Bottle cleaning and Sanitizing

Hi, I am not sure if I am going over kill on my bottle cleaning. I have collected dirty bottles from the town recycle bins. They are pretty old and dirty. Any suggestions on how to clean these nasty bottles? I was using bleach and brushing to start Thanks Dave

Get a bottle brush from the local winery supply place, cut the loop off of it, place it in a battery powered drill, get some one step, oxi clean (unsented) but NO BLEACH, should be able to clean 100 cases before brush needs replacing.

Thanks Too late on the bleach! I hope I can get that scent out.

Wash them good with oxi clean. And let air dry. Then wet one and see if you still smell bleach. If so re clean.

The bleach won't are a problem if it doesn't get in your winemaking area where there is wood or your corks. Make sure the bottles are very well rinsed and dried before they come anywhere near your wine.

Just a tip ,, if you're near a winery/bistro, ask if you can have their discarded bottles. They're not allowed to re-use them and not all are recycled. Some may let you help yourself for free or at a minimal charge, especially if you let on that you're into winemaking. Saves a lot of scrubbing.

I get a big 50 gallon tote. Stand bottles up. Sprinkle the dye and perfume oxiclean in the bottles and fill with hot water. Let soak a couple hours and rinse with a bottle cleaning tube attached to laundry sink. Maybe and hour total labor for 30+ bottles.

Jc5066 said:

I get a big 50 gallon tote. Stand bottles up. Sprinkle the dye and perfume oxiclean in the bottles and fill with hot water. Let soak a couple hours and rinse with a bottle cleaning tube attached to laundry sink. Maybe and hour total labor for 30+ bottles.

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I believe you meant to say non - perfumed oxiclean ? The one with the green lid - is the non scented one, non chlorinated also.

Yes I did, thanks for catching that.

Thanks for the advice! I will make sure the bleach smell is long gone before I bottle. A few of my bottles had fruit fly larva. Kinda gross so that why I used the bleach. I am over cleaning these bottles.

The bigger problem with the bleach is that it can cause cork taint if you use corks made of actual cork. Synthetic corks are not subject to cork taint so you might want to us synthetic corks on the bottles you used the bleach on.

I went ahead and used oxiclean and i brush on a drill to clean my bleached bottles. I am not smelling a whiff of bleach now. That oxiclean is amazing stuff. Since I'm new Im gg over kill on my bottle cleaning. I don't think glass absorbs the bleach smell.

we used to clean recycled bottles but found that those with mold although clean did taint the wine. if you have a winery nearby just buy new bottles from them. it will come out cheaper in long run especially when you consider your time. also all wine will be fine.

Now you've got me nervous about these used bottles. I am over cleaning these things. I have used bleach on them, now I am using a brush with oxiclean. I hope the mold doesn't live through all that or it would be some tough mold! I think you are right on all the time i am wasting cleaning these bottles. I think in the future I will buy new bottles Less worry and time! I just see all these used bottles and think I can clean them out just fine!

After oxycleaning and then a fresh water rinse, I fill up bottles with some Starsan for a few minutes then drain into the next bottle with a funnel as my last step. Then I invert the bottles an put back into the case they came in with a layer or two of paper towels in the bottom to soak up any excess. Should kill off any nasties that are still in the bottle.

http://morewinemaking.com/products/star-san-8-oz.html

or lower foaming

http://morewinemaking.com/products/saniclean-32-oz.html

Hope that helps.

My wife is giving me crap for dumpster diving in the local town recycle bin! I kind of like cleaning and removing labels. I think with the oxiclean, bottle brushing and Star San there can't be any living bugs etc in my bottles. Most bottles I find just have left over wine in them, not too nasty. I guess will see how my wine turns out!

Another great place to get them are from friends who drink wine. I tell them once they have finished the bottle to rinse it real well (especially if it was a bottle I gave them). If they return the bottle(s) they will get a bottle or two back. People who constantly say "oh sorry, threw that one out by accident" can go buy their own wine.

I have LHBS that carries used bottles from a wineries tastings. They are $4.99 per case, usually really clean, sometimes without labels. The only thing I do is pull the bottles out (they are usually inverted in the case) and check that the openings aren't chipped.

The last case I bought was standing up in the case, and I remember thinking, that's nice, don't have to pull them all out and check them. I should have, they had dried wine in the bottom, and because of this thread I am thinking to mark them and keep them for a lower end kit I'm doing, and see if something funky happens after they have been refilled for a while.

I've been using used bottles since 2012. I've never had stuff grow in them, never lost any wine, never had any wine taste funny after being in the bottle.

Thanks! I know it sounds gross but I get bottles from the local glass recycle bin. My thought is that these bottles are not much different than the bottles I get some bars or friends. I am just doing extra cleaning on these bottles. My only thought is this time and energy worth it vs just buying new bottles for 16$ for 12. Removing labels and running a bottle brush with a drill takes some time but I feel good for recycling the bottles. I would also like to think if the bottles are debris free and I use Star San what could survive!! I guess I will find out soon enough!