Here is an excerpt from the blog about getting and cleaning bottles from the redemption center:
Great, so I found a way to save money on bottles... Moldy bottles with a little bit of a stranger's backwash in each one. Now I have to make these something I want in my mouth.
I never liked Sam's Oktoberfest. Maybe it's better this way?
Here's how I cleaned & sanitized them:
1) Submerge bottles in deep basin sink filled with warm water.
2) Put about 1 scoop of Oxy Clean per 2-3 gallons of water in the sink.
3) Allow bottles to soak for 30-40 minutes.
4) Easily peel labels off and wipe off glue/residue with steel wool pad.
5) Use bottle brush to scrub out inside of bottles. I bent mine in the middle so I could easily spin it with my finger and hang it over the edge of the sink.
6) Rinse thoroughly (I bought a bottle washer similar to this one).
This task sucks, but if you are willing to put the effort in, you'll have clean, reusable bottles at a fraction of the cost of new.
Finally they went into the dishwasher (no detergent) on High Temp Wash and Sanitizing Rinse... a great shortcut if you have a dishwasher with these options.
I hear you can clean plates and stuff in here too.
The bottles are now safe to drink from. I'll run another sanitizing rinse immediately before bottling any beer. In the meantime, I have them stored back in empty cases in cabinets to keep them as clean as possible.
