Cleaning dirty bottles

I have a bunch of bottles that have been sitting outside for quite a while they have some dirt and such in them, theres way too many to just replace, how is the best way to clean them out?

If you have a large container let them soak for a day. Then clean with a bottle brush,rinse and store them turned over until you are ready to use them. Many folks here like oxyclean for soaking.

Don't have oxiclean, any more household cleaners that would be ok? I have some oxygen activated no rinse cleanser but not enough to do the amount of bottles that i have

Household bleach will kill germs but it is not the greatest cleaner. Bleach needs to be rinsed well after use too. Do you have a bottle brush?

Automatic dishwashing powder in hot water, about 2-3 table spoons/5 gallons hot water.

Yeah i have a bottle brush, thanks for the help

liquid machine washer detergent
clip off the hoop of the end of the brush and put it in a drill. WWhhhiiiirrrrrr!
14 bottles fit snug in the bottom of a five gallon bucket. Go once around with the drill and then drain and soak 14 more

lefteye said:

liquid machine washer detergent
clip off the hoop of the end of the brush and put it in a drill. WWhhhiiiirrrrrr!

Click to expand...

Brilliant! I've been collecting bottles for my first batch that is very close to bottling, but haven't cleaned them yet. A bottle brush connected to a cordless drill, brilliant!

NewBrewer25 said:

Don't have oxiclean, any more household cleaners that would be ok? I have some oxygen activated no rinse cleanser but not enough to do the amount of bottles that i have

Click to expand...

I've had real good luck with 1 cup household ammonia per 5 gal water. Soaks labels off too. Just soak for a day or 2.

Jetwashers are good
I would not be without mine
High pressure cleansing

Get some oxyclean. It is great stuff. Oxyclean and some hot tap water will melt off labels, clean the insides of the bottles well, and not stink or burn your skin when you wash with it. Just soak the bottles for a while, then dump out about half of the wash water from each one and shake the oxyclean liquid inside.

Bleach does clean and it'll rip crap out of the bottles. I use it all the time to clean my primary carboys (1/16" of sludge on sides disintegrates in about 48 hours.). 2 oz's bleach per 5 gal in a big bucket and let em soak for 2-3 days. Hot rinse them when you're done and sanitize before use.

I had the exact same problem. I tried bleach at first, and I simply could not get the bottles cleaned. A friend talked about amonia, and I hated it. I got the powdery residu on every bottle that I simply could not get off.

So another friend told me to try vinegar. equal parts vinegar to water, and wow did that work for me. I soaked them for about an hour, and brushed out each bottle, then rinsed really well. It worked great, and it was fast and easy. I recoment vinegar. Worked for me...

Good Luck

Yeah one of those faucet mounted preasure washers are great - even works great on my carboy when I leave it just sitting there with trub in it. You just can't beat preasure for breaking up clumps of stuff in a bottle.