The color indicator in TM DESANA MAX is a chemical "must" and not a dye. The changing of colors is a convenient "side effect" caused by a complex chemical reaction. The indicator species in an unused TM DESANA MAX solution is at level 7. When the solution is exposed to organic material, such as sugars or yeast in a dirty beer line, the solution attacks it and at the same time the color spectrum of the solution is reduced to manganese 6 (green) or 2 (yellow). 

NO. The mixed solution is only “Xi – irritating” according to the classification of the chemical law (such as normal household cleaning chemicals). If your skin gets in touch with the mixed solution rinse it off with water of even beer. However, the powder of TM DESANA MAX is “C-corrosive”. Take caution when opening the package and only open it wearing protective gloves and -glasses. We recommend to always use safety glasses and safety gloves when handling chemicals!

USA: $ 1.50 for one 1.9 oz packet which is good to prepare 1.5 gal of mixed solution (price per gal of mixed solution: $ 1.-; good to fill appr. 200ft of 3/8'' tubing). Minimum order: 1 case of 225 packets.
TM DESANA MAX comes in cases of 225 single packages. Our recommended price per case is $ 337.50. Costs of shipping is not included in this price.

How do you know your chemical is CLEANING for less money? 
Do you know it REALLY cleans the lines? The problem with hygiene for food products is: With the human eye you can't see lack of hygiene. So to really know if something is properly cleaning you would need to verify the status of hygiene with one of the validation methods available on the market (e.g. ATP testing, micro testing or TM DESANA MAX). 
If you do that you will see that cleaning and verifying in 2 different steps is not only more expensive it also takes more time. That's probably why most people don't do it every time. However, if you don't verify your cleaning there is no way you can KNOW whether the cleaning was successful!
So to really know that your chemical is cleaning for less money we recommend to verify your cleaning - for example by using TM DESANA MAX. Only if TM DESANA MAX doesn't change color in your lines you know that the chemical solution you used really cleaned successfully. 

Do that and then evaluate again how much money you need to really clean your lines.

A bigger container (eg. a 11 lb bucket) to scoop out powder is not offered, because TM DESANA MAX is very hydrophilic. As soon as it is exposed to moisture (e.g. from the air, from a wet spoon) it would start building chunks and start changing its color. The product would waist within days. Also the powder of TM DESANA MAX is corrosive and handling with the powder in an open bucket would be a safety hazard. That's why we only offer it in super-dry mono-dose packages which allow approximately 5 years shelf life in hot and cold.

If you need very high quantities of cleaning detergent for each cleaning (more than 5 gal per tower) we recommend you use TM DESANA LIQUID, which is available in liquid form and comes in 55gal drums or 1.4 gal jugs.

A lot of breweries recommend to clean the beer lines every 7 or 14 days. We recommend to clean the lines at a frequency that best suits the consumption at the respective outlet (the longer the beer sits in the line the worse for the quality of the beer), the age and type of construction of the draught system, thetype of beer and its storage temperature as well as the efforts of the waiters and bartenders to daily take care of the hygiene of the faucets. 

That's why we can't really recommend any cleaning frequency. TM DESANA MAX however can help you to gauge the best frequency for each tap and outlet. How? >>

In the first week clean each line according to the application guidelines of TM DESANA MAX until the color of the cleaning solution from the tap matches the color of the blank in the container. After two weeks do the following:

- Pre-rinse all lines with tap water and measure the volume of each line.

- Fill each line with TM DESANA MAX, let the solution soak for 3 minutes.

- Empty each line separately and collect the exact volume of each line into a glass or bucket. Try to be accurate and only tap the volume of each single line!

- Take notes of the color of the solution of each line. For example: line 1: PURPLE, line 2: BLUE, line 3: GREEN, line 4-5: YELLOW.

- All lines that matched the color of the blank (purple) or even had a blue color are in good shape. You can rinse these with tap water and put the beer back on these lines. Evaluate these lines again after a longer period of time to test if an even longer interval works as well.

- In all lines where the solution came out green or yellow critical contamination built up during the 2 weeks. Clean these with TM DESANA MAX until the solution matches the color of the blank. Tip: Do a special cleaning of the couplers and faucets of these lines!

