Clean old beer bottles.

[proost]

I have been given some old Boots beer bottles that have a load of crud in the bottom. I've tried to clean them with; a bottle brush, soaked in Oxy plus, washing up liquid and bleach. All to no avail, have managed to get most of it off but still some remains. Any suggestions?

 

[sifty]

Bottle brush in a battery drill after a good soaking...?

 

[proost]

Bottle brush in a battery drill after a good soaking...?

Spooky! I've just tried that. The problem is the bristles clean the centre but not the edges as the base is convex. I also tried making up a rod with some cloth on the end and using the drill ☹

 

[nickjdavis]

Magic Balls

Magic Copper Balls For Cleaning Vases & Decanters | Lakeland

(stainless balls work as well)

 

[proost]

Magic Balls

Magic Copper Balls For Cleaning Vases & Decanters | Lakeland

(stainless balls work as well)

Magic balls, that made me grin.
What a good idea, cheers for that

 

[DavidDetroit]

I'm sure you didn't use the above colon cleanse on your bottles but it might be worth a shot if nothing else works (just kidding).
If you're talking about Oxiclean, I agitate them every half hour or so for a day. Sticking a finger in a half-filled bottle and shaking the heck out of it for a bit helps.
On the drill method, some bottle brushes can be bent to hit the sides and not just the middle. Might take a minute to find the correct brush.

 

[proost]

View attachment 52359
I'm sure you didn't use the above colon cleanse on your bottles but it might be worth a shot if nothing else works (just kidding).
If you're talking about Oxiclean, I agitate them every half hour or so for a day. Sticking a finger in a half-filled bottle and shaking the heck out of it for a bit helps.
On the drill method, some bottle brushes can be bent to hit the sides and not just the middle. Might take a minute to find the correct brush.

Ha ha
I plan to try finding the right bottle brush as that would probably work

 

[chopps]

1/4 teaspoon of Oxy and hot water from the tap (I use B&M Astonish Oxy Active Plus - big pink tub for £3)
Leave overnight then shake em up. If that's not got it out, it's not coming out.

 

[proost]

1/4 teaspoon of Oxy and hot water from the tap (I use B&M Astonish Oxy Active Plus - big pink tub for £3)
Leave overnight then shake em up. If that's not got it out, it's not coming out.

I tried that

 

[moto748]

The shops are full of beer bottles. Better still, they are full of beer! Bung those old bottles in the recycling and get some new ones. Simply drink the beer, rinse the bottles, and sterilise!

 

[chthon]

Oxy is not strong enough. Sodiumhydroxide (NaOH) for dissolving organic matter and hydrochloric acide for dissolving non-organic matter. Dangerous stuff unfortunately.

 

[MrRook]

Fill with water, put away, and forget about them for six months.

 

[Nottsbeer]

I used a hot, strong solution of VWP to clean a glass wine fermenter that had very old stains. Cleaned up nicely overnight.

 

[bobukbrewer]

put some 1/8 inch grit in the bottle, a few inches of cold water, thumb on top of bottle, skake vigorously and swirl, job done........

 

[regsmith]

Thin chain or failing that even gravel shaken around in the bottle shifts nearly everything.

 

[Shirley Bassett]

If you can’t get them clean with oxy and or attrition, then I would put them in the recycle, asyiu cannot be sure that they will be sterile. Pre COVID I asked my local publican to save me any old bottles that he had. I ended up with 500 bottles in a very short period of time.

 

[531Man]

Oxy is not strong enough. Sodiumhydroxide (NaOH) for dissolving organic matter and hydrochloric acide for dissolving non-organic matter. Dangerous stuff unfortunately.

Agreed.
Definitely don't mix any of those two with each other.
The heat produced can boil and scald you.

 

[Welsh Badger]

I have been given some old Boots beer bottles that have a load of crud in the bottom. I've tried to clean them with; a bottle brush, soaked in Oxy plus, washing up liquid and bleach. All to no avail, have managed to get most of it off but still some remains. Any suggestions?

Bin em

 

[531Man]

I have been given some old Boots beer bottles that have a load of crud in the bottom. I've tried to clean them with; a bottle brush, soaked in Oxy plus, washing up liquid and bleach. All to no avail, have managed to get most of it off but still some remains. Any suggestions?

Peculiar they won't clean up.
I have recently been collecting 50 to 100 year-old internal screw top brewery bottles for use. Sad I know, but true.
Some of these have been gleaned off landfills by sellers so can be fairly crudded up inside.
Using your methods of hot detergent soaks, rinse, oxyclean soak, rinse, microfiber strips inserted in rod right to the end and slow drilled using any cleaner you like.
They appear clean enough (difficult to see through 1/4" thick sometimes black glass).
No infections since recommencing brewing in over a year now.
The only problem I have encountered is occasional failure of the original Ebonite/Vulcanite screw-in stoppers to hold conditioning beer pressure having gone porous.
After Oxyclean they should be sterile anyway.
Just try them and see.
Store outside in case of exploding bottles though!

 

[Binkei Huckaback]

After Oxyclean they should be sterile anyway.

Are you sure Oxyclean will render something sterile? And if the bottles aren't clean, they won't be sterilised anyway.