Wort may be in touch with oxygen, help

So I am a very amateur, yet no-devices homebrewer and just chill my wort in my tub with ice water until I feel comfortable pitching yeast.

Today, I made a batch (literally right now) but my roommate had to shower. I figured since I already had 2 gallons of cold water in the fermenter it’d be fine. Which it would have been if I waited until it cooled a bit more.

Bad news, I was drinking and forgot that my wort was NOT cooled like normal, and pitched yeast. Only after pitching, closing and moving to closet did I realize it was a little warmer than it should be. Now, I have no thermometer around and the only quantification I can give is that it certainly does not feel like a 40C bucket (I deal with humans often enough to know that). However, that is the OUTSIDE temperature of my bucket, and I have no guarantee on the inside liquid temperature.

I do have another packet of the same yeast in my fridge, so if I wake up tomorrow and the airlock is not bubbling I can just re-pitch, but I am worried about oxygen contamination of my wort until then. I estimate that I will wake up tomorrow in 12 hours (post pitching), IF my yeast did not take off, is this too long of a time to leave the wort in contact with oxygen?

Oxygen in the wort is good for the yeast. What yeast did you pitch and at what temp would you guess it was at?

Get a thermometer!

+1 to Wahoo’s suggestion. You need a thermometer or at the very least a fermometer on your bucket. Controlling fermentation temperature is a vital aspect to making good beer.

Wahoo and Danny are right, and while you’re there pick up a beer hydrometer. Neither one are expensive but both are essential. You can get these at your brew supply store.