- Now you know: The lines where green or yellow solution came out in the first shot need more cleaning (clean them again in 1 or 2 weeks) than the lines where purple and blue solution came out (extend the cleaning frequency on these lines).

Evaluate all your lines in all outlets on a regular basis. A once prolonged cleaning frequency might need reconsideration due to change of beer on that line, aging of equipment, change in consumption etc. Also a once shortened cleaning frequency could allow extension.

YES. It has to be considered though, that TM DESANA MAX dissolves much faster in luke warm (30-35°C or 86-95°F) water. A higher temperature accelerates the cleansing success. One could also theoretically use hot (70-80°C or 160-175°F) water, but the synthetic material parts of the beverage-dispensing unit (seals etc.) would suffer by doing so.

TM DESANA MAX is formulated to be used in cold water; this is an added benefit where coolers and accompanying cooling systems cannot be turned off during the cleansing process.

Pour content of 1 packet of TM DESANA MAX IC (US/Canada version) simultaneously with the water into the container and fill it up with 1.5 gal. If you use TM DESANA MAX FP (international version) fill it up with 4.5 liters (45g pouch) or 9 liters (90g pouch).

If that's not possible fill the container with water completely and after that add the powder and then shake the container well. That way you reduce the risk of "splash back" and the powder dissolves completely.

The unopened (and unharmed) sachet has a shelf life of approximately 5 years.

NO. Changes in temperatures do not influence the quality of the product in any way. You can store TM DESANA MAX for approximately 5 years in hot and cold temperatures.

A freshly ready made solution should not be kept longer than 3 hours afterwards. The solution can be kept for more than 3 hours in some cases (if particularly good drinking water was used). So you can use remaining, fresh solution for a second customer.

If you are using a cleaning pot/cleaning KEG be careful to de-pressurize the cleaning container before you move it! Transport the container under CO2 pressure will neutralize the lye. When you carry over a half full cleaning pot to another account always disinfect couplers before attaching them to the cleaning pot to avoid cross contamination from one bar to another. Also make sure to pull a new blank from the pot before you start cleaning the other account, as the color in the pot might have changed over time.

TM DESANA MAX mineralizes ALL organics and consequently changes its color already in soiled containers. The cleaning is successful if TM DESANA MAX couldn't find any organics on its way through the pipes and is taped in its original color. 
The original color in the cleaning container might range from light purple to dark bluish purple because in some places, tap water contains some organics or sometimes the container might be slightly contaminated - which would both cause a slight color change. 

So only then the solution doesn't change color on its way through the dispensing system and remains the color of the original solution it's a reliable sign that there are no organics anymore on the lines. The aim is always to get to the same color as original - that's why we recommend to always take a blank.

Several possibilities can be the cause for this:

- The coatings in the pipes are very old, or the beverage pipes were treated with the wrong cleaning chemicals over a long period of time; or the beverage dispensing unit was not cleaned at all. Our experience shows that the time needed to clean the installations a second or a third time decreases tremendously, because TM DESANA MAX has already dissolved the old, dried up residues in the pipes. One thing is for sure: When it takes a long time until the solution comes out purple again it does not mean that TM DESANA MAX is weak, it rather indicates extremely heavy soiling of the pipes!

- The inside of your cleaning pot, sink or bucket (where you prepared the TM DESANA MAX solution) is soiled. This sometimes happens when some water was standing over night on the bottom of the tank or bucket or if the container was not properly rinsed from other liquids. 
This contamination already triggers a color change of the fresh TM DESANA MAX solution inside the tank (to blue or even green). This is a one-way reaction which means that the solution that comes out of the tap will always be green. 
You can still use it for cleaning (even in the blue or green state TM DESANA MAX is very effective); but you won't be able to see the color change to purple. To fully take advantage of the color indicator always start with a purple solution.

- A piece of the beverage pipe, or a seal is made out of PVC. PVC contains elasticizers such as DEHP for example, which are washed out through fluids in general (especially alcoholic fluids). TM DESANA MAX recognizes these and changes its color. The use of PVC in the beverage area is often discussed by many experts in the industry, because the suspicion that it is harmful to our health can not be ruled out.

