How does one clean bottle gunk?

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Oahu

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I have a slew of bottles and several of them have a small skin of residue on the bottom from beer that went unappreciated. Can I use these bottles without mass effort on my part? How do you clean them? Should I just pitch them?

Thanks in Advance!
 
Or soak em with a bit of dishwasher machine sopa in them, then wash with TSP. I find it's a bit more aggressive than bleach for actually removing stuff.
 
I just rinse the bottle a few times after I pour from it - hot water works great. Then I flip it over on the bottling tree to dry and put it away the next morning.
 
I do the same as bikebryan and rinse when I empty. But if I receive old bottles or from people I'm unsure about, I'll clean them the same way as I do everything else:

I follow a simple 3-step method because, well I'm lazy. I use lye to eliminate organics, acid to eliminate stone then sanitize.
First, line a garbage can with a heavy-duty bag and put in everything you want cleaned including kegs, parts, equipment, and bottles. Fill with water and mix in lye. (This must be done in a well-ventilated area). Wait 24 hours. Empty solution into drains to keep them clean or reuse. Rinse off bottles, parts, etc.
Second, line a garbage can with a heavy-duty bag and put in everything you want cleaned including kegs, parts, equipment, and bottles. Fill with water and mix in acid. I use phosphoric acid. (This must be done in a well ventilated area and be careful because it will etch your concrete). Wait 24 hours. Empty solution into drains to keep them clean or reuse. Rinse off bottles, parts, etc.
Third, soak in Iodaphor solution for 20 minutes then drain before using. Now everything looks brand new, shiny and clean without one brush stroke. Hope that helps. Good luck.

Wild
 
Jeez, you call that being lazy? I'd hate to see what you do when you really go at something.

If it comes to questioning the cleanliness of bottles, I recycle them, then go out and buy a six-pack of something I like and use those bottles. NOT Dos Equis or Bass bottles, tho, if you use a wing-style capper. Apparently bench cappers aren't hindered by the design of those bottles.
 
I'm going to have to second the bleach soak. If it can clean out all the gunk affixed to my glass carboy after a primary ferment in 24h I think it'll clean your suspect bottles. Just hot rinse them afterwards and store them. When it's time to use em, use your sanitizer of choice.
 
after a few days in the bleach soak - my garden hose has a sprayer on it - i clip it into auto mode and slide the grip over the lip of my rubbermaid tub containing my soaking bottles. as i take each bottle out i hit it with the bottle brush - blast it with the stream from the hose - rinse it well and stack em in crates to drain.
 
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