Life hack from an old cigarette card - "Cleaning bottles with water and sand".

[yrhendystu]

So I stumbled across this click bait site and it offered up this suggestion for cleaning bottles. I guess the sand will act as an abrasive, I wonder if anyone has tried it or will contemplate trying it. The page is just a collection of "life hacks" from old cigarette cards. Here's the link in case anyone is interested. There's also one on there about boiling corks in paraffin wax to make them airtight.

 

[Appleyard]

I've tried using "sharp sand", which is fairly coarse washed sand, with very few "fines", which sort-of works, but with dried-on muck you have to be persistent.

I'd say "modern" ways, like filling with strong bleach or some other stuff, might be better, but sand might get off inorganic stuck-on films (or scratch up the inside of the bottle, or both). I would not be tempted to use gravel, which does scratch glass!

Aside: if you watch "Oliver Twist", the film musical, there's a scene where some boys are seen working at washing out empty bottles, with upright brushes on sticks in a water trough, I think it's where the Artful Dodger & Oliver are going through a market.

 

[Bobtheblob]

I've used rice and water a few times.