Found about 50+ free brown glass beer bottles at work :D

[CanadianBacon]

They were nasty, But when i seen 50 brown bottles and countless clear I could de labelle and clean I knew it was a great chance.... I frist sprayed them all with oven cleaner and rinced.... then i soaked in boiling hot water with commet for 1 hr, rinsed with comet. rinsed the comet out and washed with soap. And i did all this at work lol.

Got some great bottles now, I'm getting close to about 200. I have kegs as back up lucky.

 

[Hello]

Okay. I don't recommend comet or oven cleaner. I'd be afraid of not rinsing well enough. You used a chemical that could kill you and then soaked it in hot water. That's not rinsing. You're just soaking bottles in the diluted chemicals. I hope you rinsed crazy well.

Next time use Oxyclean because I think that rinses easier and stay away from oven cleaner. That's wacky to use anyway. If they were that nasty, I hope you used a brush too.

 

[CanadianBacon]

Okay. I don't recommend comet or oven cleaner. I'd be afraid of not rinsing well enough. You used a chemical that could kill you and then soaked it in hot water. That's not rinsing. You're just soaking bottles in the diluted chemicals. I hope you rinsed crazy well.

Next time use Oxyclean because I think that rinses easier and stay away from oven cleaner. That's wacky to use anyway. If they were that nasty, I hope you used a brush too.

I wouldn't be as worried with the oven cleaner im sure i got it all. But all my bottles I just cleaned I still have plans to hit em with the brush and soap the day before i bottle. You never know what can get in there over a week or so that you might not know about.

 

[DrunkleJon]

You may want to avoid the soap. Some people find that soap residue (unless you clean it out very thoroughly) can harm head retention. Not to mention that soap can have a bit of a... hrmm... laxitive effect when ingested. An Oxy clean soak to clean with a bottle brush to remove stubborn debris in the bottle, followed by a sanatizer soak or run through a soap (and rinse aid) free dishwasher run will get you ready for bottling.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

I've found that a very long soak in very hot water with some agitation (usually shaking) is enough to clean any beer bottle. Water is the universal solvent and when given enough time will take care of anything.

As far as soap. I've found that small amounts of odorless and dyeless soaps don't create problems with head retention. I've used it for years and never had a beer that loses its head. I of course thoroughly rinse it.

Oxyclean isn't much better than soap in terms of residue. I would again use the free version with no dyes or perfumes.

Honestly most soaps will work with enough rinsing, just really avoid the ones that intentionally leave a residue inside the glass like jetdry or whatever.

 

[Hello]

I wouldn't be as worried with the oven cleaner im sure i got it all. But all my bottles I just cleaned I still have plans to hit em with the brush and soap the day before i bottle. You never know what can get in there over a week or so that you might not know about.

I sure hope so. Never thought anyone would actually use oven cleaner on bottles. I wouldn't want to chance it nor drink from a bottle that had it. I use that stuff on my oven, it's gross.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

I sure hope so. Never thought anyone would actually use oven cleaner on bottles. I wouldn't want to chance it nor drink from a bottle that had it. I use that stuff on my oven, it's gross.

I used ovencleaner in the past to get stuck on gunk out of my kettle. With enough rinsing (I rinsed for hours) you can make it work.

 

[Hello]

But that is a kettle. A 12 oz bottle has that crevice where the bottom meets the sides. That alone can harbor crap.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

But that is a kettle. A 12 oz bottle has that crevice where the bottom meets the sides. That alone can harbor crap.

That is true. I wouldn't do it personally but I think giving it a nice long soak in water that you're constantly changing is a good insurance policy. Like say fill bottles with hot water, let them site for 10-15. Shake to stir up and dump. Repeat a few times. I woudln't mess around with oven cleaner. That stuff can kill you.

 

[unionrdr]

I just use PBW. That's what it's made for & works so well dirt usually floats out on it's own. A brush & Dobie scrubber real quick & they're good.

 

[CanadianBacon]

How about the comet??? I used comet on about 40 bottles and the oven cleaner on about 10 green ones i wanted to test if my capper would cap.

 

[fearwig]

OxyClean works wonders, but at least with oven cleaner you won't have any skin left on your hands. Stuff is always getting in the way on brew day.

No for real, that **** is noxious! Don't do this, folks.

Comet is mostly for surfaces that need scrubbing, assuming you mean the powder. Porcelain, tubs, etc. Just be sure you rinse all of these really well, preferably with a nozzle that fits up inside. Try unscrewing the end of your kitchen or shower sprayer, works well for me.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Comet is a bleach cleanser. Be sure to rinse very well if you use that. I would also worry since it is a coarse cleanser that can scratch. I would be wary of scratching the insides of bottles (bubbles and bad bugs like scratches) as you can get gushers and or infections. You do not really need to use a cleanser, hot water and a scrubby brush should be sufficient to rid you of anything growing in it and any debris, followed by sanitizer to kill whats left that is invisible to you.