Do You Need to Disconnect and Dry Your Hoses After Every Wash?

“I’m washing again tomorrow or in a few days. Do I really need to disconnect every hose and dry out all the fittings?”

Not necessarily: some brewery routines keep cleaned lines connected and filled with sanitizer between uses. We call this stacking lines in the video below. You will also see brewers refer to it as packing lines with sanitizer.

It is a practice I brought with me from working in breweries. The aim is to reduce teardown and setup between sessions. Whether it suits your assembly depends on the sanitizer, the materials it contacts, and how long the equipment will sit.

What is stacking lines?

In our demonstration, Star San solution is recirculated through the connected system. I describe leaving it in the silicone hoses and pump, then flushing it out and rinsing with water when I return.

This has a brewery precedent. Bonfire Brewing describes cleaning its canning line the evening before and packing it with cool sanitizer for the following morning. That example does not name Star San, but it documents the same general approach. Read the brewery’s account.

Watch the stacking-lines demonstration

▶ Watch the original 28-second video on YouTube

The video describes our practice, not a manufacturer-approved storage protocol. Use the labelled sanitizer dilution, rather than the weaker mixture mentioned in the clip.

Cleaning comes before stacking

Stacking lines is a storage approach, not a replacement for cleaning. Before deciding what can stay connected:

1. Remove residue. Follow the equipment’s cleaning procedure, including opening fittings or dismantling parts where required.
2. Check the whole assembly. A suitable hose does not automatically establish compatibility for the pump, seals, gaskets and other wetted parts.
3. Use the sanitizer as directed. Follow its label for concentration, contact time and draining. Leaving liquid in the system is a separate storage decision.
4. Prepare the equipment before the next use. Follow its startup and sanitizing procedure. Do not assume that a water rinse or yesterday’s sanitizer proves the system is sanitary.

What about leaving it overnight or for a few days?

The video does not establish a maximum storage time. Overnight packing is documented in brewery practice, but that does not establish how long Star San can be held in every assembly.

Five Star’s current Star San directions call for cleaning first, using the labelled dilution and contact time, then draining without rinsing. Its FAQ recommends fresh solution and advises against using solution older than an hour. That is not evidence of an abrupt loss of activity at 60 minutes, but it also is not approval for a multi-day hold.

If you do not have a storage procedure covering your assembly and intended interval, follow the equipment’s drain-and-dry instructions rather than assuming a sanitizer fill replaces them.

Is Star San compatible with silicone hoses?

I have not personally observed problems with our silicone hoses using this routine. That is our operating experience, rather than a tested lifetime or maximum soak-time claim.

There is also product-specific advice to consider: BrewHardware warns against prolonged Star San soaking of its silicone tubing, reporting possible brittleness after several days to a week. That does not prove Hashtek’s hoses behave the same way, but it is a reason not to assume every silicone formulation tolerates the same exposure.

For an extended wet hold, confirm compatibility with the supplier of the actual hose, pump and seals.

Do all the fittings have to come apart?

Take apart the components required by your cleaning and storage procedure. The useful question is whether each part can be properly cleaned, inspected and stored while connected, even if the next session is tomorrow.

For advice on your setup, contact Hashtek with your equipment model, hose and pump configuration, and the time between uses.