Donation Bottles Nightmares

[bbohanon]

So..the word "ziconcrateous" which is a 100% made up word got used in relation to cleaning up bottles in another thread today which got me to thinking..what have you found that grosses you out from bottles you have had friends/co-workers/etc. donate to you for reuse?

Some of mine include:
- Residue rings(look like floating worms in a oxy-clean soak)
- Fun-Guys(fungi that grow in the bottom of the bottle if they sit with a layer of beer in the bottom for a few days outside)
- Cigarette Butts - Bottles as ashtrays sucks
- Dead dried up maggots - Someone has put some food into the bottle and left it outside where the flys got into it. I tossed this whole batch of bottles.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Havent bottled in a while, but I have found and probably currently have residing in my cases of bottles.

Sprickets(spider crickets/camel crickets/whatever you want to call them). These little bastards. Hate them.

and other bugs as well as the bottle toupes and dried on yeast. Have been lucky to not get any butts, but most of my friends were kind enough to know that I fill them with tasty beverages and they dont want to drink that.

 

[bbohanon]

One of my brew buddies mentioned someone giving him bottles that they used as a spit cup(tobacco).
Ugh.

 

[blackbeer]

i had a 20 year old homebrew cake in the bottom of one of my prized old bottles. soaked for weeks in pbw and still had to scrub/rinse/soak/scrub until it was gone. it was literally like paint on the bottom.

 

[WissahickonBrew]

Camel Crickets freak us out also. The best control measure to date has been the use of glue traps. Their innate habit of cannibalism is their own demise. As soon as just one cricket lands on the glue, the entire rest of the clan is attracted to the glue trap, not to help their distressed cousin, rather they are there to dine on him. You can see how this is going to go. I have two traps under the utility sink loaded with those little monsters!

Havent bottled in a while, but I have found and probably currently have residing in my cases of bottles.

Sprickets(spider crickets/camel crickets/whatever you want to call them). These little bastards. Hate them.

and other bugs as well as the bottle toupes and dried on yeast. Have been lucky to not get any butts, but most of my friends were kind enough to know that I fill them with tasty beverages and they dont want to drink that.

 

[WissahickonBrew]

This is the reason I am WAYYYY quicker to just recycle a lot of the worst bottles. Some of the crap you are trying to dislodge, if it's that embedded, may have also skunked the bottle for-ev-er!

i had a 20 year old homebrew cake in the bottom of one of my prized old bottles. soaked for weeks in pbw and still had to scrub/rinse/soak/scrub until it was gone. it was literally like paint on the bottom.

 

[gundarak]

I remember being much younger and collecting bottles and cans, and some sort of huge bug was in one of them that I didnt notice. Scared the hell out of me. Guess that carried into adulthood, cause all the bottles I use were leftover from my own drinkcapades.

worst ive seen are bottles that werent rinsed and the beer residue had dried up. I soak my bottles in some oxyclean to remove labels and such, and those things float up like disgusting cakes or those worms you talked about..

i can deal with that.. i dont want to find another surprise insect though..

 

[Hello]

A neighbor used to leave cruddy bottles on my porch. I would walk out and immediately toss them. I tried cleaning a set once until I found the spit from chewing tobacco in one. That was it for me. I never asked for bottles back again. I don't have the time or the stomach to take someone's gross bottles. At the very least, if you get a free 6 pack from me frequently, give the bottles a light rinse before returning them.

 

[balrog]

A neighbor used to leave cruddy bottles on my porch. I would walk out and immediately toss them. I tried cleaning a set once until I found the spit from chewing tobacco in one. That was it for me. I never asked for bottles back again. I don't have the time or the stomach to take someone's gross bottles. At the very least, if you get a free 6 pack from me frequently, give the bottles a light rinse before returning them.

I KNOW, RIGHT? How simple is it to rinse after finishing? Jeepers.

 

[IslandLizard]

Havent bottled in a while, but I have found and probably currently have residing in my cases of bottles.

Sprickets(spider crickets/camel crickets/whatever you want to call them). These little bastards. Hate them.

and other bugs as well as the bottle toupes and dried on yeast. Have been lucky to not get any butts, but most of my friends were kind enough to know that I fill them with tasty beverages and they dont want to drink that.

I can't say I hate them, they're interesting creatures. We nickname them "space aliens" and occasionally find a few that accidentally hopped into the house. I just relocate them back to the outside. A whole colony lives in the narrow space between the oil tank and the back wall of the house, on a covered patio. They love the cool darkness, and hate light.

I wish they ate mosquitoes, we get way too many of those. We hate them with a vengeance, ruining outdoor brewing, or most any outside leisure and activity.

 

[phug]

try building a bat house, instead of a bird house. Those suckers love to eat mosquitos.

 

[IslandLizard]

try building a bat house, instead of a bird house. Those suckers love to eat mosquitos.

Good idea! We already have a few bats in the area. Guess a few more may help.

 

[DrunkleJon]

I can't say I hate them, they're interesting creatures. We nickname them "space aliens" and occasionally find a few that accidentally hopped into the house. I just relocate them back to the outside. A whole colony lives in the narrow space between the oil tank and the back wall of the house, on a covered patio. They love the cool darkness, and hate light.

I wish they ate mosquitoes, we get way too many of those. We hate them with a vengeance, ruining outdoor brewing, or most any outside leisure and activity.

You do have a point there. At the very least they are silent and only startle you with their jumping at you when you approach. It could be worse and be field crickets instead or mosquitos. Both are way more annoying.