It is more useful to rinse with a lot of water in POM- installations, because of the high sugar content in the syrup. Sugar dissolves very well in water and therefore leaves the pipes very quickly. One should only begin with the chemical cleaning process, when the rinsing water comes out almost clear.

This way, you not only save valuable working time, but you also help reduce the amount of chemicals used.

In some cases the tap water contains higher amounts of metal ions (iron, manganese). When using higher temperatures (above 35°C or 95°F), TM DESANA MAX may lead to this brown deposits caused by this metal ions when preparing the solution.

These brown deposits do not effect the quality of the cleaning process and they can be removed easily with the a cleaner for ironoxyde deposits. Contact us if you would like more information about this cleaner.

TM DESANA MAX contains NO Chlorine and NO surfactants. After cleaning with TM DESANA MAX you'll find only natural mineral water components in the drained solution. 

The compatibleness of the used cleaning solution with sludge in waist water treatment plants has been approved by the Technical University of Vienna/Austria (source: publication by the Institute for Water Quality and Waste Management, Prof. N.Matsché, Feb. 11th 2003).

We recommend 2 hours soaking time maximum for deep cleaning purposes. Everything longer than that might cause corrosion on the material due to the heavy duty power of the product.

TM DESANA MAX causes no corrosion on state of the art material (stainless steel, fittings, membranes etc, ) and no leaching of plastic tubes. In our labs, we simulate long-term effects (10+ years) of TM DESANA MAX on any kind of material within a couple of weeks and provide technical reports including pictures taken with up light microscopes in two thousand fold magnification. We have already accumulated analysis information about more than 200 different materials in our material library. 

For TM DESANA MAX customers we offer a free check of any pipe materials you use! Contact us if you would like to learn more!-

Yes, because when you reach the color of the blank at the end of your cleaning there are no residual organics left in the line. Also the lime scale protection effect in TM DESANA MAX prevents lime scale build up during the cleaning process (like it would occur with simple alkaline cleaners) and the inner surfaces are left smooth and organic-free after a successful cleaning. All this delays the build-up of new organics which leads to better cleaning results over time.

If you want to use TM DESANA MAX IC to clean long lines (e.g. 900 ft) and need close to 5 gal do the following:
Pour 3 packages of TM DESANA MAX IC into a 1 gal jug of water, close the lid and shake it well. Then pour this highly concentrated premix into a cleaning KEG or large bucket and fill it up with 4 1/2 gal of tap water. 

Use this solution immediately to maintain the best color change results. If you can't access the water faucet with the cleaning pot consider using a jumper line.

Yes, it's called TM DESANA LIQUID and is a very effective, highly concentrated alkaline cleaner. It has no color indicator, like TM DESANA MAX but has a steady red color for better application safety. To verify the success of your cleaning you can still use TM DESANA MAX. Find out more!

When cleaning with a pressurized cleaning pot always make sure to open the CO2 valve before you move the pot! As soon as the cleaning pot is pressurized move it only gently to avoid blending of the CO2 with the alkaline solution.

This is a general rule and accounts for TM DESANA MAX as well as other alkaline cleaners: CO2 neutralizes the alkalinity of the solution (normal chemical reaction) and makes the solution ineffective!

TM DESANA MAX shows you that the solution is ineffective by changing its color to bright pink. In this case dump the ineffective solution and prepare a fresh one.

TM DESANA MAX shows you which accounts are in good shape and which need more attention. Only when the color of TM DESANA MAX comes out the same color as the blank it's a reliable sign of cleanliness. 

In these cases might consider to use TM DESANA LIQUID on very long lines and re-circulate the solution for 10-20 minutes. After that, flush off the solution with tap water. 

If you need to check of this contact time was sufficient for these lines you can verify the cleanliness by filling the lines with fresh TM DESANA MAX solution. If after a contact time of 3 minutes the color comes out as it went it, there are no more organics in the lines.

Beer is a food product. Therefore the equipment to serve draught beer needs to adhere to the same standards of hygiene as kitchens, plates and cutlery. Hygiene is essential - not only to maintain the beer quality but also to to prevent a food safety hazard.

