Scrub all bottles?

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Bigsnake

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I was just wondering if it's necessary to scrub the inside of all the bottles, even if they don't have mold?

I guess I'm just kind of paranoid but I seem to always soak all my bottles in oxyclean, scrub them with a brush, and put them on a sanitized bottle tree to dry to clean before storing to wait to be used again. I do this whether I can see mold in there or not. 90% of the bottles I use I wash that evening and hang on the tree to dry so I never see visible mold/dirt inside them.
 
If you rinse the bottles out right after they've been emptied then no, you don't have to scrub them. However, if they've been setting out for a long time or you recieved them from another person or whatever then it's a good idea to give them a scrub just to be sure they're properly cleaned.
 
I've got a bottle tree drying full right now after scrubbing. I think now I'll just rinse right after use and dry. Then I'll store them all like I do with my carboys. In a box with a piece of aluminum foil over the top.
 
I rinse after I finish them off, then when I have a case or so I soak them in oxyclean. A good rinse and they're crystal clean.
 
You don't need to put the put the foil on the bottles as long as the boxes are covered and stored away from moisture. When you go to use them next time just rinse them out and sanitize them as you normally would and you'll be fine. Pick up a jet bottle washer and a vinator and the whole process is a breeze.
 
You don't need to put the put the foil on the bottles as long as the boxes are covered and stored away from moisture. When you go to use them next time just rinse them out and sanitize them as you normally would and you'll be fine. Pick up a jet bottle washer and a vinator and the whole process is a breeze.

I have the jet bottle washer already.

I've wondered about that Vinator though. Always seems interesting but I have all these giant tubs around. I just mix up a big batch of No Rinse sanitizer and throw all my bottles in there.

I like the foil on top just because I've opened some boxes I've had awhile and the bottles had some dust on them. Figure I might as well do that to prevent any dust or lost bugs from going in. I bought the commercial size thing of aluminum foil. I think I've been using it a year and half so far and I'm not even close to being half-way done it.
 
I've wondered about that Vinator though. Always seems interesting but I have all these giant tubs around. I just mix up a big batch of No Rinse sanitizer and throw all my bottles in there.

Since the vinator reuses/recaptures the sanitiser from pump to pump, you don't have to make up that big batch of no-rinse or submerge your bottles. Just the added convenience of not having to submerge is worth it to me, but I would imagine that over time you could recoup the cost of the vinator in the reduced cost of starsan/iodophor.

Now, because the bottle is not submerged the exterior of the crown area is not sanitised by the vinator. So before I do the pump I dip the upside-down bottle in the vinator's sanitizer reservoir. Dunno if it makes a difference, but I figure it reduced cross-contamination issues at the bottling wand.
 
I've never scrubbed a bottle. Overnight soak in oxyclean and then rinse really well and dry I put tin foil on the top and store for years. Bottling day I rinse the bottles again, visually inspect for cloudy circles, or mold, sanitize and use.
 
I've never scrubbed a bottle. Overnight soak in oxyclean and then rinse really well and dry I put tin foil on the top and store for years. Bottling day I rinse the bottles again, visually inspect for cloudy circles, or mold, sanitize and use.

I have a tub of 45 bottles soaking in oxyclean right now. I think I'll do a method like this one then. I just wasn't looking forward to scrubbing out 45 bottles for the 2nd day in a row.
 
I have a tub of 45 bottles soaking in oxyclean right now. I think I'll do a method like this one then. I just wasn't looking forward to scrubbing out 45 bottles for the 2nd day in a row.

Seriously, if your bottles are so dirty they need to be scrubbed I would just toss them. I make it a habit to rinse bottles right after decanting, put a little oxiclean and hot water overnight, air dry and store. I've even skipped the oxiclean and just rinsed really well, dried and stored. As long as the beer that comes out is not infected and you get the trub and yeast off the bottom they shouldn't need any scrubbing. Be sure to visually inspect the bottom by looking through the top at a light source. Every once in a while you will find a bottle with little cloudy circles that is most likely some kind of mold or wild yeast or bacteria, these you can scrub or just recycle (toss).
 
I rinse them right after I use them, then store them upside down in the case box. Any drops of moisture will drip out rather than pool and give bacteria a place to grow. Before bottling I run them through the dishwasher with high heat wash and dry. I've never had a problem with contaminated bottles doing this.
 
Seriously, if your bottles are so dirty they need to be scrubbed I would just toss them. I make it a habit to rinse bottles right after decanting, put a little oxiclean and hot water overnight, air dry and store. I've even skipped the oxiclean and just rinsed really well, dried and stored. As long as the beer that comes out is not infected and you get the trub and yeast off the bottom they shouldn't need any scrubbing. Be sure to visually inspect the bottom by looking through the top at a light source. Every once in a while you will find a bottle with little cloudy circles that is most likely some kind of mold or wild yeast or bacteria, these you can scrub or just recycle (toss).

Well, for the amount of beer I'll be having soon that needs bottling, I need whatever bottles I can get my hands on so I'll be scrubbing them. :p
 
I was just wondering if it's necessary to scrub the inside of all the bottles, even if they don't have mold?

I guess I'm just kind of paranoid but I seem to always soak all my bottles in oxyclean, scrub them with a brush, and put them on a sanitized bottle tree to dry to clean before storing to wait to be used again. I do this whether I can see mold in there or not. 90% of the bottles I use I wash that evening and hang on the tree to dry so I never see visible mold/dirt inside them.

Well what we usually do is we put all our bottles in a big rubbermaid tub with a few spoon fulls for Oxy-Clean for 24 hours. Before we bottle we then put them again in a tub of star-san and then we rinse them out pretty good just to make sure that we cleaned them as best we could.

We are very picky with how clean we can be when it comes to brewing and bottling.
 
Well what we usually do is we put all our bottles in a big rubbermaid tub with a few spoon fulls for Oxy-Clean for 24 hours. Before we bottle we then put them again in a tub of star-san and then we rinse them out pretty good just to make sure that we cleaned them as best we could.

We are very picky with how clean we can be when it comes to brewing and bottling.

I like the no rinse sanitizers just because I don't want to rinse. I don't trust tap water.

I use bleach to sanitize my fermenters and like to do a rinse after that. I boil the tap water and then use that to do a couple rinses.

Star-San is suppose to be no-rinse if mixed to the recommended concentration, correct? I have some star-san and IO-Star now. Have a gallon of Star-San mixed up in a glass bottle right now that I've been pouring into a spray bottle.
 
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