Bottle Cleaning

[tenfed1861]

Folks,while at a thrift store today,I bought a couple of excellent condition bottles.One is clearly a small whiskey bottle,while the other has the look of a brandy or congac bottle.They are both in nex conditions except basic stainage and a stuck cork in the brandy bottle.Besides using a bottle scrubber,how would one go to clean and sanitize the bottles?I have removed most of the cork,but how do I clean the rest of the cork out of the mouth of the brandy bottle?

I,of course,would like to try and use these bottles at events,so any help would be appriciated.

[PetePaolillo]

Re: Bottle Cleaning

I have used a mixture of vinegar, salt and hot water with a lot of agitation and have been pretty successful cleaning some of my antique dug relic bottles...works great on stained coffee pots as well...If your problem is just the neck where the cork used to be...... try using that solution and one of those green pot scrubbers on a dowel and scrub the sides best you can....Hope it helps:)

[Gallo de Cielo]

Re: Bottle Cleaning

Fill bottles with water. Set them in a pot big enough to hold them and fill the pot with water to cover the bottles. If possible, lay them on their sides. Bring to a boil. Boil for a solid 10 minutes or more. Cut heat. Allow water to cool. Remove bottles. Invert to drain and dry. Done.

[Drygoods]

Re: Bottle Cleaning

From our own experience, I would caution against boiling bottles in water. Many antique bottles are not made with tempered glass, so when you fill them with boiling water, the bottoms drop off or they simply shatter. I would suggest washing them with a bottle brush and hot soapy water (not boiling hot). Soak in a bleach water bath of warm water. Rinse well several times. If the neck of your bottle is too narrow for a bottle brush, try a gun cleaning brush.
To this day I still pine the loss of a fine 1840s bottle that I poured boiling hot water and the bottle simple broke the entire bottom.:( You learn from experience and sometimes those lessons are costly, still I continue to use original bottles in my impression only because no one makes good reproductions. You can find a few but if you want a really good stocked pantry kitchen, you have to use some originals. With good care,:wink_smil you can reuse those old bottles for decades.

[gilham]

Re: Bottle Cleaning

I have sanitized bottles using a bleach and water mixture.Just usr the proportins listed and the jug of bleach for the sanitized solution.

[Abrams]

Re: Bottle Cleaning

I cleaned a nice original bottle recently starting with warm water and Dawn dish washing detergent. I corked it, and shook the Hades out of it.

After that removed water soluble stuff, I used vinegar and a wood dowel I screwed a small hunk of cloth to to reach the bottom where something was still glommed up inside. I corked it and shook it some more. That removed just about all but a surface ring I could not reach easily.

Then I figured something like alcohol might dissolve what the water and vinegar could not. I poured in a small amount of pure grain alcohol, and used the wood dowel and rag to again swab down all I could reach. It seemed to help in removing some of the last "stains".

I finished it with Dawn and warm water again, and its pretty doggone clean. I figure it has to be clean enough that anything I put in it won't be able to dissolve anything harmful. The only marks left behind may even be that the glass was slightly etched by whatever made the mark, so I plan to use it to hold some corn likker. :)

[PetePaolillo]

Re: Bottle Cleaning

Fill bottles with water. Set them in a pot big enough to hold them and fill the pot with water to cover the bottles. If possible, lay them on their sides. Bring to a boil. Boil for a solid 10 minutes or more. Cut heat. Allow water to cool. Remove bottles. Invert to drain and dry. Done.

DONT BOIL YOUR ANTIQUE BOTTLES!!!!!

They could crack or break as previously mentioned. The mixture I shared is all natural and acts as a cleanser when the bottle is corked and shaken vigrously. A good rinse with hot water and you are ready to use or display.

If you have really stubborn stains and residual material try these methods at this link.

http://www.antiquebottles.com/poch/3.html#Cleaning

[Gallo de Cielo]

Re: Bottle Cleaning

I've boiled more than a fair number and haven't cracked one yet.

And the feller that said "don't fill them with boiling water" didn't read carefully.

Fill the bottle with tap water (room temp), place it in a pot filled with room temp water and then bring the whole rig to a boil.

Failing that, I'd line 200 or 300 hundred up on the fence and knock them off with a slingshot.

Hoping to see some of the glass boiling experts in the field someday. We can take a pull of molasses or rye from one of mine and see if the boiling has hurt it too bad.

[Drygoods]

Re: Bottle Cleaning

[QUOTE=Gallo de Cielo;156655]Failing that, I'd line 200 or 300 hundred up on the fence and knock them off with a slingshot.QUOTE]

Well, his method of removing old bottles is likely more fun, but at the moment I've got about 30 of 'em sitting on a table in the yard, and amid falling apple bombs.....so far, nothing hit, but I keep telling my husband he has to move them to a safe place.:angry_smi

[PetePaolillo]

Re: Bottle Cleaning

I've boiled more than a fair number and haven't cracked one yet.

And the feller that said "don't fill them with boiling water" didn't read carefully.

Fill the bottle with tap water (room temp), place it in a pot filled with room temp water and then bring the whole rig to a boil.

Failing that, I'd line 200 or 300 hundred up on the fence and knock them off with a slingshot.

Hoping to see some of the glass boiling experts in the field someday. We can take a pull of molasses or rye from one of mine and see if the boiling has hurt it too bad.

I am glad that method has worked for you. I was not trying to discount your method and I apologize if it came across that way. I just don't want to see somebody break nice period bottles if they don't do things the right way. I have a bunch of period bttles and have had a few break by boiling them and I was just trying to give what I thought was a safer alternative..I would love to get some molasses or rye:D

[Becky Morgan]

Re: Bottle Cleaning

Denture cleaning tablets are great at removing really stubborn stains and crud. I haven't had them hurt anything yet and you can usually get away without using a brush on them. A quarter of a tablet dropped into a small bottle will do a good job.
Dawn dishwashing liquid also works wonders, and I have become a believer in using microfiber towels to clean old glass.

Now, as for sanitizing, a good rinse and a fill with some rye or bourbon--purely medicinal, of course--should take care of that!

[English Doc]

Re: Bottle Cleaning

I just watched a re-run of an 'Antiques Roadshow' episode (which I think? you get in the US)

Anway, the expert was appraising a 16th C black glass bottle - his recommendation was a light detergent and the shot from one or two shotgun cartridges!

He says that these act as a mild abrasive when swilled around and 'will remove the most stubborn residue of time'.

Now I have to try it....:wink_smil