But within weeks of installing a brand new draught system, deposits begin to build up on the beer contact surfaces. That's because in addition to alcohol and carbon dioxide, finished beer contains proteins, carbohydrates and hundreds of other organic compounds. Yeast and bacteria routinely enter draught systems where they feed on beer and attach to draught lines. Oxygen entering through the faucet and the coupler at each change of KEGs nourishes these flavor-changing microbes and makes them grow faster.

Dirty lines can cause cloudy, over-foaming or flat beers with a off- flavors and can even cause sickness.

Thus, a well-designed and diligently executed maintenance plan ensures trouble-free draught system operation and fresh, flavorful beer.

(Partly taken from draughtquality.org)

The following cleaning parameters have an influence on the success of a cleaning process:

Time: Contact time on the surface being cleaned

Action: Physical force exerted onto the surface

Concentration: Amount of detergent used

Temperature: Amount of energy as heat used in the cleaning solution

Water: Used to prepare cleaning solution

Individual: Worker performing clean-up operation

Nature of Soil: Composition of the soil

Surface: Composition of material is being cleaned

Beverage dispensing systems are of course closed units and physical force is hard to apply (that's why the turbulent flow is important). Also time is always a limiting factor when it comes to line cleaning, and temperature is - depending on the time available - also hard to increase.

By decreasing the power of these factors (Action and Time) you will have to increase the other parameters (Concentration and Temperature) to achieve the same degree of cleaning success. You can however support the factor Concentration by the following:

- construction of system in the best "hygienic design" possible

- quality of inner surfaces (e.g. barrier tubing)

- mechanical aids (turbulent flow)

- luke warm solution (up to 100°F)

- Use a TAP RINSING BALL to flush all faucets daily with warm water!

- When pouring beer, the glass and the beer poured should never touch the faucet!

- The beer cooler is not a fridge for food! Avoid cross contamination and keep your glycol cooler appetizingly clean like a kitchen!

- Treat beer couplers like cutlery - they touch a food product! Couplers have to be thoroughly cleaned at least at every change of kegs!

- In periods of low consumption call your line cleaning company to clean the lines MORE OFTEN and take special care of a daily faucet rinse!

Use a TAP RINSING BALL to flush all faucets daily with warm water!

 When beer or soda is not rinsed off the faucets at the end of the day, residues from the beverage, together with oxygen provide "excellent" conditions for microorganisms to grow fast. A study by the Weihenstephan University in Germany, published in Brewing & Beverage Industry International (issue 2/2010) found that dispensing systems with clean faucets had 20 times less contamination than systems with uncleaned faucets.  Download the full article!

Tipp: In periods of low consumption take even better care of a daily faucet rinse! Think of it as eating a steak and leaving the dirty plate on the kitchen counter for several days or even weeks... and you get the picture.

We recommend a 4-step-process for cleaning dispensing systems:

1) Pre-rinse lines with tap water to loosen first deposits (that way the chemical can use all its power to work on the hard to clean deposits).

2) Fill the lines completely with alkaline solution (all inner surfaces should be evenly covered with solution throughout the cleaning process); let the solution soak or re-circulate. 

3) Check status of hygiene in the lines after the cleaning. If time permits continue to clean until lines are completely free from organics and/or draw conclusions from the test result when planning your future cleaning routines. 

4) Flush off the chemical with tap water and check the pH of the last rinsing water matches the pH of the water from the tap. After that, re-connect the kegs and fill the lines with beverage (pour some beverage to make sure lines are completely filled).

There are different detergents, which all do different things to deposits:

- Alkaline, caustic detergents (formulated compound)

- Chlorinated alkaline detergents (formulated compound)

- Acidic detergents (formulated compound)

- Chlorinated alkaline additives (additive to caustic)

- Specialty additives (additive to caustic)

- Specialty additives (additive to phosphoric acid)

- Oxidizing sanitizers (NaOCl, mixed halogen) and peracetic acid Acid sanitizers (surfactant and acid).

These chemicals can be effective on several types of soils and not limited to the soils shown below.

