Best way to clean bottles?

MilitariaCollector · Apr 8, 2009

What is the best way to clean the inside of bottles that have white mineral stains (I am sure this has been asked before)?

jrsherman · Apr 8, 2009

Well, this is only how I do it, so here goes.

I start with a good bottle brush and get the maximum amount of dirt out that I possibly can. After that, for the little bits that I can't get, I fill the bottle about 1/4 to 1/3 full of rice, then 1/2 full of warm water, and perform a vigorous shaking(as in until my arms hurt :tard:

). After this, let the bottle dry out as completely as possible, then soak it completely in mineral oil for a day or two. I made a little basket of sorts to drain them after that, and I let as much drain off as I can, usually another day or two. After that, I usually just take a paper towel and rub them dry. It'll still be a little slick, but I find that if I wash the oil off, the sickness seems to come back a little by little.

Again, this is only my method, but it works pretty good for me. Hope this helps some, and good luck!!

Harry Pristis · Apr 8, 2009

Jordan11983 said:
What is the best way to clean the inside of bottles that have white mineral stains (I am sure this has been asked before)?

The cloudiness - the sickness - is not caused by mineral stains. Mineral stains are easily removed with vinegar or commercial bathroom cleaners.

The sickness is a result of the decomposition of the glass . . . some of the components of the glass are dissolving. The silica is more resistant to this process than the soda and lime, so the glass is dissolving irregularly (on a microscopic scale). This irregular (or etched) surface refracts light so that the glass appears cloudy.

There is no good way to restore the surface of the glass except by abrasive polishing it. This is done by tumbling the bottle with abrasive grit and bits of copper wire (to give the grit some heft).

Oiling the surface is about as good as you can do short of tumble-polishing a bottle.