Best ways to clean bottles from a dump?

[kansastide]

I hadn't been on this link on T'net before, but seeing it reminded me of 2 five-gallon buckets I have full of old bottles from a dig last fall. Most of them need a cleaning and I'm not sure where to start there. Just some warm soap water and a long brush, or any other ideas? Will post some pics when I get some of them cleaned up. I know the one I like the most is a cobalt poison bottle. What do bottle tumblers look like and how much do they normally cost? I'm looking to do a lot of digging this fall and winter when it cools off. Thanks and any tips would be appreciated!

 

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[Likely Guy]

Hello Kansastide,

Welcome to T'Net. Warm soapy water at the most. No rapid heat change. Soft bottle brush.

I've never understood the reason or need for a bottle tumbler. Sorry, off my radar. It should be a labour of love.

The poison bottle sounds intriguing though! Looking forward to a pic.

 

[kansastide]

Hello Kansastide,

Welcome to T'Net. Warm soapy water at the most. No rapid heat change. Soft bottle brush.

I've never understood the reason or need for a bottle tumbler. Sorry, off my radar. It should be a labour of love.

The poison bottle sounds intriguing though! Looking forward to a pic.

Thanks Likely Guy! What kind of soft bottle brush would you recommend and where would be the best place to find one?

 

[Mr Ripley]

Likely guy is on the money. a long soak in warm, soapy water does wonders. As far as brushes, Wally world has them sometimes in the kitchen gadget section. I bought my best ones from a trendy chef store in a mall that caters to home wine makers.

Another option I have found helpful is to fill the bottle half way with warm soapy water. Put in about a tablespoon of regular white rice. Cork it of hold your thumb over the top and sit and shake the bottle for a few minutes. The rice scrubs the inside well, especially in corners. Dump it before too long or the rice will expand inside the bottle.

Good luck with cleaning, please post some pictures.

Mr R

 

[ticm]

Soak them in hot soapy water, then fill half way with sand and enough water to just cover the sand and shake for a while. That's what I do.

 

[Harry Pristis]

I fill a bottle with tepid tap-water to which I add a tiny amount of laundry detergent (because it is non-sudsing) and a dollup of laundry bleach. I let it soak for a few hours.

Whatever residue is left I remove with a home-made brush. I use a stiff wire coat-hanger for this purpose. I cut the hook portion away. I bend the smallest possible loop on one end of the wine and a large loop on the other. The larger loop will be the handle.

I cut a lengthwise strip of scrubbing pad (a Scotch-Brite knockoff from the dollar store) wide enough to generously cover the small loop. I roll the strip of scrubbing pad around the small loop and secure it tightly with several wraps of thin copper wire. String or a rubber band could be substituted for the copper wire. The copper is too soft to scratch the glass, but is relatively impervious to chemicals.

If you wish to use a commercial bottle brush, try this. I affix a small patch (about the size of the brush diameter) of scrubbing pad to the tip of the brush using polyurethane cement (Plumbers Goop, Shoe Goop, etc.). This patch not only makes the brush more effective in corners and at the bottom of the bottle, it also cushions the tip of the wire brush from any "hammer effect" in manipulating the brush inside the bottle.

​

 

[kansastide]

Thanks everyone for all the tips. You guys are great. I'm going to work on them this weekend and will definitely post pics. Will have to try all these suggestions and see what works well with what I have. Thanks again to everyone and Happy Digging!

 

[pganjon]

Hello! Just to let you know, Cobalt poisons sell really well on e-bay! I found two small triangular ones and sold one on e-bay for $32.00 and gave the other one to a friend of mine! If it has a skull or some kind of embossed image, they go much higher! Good luck with the cleaning Paul

 

[gleaner1]

After cleaning the outside (the easy part), attack the inside. Use small stones/pebbles/gravel to clean the inside. Fill the bottle 1\3 full of stones then add clear clean water to fill 1\3 of the bottle. A bit of sand is good. Shake as vigorously as you dare until all deposits are removed. Most deposits and dirt are removed in a matter of seconds. This is by far the best method I have used for cleaning the inside of dump bottles. I gave up on bottle brushes long ago, I find them useless compared to stoning. Do not use soap, it foams up terribly and you can't see the progress of the cleaning.

I have broken a couple of bottles with this method, but that's because I was a bit careless and was being too aggressive. If the piece is really valuable, use caution and don't shake too vigorously, the results will be very good, it just takes a bit longer. I use this method on thin-walled pontiled meds with absolute confidence.

Chemical/calcium/rust deposits that remain will be removed with CLR or acid. I am a firm believer in CLR.

Any remaining cloudiness is certainly "sickness" which must be polished away by tumbling, which is best left to another topic.

 

[kansastide]

Thanks for the ideas. I used the small pebbles and water and the bottles cleaned up great. I can only get 1 picture on here that isn't too large.
Thanks Again!

 

[LaKASkill]

Here is a bottle brush from a company I've done lots of business with:

http://morebeer.com/view_product/15971/102377/Brush_-_Beer_Bottle

 

[Mr Ripley]

Nice poison. Can't tell the size, but maybe similar to this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rectangular-Sma...in_0?hash=item4399b57d97&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Post some of the others too...

Mr R

 

[allen]

wtg on that beautiful bottle !

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

I think you, as well as others, will be amazed at the results of (after cleaning with mild detergent and rinsing) what soaking in distilled white vinegar will do to help restore certain "cloudy" and otherwise dirty bottles. Vinegar is cheap, so use it generously and submerge entire bottle, and let soak for several days. You can even filter and re-use the vinegar. After the vinegar soaking - try a very light application of vegetable oil (inside and out) and use that guy's coat hanger rod with small rag on tip for the inside. (Above suggestions obviously for non paper label bottles only)

Good Luck ... and keep on digg'n

 

[Da Sand Crab]

I like to use a 50/50 mixture of muratic acid and water. Let the bottles soak in a covered container for 4 to 5 days. The acid either removes or softens up any rust or other stubborn stains so when actually cleaning them you don't have to scrub very hard or at all. Scrubbing often can leaves scratches on the glass. Brushes, especially wire handles, leave scratches inside the neck from the back and forth motion so be careful. Light sand or coffee grinds shaken with appropriate amounts of water is good for cleaning the inside. Tumblers are used mostly to polish bottles. If used to aggresively can break them or cause the surface to become rough and pitted. Oil is nice for a short period of time until it starts to ferment and turn brown and bugs start to get stuck on the surface. Then you have to re-clean them.

I hope this helps...Keep digging

 

[creeper71]

I use the Works Tolet cleaner from dollar Tree.. I fill large plastic tub with water pour small amount of the works in each bottle an drop into the water (carefully).. let soak atleast 4 days.. You will want to use gloves cause the works will burn your skin (mildly)... always have a fresh bucket of water to dip hands in an to rinse bottles with... never dump water with the works into your fresh clean water bucket!!