Key pre-brew procedure is.....

      Most Important thing in brewing is SANITATION! If you don't sanitize your work area and equipment, you will ruin your brew, no matter how great your beer might have been, bacteria will ruing it. Basically think about it this way, if you don't sanitize you are throwing your money and your brew down the drain. Bacteria is the enemy!

       Now that i emphasized sanitation, I will explain my procedure of keeping everything clean. First thing I did was cleaned my bathtub, and rinsed it well with hot water. Many of you are asking why bath tub, and the answer is because the tub fits EVERYTHING! I then proceeded to fill the tub with extremely hot water, just enough to cover the equipment I have in there:
 

     The airtight lid, siphon tube, rubber grommets, air lock all went in the hot water for about 20 minutes, during those 20 minutes I took the opportunity to clean the kitchen counters and stove where were I will be brewing with bleach water in order to get my work area all sanitized. In the sink I then mixed iodophor and water in order to sanitize the spoon I used to mix,thermometer, and cooking pot, and re sanitize everything from the tub. Better safe than sorry, also wash your hands and rinse them really well. If your ingredients are contaminated, your beer will taste terrible and vinegary.

      The boiling water will take care of anything within the water that might be a containment, but keep in mind there is cold water that has to be added when you are done with your boil, so either boil additional water and chill it in the fridge, or just buy distilled bottled water to ensure cleanliness.