homebrewandbeer.com

Just cleaned 40 bottles in 5 minutes. Well scrubbed them in 5 minutes.

I'm sure others have done this, but I cut off the end of a bottle cleaner, about an inch from the wire on the handle and then inserted that part into my cordless drill...

I had all the bottles soaking in sterilaisation powder, some int he bottle and the rest in the bath. I soaked them for 20 minutes first.

Then I went to work on each bottle with the drill scrubbing the shite out of them. A lot of gunk floated up. I'm soakling them a bit longer to get the labels off the bottles and then will rinse with he aid of oliver's bottle insing idea, minus the copper.

Should begin bottling in an hour or so.

Nice work.

I guess the only thing that I'd be worried about is that the metal part of the bottle washer would scratch the inside of the bottle neck.

Or am I just too cautious?

Oliver

Daron,

Wash the bottles after you use them. Won't need the power drill then.

Dogger

Dogger Dan wrote:Wash the bottles after you use them. Won't need the power drill then.

Dogger,

I find that a film still builds up on the inside of bottles even if they're rinsed immediately.

Oliver

> I find that a film still builds up on the inside of bottles even if they're rinsed immediately.

So do I, but a 24 hr soak in a cleaning solution gets all the film off. Evident as brown flake-like floaties. Used to think my bottles were clean. Then I did this once. Now I do it with all bottles before each bottling.

peterd wrote:Used to think my bottles were clean. Then I did this once. Now I do it with all bottles before each bottling.

Ditto, but I use a bottle-brush. It's quite disgusting the amount of crap that builds up inside the bottles from only one brew.

Oliver

Hmmm,

Not had that film problem

Dogger

Neo Pink takes the thin film build up off with just a rinse and shake. Lumpy bits a bit of a scrub and they're gone.

Greg

> Not had that film problem

As I said, I didn't know I had it, but I did. Quite amazingly (well, to me at least), beer glasses that appeared quite clean actually had a similar film buildup.
Experiment. Get apparently clean beer glass. Put solution of a chlorine-based soaking glass cleanser in it (solution similar to that pubs use, often available from HBS, commonly pink in colour (although it need not be)). Leave overnight. Have a look at what has accumulated in the bottom. Be amazed.

i awlays rinse after I've finished a bottle, but to sterilise I stil soak and clean. Besides, after time in the garage I just prefer to be double sure that the bottle is clean. Better to be certain than ruin a few weeks' work.

Use kegs much easier! Before kegs I used the drill when cleaning large amounts of bottles for the first time. After that I rinse after pouring, rinse before filling and cleaned with the drill once a year as I had heard about the film build up. The yearly clean was never needed as bottles were clean, never found a film.

I just give them a good rinse with hot water the next morning, let stand for a while, drain, screw a top back on and store until bottling day.

To wash before using, I fill the laundry sink with hot water and a good slurp of unscented White King (chlorine bleach). With rubber gloves on, take them out of their crate 2 at a time, fill from sink, and place back into crates. Then I use a little jug to top them up to the brim.

Leave them for half hour. Empty, rinse & drain.

so no scrubbing required then? sounds enticing

Never seen no film



dogger

> Never seen no film
Once you get electricity up there, films won't be far behind

Got that yesterday.

Heard about films. Tell me there are TV's to.

Don't feel to bad about us, we have bothe types of water, hot and cold



Dogger

I'm with Dogger - no film to speak of even with my glasses on....

Oliver wrote:I guess the only thing that I'd be worried about is that the metal part of the bottle washer would scratch the inside of the bottle neck.

The solution: sleeve the bottle brush shaft with some plastic tubing! Works a treat.

Tony

I don't bother washing any more. Just rinse em out after I've drunk em, and sterilise before bottling. Never had a bad one yet. And I don't miss stuffing about with that damn bottle brush and sinks full of soapy water! Seriously, how much water do you waste? Original rinse, wash, then at least one rinse again, possibly two.

If you are really concerned, use a jet wash, it will strip the paint off the wall

Dogger