Bottle cleaning/storing

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vadem

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Still on single-digit brews here so I am developing techniques and processes as I go. Here's a question about my bottle prep procedure:
--About a week or less from bottling day, I soak my bottles (partially in order to get the labels off of some) in a water/bleach solution. Longer for the ones with labels. I check very carefully to make sure there is no sediment in the bottom.
--After I rinse them well, I put them in their 12 pack or 6 pack holders until bottling day.
--On bottling day I wash them all in hot soapy water, rinse, put on bottle tree for a while to drip and then I sanitize them with starsan and put back on the tree, and then commence bottling.

My question is, if I have given them a good rinse with the bleach solution days before bottling, do I still need to do the soap and water stage or might I just move on to the starsan stage of the process? I'd rather be more safe than anything, but this is a lot of bottle handling.

Thanks
 
Replace the bleach with Oxyclean and if you use soap be sure that it is rinsed off completely.

I soak with Oxyclean only to get the labels off. After that rinse after use, inspect carefully, store, inspect again and sanitize with Starsan, then bottle.

When I have allowed enough time I put them in the dishwasher (no soap) and run the hot cycle (mine has no sanitize cycle) then I use Starsan and bottle,
 
Honestly I just soak my bottles in oxyclean or pbw overnight and give them a real good rinse.

On bottling day I spray them all with starsan and proceed to bottling.

Easiest way I've found.
 
Skip the soap and water. If you replace beach with PBW, then they are already washed. All you need to do at that point is sanitize right before you fill them. And then, as you drink them, rinse them out that day and all you need to do is sanitize again. There is no need to keep doing PBW if they are already clean.
 
I'm still new, but you should not have to wash your bottles twice if you take the necessary steps. Based on what I've read this is the system I use.

I wash bottles in Oxi-Clean, let them soak overnight. Then rinse them out well and set upside down to dry. Once they are dry I put either foil or saran wrap over the top to keep debris from entering back into the bottle, then store them similarly to how you described.

On bottling day I remove the foil/saran wrap and use star-san to sanitize. This has worked well for me in my limited experience.
 
I use a bottle blaster in case there are nasty's (SWMBO sometimes forgets to rinse her bottles) and then I toss them on the heat cycle in the dishwasher. Easy and I've never had an infection.
 
I always rinse mine out after use. then on bottling day 1st thing in the morning I run mine in the dishwasher wit no soap. then rinse out with starsan and bottle.
 
1. rinse bottles with bottle washer and hot water,
2. dunk in bucket of star san (fill bottle, flip 180 and empty),
3. put on bottle tree to dry

That's the process I use but I've been doing it for such a short time I don't yet know if my process is flawed or not. Of the samples I've tasted so far, I think I am all set.
 
Once you do the initial wash ( I would switch to oxyclean or pbw) rinse and store them. I prefer to store em upside down so nothing accidentally gets in them. Bottling day, set em up and hit em with a blast of starsan from a vinator and fill em while still wet from the starsan. No need to wash em twice and hang em on a tree to dry after the starsan. As a matter of fact I THINK drying the starsan is detrimental to its effectiveness...I recommend reading revvys bottling sticky.
 
Thanks everyone! I hadn't heard about using Oxyclean, that sounds like a good option. For those of you who use dishwasher, I was kind of under the impression that the water might have a hard time really getting up into the bottles, but maybe that's not the case.
 
Do you need to use star san or any other sanitizer if you are goint to use the dishwasher on sanitize setting?
 
Thanks for all the replies. After a few more batches I think I have somewhat of a routine down:
First I soak in Oxyclean for a number of hours (depends on when I get back to it), then I give them a quick rinse in starsan to prevent the white crud from forming. I store them covered with foil or paper towel until close to bottling day. A day or two before bottling I run them through the sanitzing setting on the dishwasher and cover them up again after they dry. Then douse them with starsan just before bottling and let them drain just a bit. The dishwasher step might be more than I need but it makes me feel like I did my due diligence without too much extra trouble.
 
I soak bottles in a bucket or small cooler of PBW overnight to get the labels off & dissolve the glue & other crud. Then use a dobie & bottle brush inside & out then rinse. Onto the bottle tree to dry before storing in covered craft 12 pack boxes. I like the lienenkugel ones since they have seperators. I sanitize with a vinator & starsan right before filling They don't sit on the bottle tree long enough to completely dry. And being upside down,& nasties setlling downward,nothing gets in.
 
It's been said here already but....Here is my method:
1-rinse after drinking or as soon as can
2-soak in Oxyclean to remove lables and clean (12 fit in a 5 gallon bucket)
3-leave in Oxyclean till I have 12 more bottles then remove and rinse in the sink w/water
4-place in 6 pack holder and place in those large plastic boxes w/top. Mine hold about 6 six packs
5-Spray StarSan on the bottom rack of dishwasher on bottling day
6-day soak in StarSan for a few min and stack on dish washer rack till ready to use.
 
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