueberries, golden berries and a lot of additional local fruits bushes which I don't have english translations for. all the plants flourish nicely with the additional nutrients.
 
my batches are 12 to 14 gallons, the trub is not significant as I use a hop screen for the hops, which are contained, the remainder of the trub is diluted with only about a gallon of water, just to rinse the kettles prior to cleaning. I just add water, swirl and toss onto my fruit bushes... I had not noticed any more slugs/snails than what is normal prior to using these solutions. same with the fermenters, I add water, swirl and toss.... so the trub and yeast water mixture reaches the base of the plants. I have blueberries, golden berries and a lot of additional local fruits bushes which I don't have english translations for. all the plants flourish nicely with the additional nutrients.

Great re-use for the trub and sludge. I may try it on my front hedge.

Just a quick note: hops can be quite dangerous and toxic if ingested by dogs and, more rarely, cats. The compounds in the hops can cause malignant hyperthermia, which results in a rapid rise of body temperature..think uncontrolled fever but dogs and cats can't regulate their body temperature so can start having seizures and can die. I have a small dog. She loves the wort if it drips on the ground and will gobble up the cracked malts and spent grains if I let her but even a small amount of hops residue could be seriously harmful to her so I am very careful after I start adding hops to the boil.
 
Yeah I do not feed my dog anything from the boil onward.
 
I sometimes pour a little beer out of my glass onto the deck for my Golden to enjoy, she LOVES it. I can't imagine 10ml of hoppy beer could hurt her... could it?
 
Nah, it's the concentration in a hop pellet that's truly dangerous.
 
I sometimes pour a little beer out of my glass onto the deck for my Golden to enjoy, she LOVES it. I can't imagine 10ml of hoppy beer could hurt her... could it?
Naaa. I used to do that with my last dog...of course that was back when I only drank from the conveyor belt. I don't think I'd do it with an IPA but as Hawkbox says, it's the concentrated stuff like the pellets or the green overflow from the kettle after you add the hop addition that are harmful.

Lots of people don't know that hops are toxic to dogs so I just wanted to mention it if folks are going to spread kettle trub in the flower beds.
 

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