# washing bottles



## GeoS (Mar 16, 2013)

What's the best way to wash bottles. My wife says to just put them in the dishwasher. I told her I shouldn't use a soapy detergent. I plan on brushing them out weth warm water the repeat with EZ Clean and let dry.


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## dralarms (Mar 16, 2013)

New? Just rinse with k-meta.

Used?

Scrub, I run mine through the dishwasher, rinse, then k-meta and bottle.


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## TonyP (Mar 16, 2013)

GeoS, welcome to WMT. If your approach works for you, it looks fine to me. My suggestion would be to clean the bottles after use, perhaps with a little Easy Clean (see below) and store them in a clean place. So, assuming the bottles aren't dirty before bottling, rinse them out with hot water. To sanitize, put in a little k-meta and keep the bottles upright for at least 6 minutes, then drain. Bottles need not be rinsed or dry before bottling.

Using Easy Clean, put some in a large bucket and dunk each bottle a few times, using a bottle cleaner if available. (Note that Easy Clean can be reused, especially after cleaning already clean bottles.) No need to rinse. If you prefer to use a dishwasher (which is OK) don't use detergent.


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## GeoS (Mar 16, 2013)

Thanks. their used bottles I got from a friend. I'll try the dishwasher then dunk them in EZ Clean. But now I have to tell my wife I can use the dishwasher and admit she was right!


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## dralarms (Mar 16, 2013)

Oh lord.


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## roblloyd (Mar 16, 2013)

I rinse and/or scrub if necessary. Then when they are clean I splash kmeta into and then drip on a bottle tree. Grab and fill.
Really dirty bottles or ones with labels not coming off easy get tossed.


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## Arne (Mar 17, 2013)

I like bottling, hate getting the bottles ready to go. Usually soak them in a tub of oxyclean, double rinse, hang on bottle tree. Just before bottling, take from tree and a squirt of k-meta. If too much k-meta, dump out, that is any that will dump and bottle. Have to clean some bottles up pretty quick. I feel like that is the nasty part of winemaking. LOL, Arne.


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## GeoS (Mar 17, 2013)

I think there is a place near me that sells the bottles for $6 a case of 12. At $0.50 a bottle, that may be the way to go.


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## lonesomechicken (Mar 17, 2013)

cleaning bottles is easy Arne. Getting stubborn labels off is the worst job ever.


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## dralarms (Mar 17, 2013)

If those are new I'd buy them all day long to keep from having to scrub bottles. Where might you be?


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## Runningwolf (Mar 17, 2013)

dralarms said:


> If those are new I'd buy them all day long to keep from having to scrub bottles. Where might you be?


 
That would be in Pittsburgh.


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## dralarms (Mar 17, 2013)

Runningwolf said:


> That would be in Pittsburgh.



Always somewhere besides were I am. I sure don't have " the luck of the Irish".


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## GeoS (Mar 17, 2013)

dralarms said:


> If those are new I'd buy them all day long to keep from having to scrub bottles. Where might you be?



They are new and, yes, I am in the Pittsburgh area. I haven't been there yet I have only heard about the place.


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## jswordy (Mar 17, 2013)

lonesomechicken said:


> cleaning bottles is easy Arne. Getting stubborn labels off is the worst job ever.


 
I've tried all kinds of ways - soaking and heat and this and that. For me, it comes down to this:

1 pkg single-edge razor blade (100 are about $2-$4, depending where you get them)

1 pair gloves

1 gallon VM&P naptha

TV set

1.) Turn on TV set to favorite show.

2.) Fit gloves, grab bottle, scrape with razor blade.

3.) If there is gummy label residue, use a rag soaked in naptha to remove it.

This gets it done in less time than anything I've found. New bottles here are $18 a case plus tax. No way.


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## GeoS (Mar 17, 2013)

jswordy said:


> I've tried all kinds of ways - soaking and heat and this and that. For me, it comes down to this:
> 
> 1 pkg single-edge razor blade (100 are about $2-$4, depending where you get them)
> 
> ...



This place was a factory that made glass bottles that has since gone out of business. I suspect they are just dumping excess stock.


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## TahunaJR (Mar 17, 2013)

Pretty similar to my procedures for removing labels. 

1. Fill bottles with hot tap water and soak them in a tub with soap and hot water. 
2. After a few hours I remove by hand labels that come off easily. 
3. Put on rubber gloves. I take a stout knife that has been grinder sharpened and scrape down the label in a whittling fashion. 
4. Then I do a quick scrub with soap and a copper scouring pad. 
5. Anything left over gets a quick wipe down with acetone. 
6. A final soap and water wash with rinse. Then stored until I use them.


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## mikey1273 (Mar 19, 2013)

*New to this*

I wondered how everyone got the labels off empty bottles people gave them and how you cleaned the. I was thinking a soak in very hot dishwater would loosen the labels even if I had to soak over night. About cleaning in the dishwasher, I'm afraid some or most bottles will be too tall to stand up on the bottom rack but would have to give it a try. I did order a bottle rinse thing to go with my drying tree.


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## jimmyjames23 (Mar 19, 2013)

Just let them soak for 10 minutes. Scrape the lavelnoff with a glass razor (dollar shop) and scrub residual glue with a stainless steel scrubber. 
I'll be posting a video soon.


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## Boatboy24 (Mar 20, 2013)

Fill bottles with hot water and sink with hot water and a light dose of oxyclean. 10-30 minutes in the sink. Many labels fall off or easily peel off. For those that don't, I have a razor blade in a rubber handled paint scraping tool. Then a rinse with hot water and light scrub with a Scotch-brite pad to get off any remnants. I save them up and do 10-12 at a time. Feels virtually effortless that way.


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## GeoS (Mar 21, 2013)

Now that I have glue stuck to my fingers and I'm stoned from the acetone I'll go see if I can buy the rest of the bottles!


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## Polarhug (Mar 21, 2013)

If nothing else works on horrible glue residue, I have on occasion resorted to *Brake-Kleen*. I'm guess this is even worse than bleach. LOL


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## novalou (Mar 21, 2013)

GeoS said:


> Now that I have glue stuck to my fingers and I'm stoned from the acetone I'll go see if I can buy the rest of the bottles!



Goo B Gone in a spray bottle works well for the stubborn label glue.


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## Brew and Wine Supply (Mar 25, 2013)

GeoS said:


> Now that I have glue stuck to my fingers and I'm stoned from the acetone I'll go see if I can buy the rest of the bottles!



Mineral spirits works well too with out the high


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## vacuumpumpman (Mar 25, 2013)

I use acetone for removing those stubborn adhesives - just use in a well ventilated are


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## Abrnth3 (Mar 25, 2013)

I've always mixed up some wall paper remover in a big tub and soaked them till the labels fall off 2-3 weeks for some of the real stuborn one. if not off by then toss them and go back to the restraunt that gave me the first 1000 bottles.


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