Caustic is effective against fats, oils and proteins though process of saponification.

Wetting agents are additive to either alkalines or acids to improve in cleaning through wetting and dispesion.

Chelating or sequesterants are added primarily to treat the water and keep the minerals in supspension.

Chorinated cleaners also add to the cleaning as an oxidizer including fats and proteins but chlorine is not accepted as a cleaner in several applications in the US, particularly on beer contact surfaces. There are other excellent oxidizing agents other then chlorine that are used for cleaning effectively and do not create the concern of off taste such a persulfates.

Acid cleaners are most effective toward removal of inorganic material such as hard water deposits.

It is important to note that in most applications a blend of chemicals is needed to be effective in removal the soils under the conditions present. For example the soils to be removed are a combination of protein, carbohydrates and scale, a caustic solution would work quite effectively on the protein but not so on the other soils present.

Often time in cleaning programs there is the misconception that more is better. This often times happens with caustic levels. As mentioned earlier caustic plays an important role in cleaning of fats and proteins (particularly) but is not effective or less effective in removal of other types of soils. A cleaner should be built to address the variety of soils present and the conditions i.e. time, temperature, actions etc. Failure for the product to meet these conditions will result in less effective or poor results.

A surfactant (surface active compound) is a substance that lowers the surface tension of a solution. A surfactant makes water wetter. Surfactants also foam, control foam, emulsify and disperse soils in solution. Chemically surfactants have anionic, cationic or nonionic (neutral) structures. 

Advantages: Through the low surface tension alkaline detergents can better get into cracks or very narrow gaps in the inner surface of the tubing and to their work there.

Disadvantages: Surfactants are bad for the environment and also very hard to rinse out of the line (needs 2-3 times more the amount of water). This is because they make the water "stick" better to the surface. If the lines are not properly rinsed with water after the cleaning process with a chemical that uses surfactants, it has a negative effect on the taste and quality of the beer and the beer gets flat.

That's why we put NO surfactants in TM DESANA MAX and TM DESANA LIQUID, but use a more advanced, more effective way to get access to and work on hidden soils in cracks.

Causticity is the property of a substance that causes corrosion. A corrosive substance is one that will destroy or irreversibly damage another substance with which it comes into contact.

There are 3 different kinds of "caustics", all in the upper range of the pH scale (base):

- Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), sometimes called caustic soda or lye. It's the principal strong base used in most cleaning agents, can dissolve grease, oils, fats and protein based deposits.

- Potassium hydroxide (KOH), sometimes called caustic potash is an inorganic compound and is also a prototypical "strong base" and a component in some cleaning detergents.

- Calcium oxide (CaO), sometimes called caustic (quick)lime. Not used for cleaning purposes.

Caustics should be used just at the right concentration, because if the pH value gets too high, Magnesium is separated from the water in the solution, which leaves a white coating on the surfaces. Also, a too high concentration causes corrosion of the material (in the holes microbes will grow).

Caustics are available to the chemical industry in the form of a 50% solution, 20% solution or solid prills and caustic concentration is correctly declared as "mol per liter".

pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of a solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at 25 °C (77 °F). Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are said to be basic or alkaline.

Combining material with a low pH and one with a high pH will neutralize it. That's why it's a valuable method of applying first aid help to you "wash" your hands with beer or Cola if you accidently got in contact with alkaline solution - this will neutralize the pH of your skin.

Alkaline cleaning (above pH 7) is most effective to remove the majority of deposits (BIOFILM) and is used to clean beer, wine and soft drink - dispensing installations.

Acid treatment ( below pH 7) is best used for descaling purposes (removing mineral layers in water dispensers, tea cattles, water coolers etc.).

Some examples:

- Lemon juice: pH 2

- Carbonated soda beverage (Cola etc.): pH 2.5

- Vinegar: pH 3

- Beer: pH 4.5

- Human skin: pH 5.5

- Urine: pH 6.0

- Freshly distilled H20 at 37degrees C: pH 7

- Seawater: pH 8

- Household bleach (NaClO solution): pH 12.8

- TM DESANA MAX: pH 12.5