Help cleaning EZ Cap wire bales
 

I was just gifted a few cases of the clear EZ Cap 16 ounce bottles from a friend. I soaked them in Oxiclean, but to my surprise... all the wire bales now have a white goopy residue on them. I removed the bales, cleaned and sanitized the bottles, but is there a good way to clean up the wire bales now?

Also, what's a few cases of clear bottles good for? Mead? Cider? Does light affect them?

You'll probably need to replace the caps now that they've been in oxiclean. I found out that if a metal is left in PBW, and it's stainless, the solution will eat away at it.

As for the use of the bottles, I wouldn't use them for any beer. A mead could be ok, but I would still keep them in the dark (or at least low light exposure). If the bottles are older, then I would also replace the gaskets on them. At least inspect them to make sure they're not starting to dry out. Personally, I wouldn't put anything in there that would stay beyond 12-18 months (at the outside). If you think it will be (or could be) bottled for longer than that, go with something that doesn't use a gasket that will dry out over time.

Thank you!

I don't think the bails on my bottles were stainless. I routinely leave stainless in PBW/Oxi for extended period with no corrosion, but the bails would get corroded.

Exactly... I left a screw in my March pump head when it went into a PBW solution bucket. Came out a bit nasty. Reached out to Senor March and found out the screws are not stainless. Got the size from him and picked up a 5 pack of stainless replacement screws. :D Believe they're 8-32 x 1". :D