# BottleDig1's Bottle Cleaner



## BottleDig1 (Mar 13, 2004)

*Since you have helped me with my questions, I thought I might give back a little by posting my new discovery...*

 I'm just getting started in the hobby of bottle collecting, but I have already discovered a great way to clean old bottles; LISTERINE!

 I accidentally bought a bottle of the off-brand Listerine mouthwash at Wal-Mart one day. (The stuff that burns your tongue off.) 

 After I discovered my mistake the hard way, (YEEEOW!!! [:'(]) I threw it under the sink thinking I could use it to unclog drains. (it's potent enough!) []

 Anyway, I had some really grody old bottles that I dug out of a ditch one day that had mold and mildew (and other nasty gunk) on them. No amount of scrubbing would take it off.

 Untill I looked under the sink and saw the tongue burner.

 Rinse the bottle with a garden hose,
 Pour it in,
 stir it around,
 brush it with an old tooth brush,
 rinse, 
 GUNK GONE!

 I thought ''DANG! THIS STUFF IS ACTUALLY USEABLE!!!''

 Now, cleaner bottles do not exist in the state of Alabama.

 >I only tried the stuff on newer crown top soda bottles (all I've found so far) WITHOUT labels.
 I don't know if it would hurt old labels or older pre-1900 bottles, but I would try it out on a junker first.

 I may have to ''invent'' and market ''BottleDig1's Amazing bottle cleaner'' and sell it for ten bucks a pop...  []

 Anyway, [] try some Listerine on one of your bottles and let me know how it turns out.

 Hope this will help you out,
 _____________
 BottleDig1  []


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## Maine Digger (Mar 13, 2004)

Bottledig, your 'listerine' isn't going to hurt any pre-1900 bottles as far as the glass goes, but I would take care around any labels.  I messed up a nice Qt. Moxie ACL 'Dietetic" soda I pulled out of a surface dump last fall. The orange on the label was nice and orange, but the white was kind of dull so I took a swab and straight clorox bleach to 'brighten' it up a little. The orange is now almost bled out as is the white - dumb lazyman's mistake!


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## BottleDig1 (Mar 14, 2004)

Thanks for the info, Maine.
 So you want to buy a bottle of my secret cleaning formula? []
 It's only ten dollars for a large 1oz bottle!!!

 ______________________
 Bottle(Hustler)Dig1 []


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## Maine Digger (Mar 14, 2004)

Bottledig, if this stuff takes off, we who tried it & tested it for you demand to be listed as members of the R&D department in your advertisments and when you accept the Nobel Prize! lol We also demand a % of the profits!


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## ladyp3797 (Mar 21, 2004)

I can't wait to try that!!! 

 It's so exctiting! My Dad, who is 75,  just built a bottle tumbler for me ( Yep Norm, it's in tests phase now!!) I think I will try and use it as a cleaning agent, with some fine sand!!

 I am in early testing phase now, just put in a 'non- junkie", for the first time.

 But I will let you know about the Listerine addditive.
 LP


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## ladyp3797 (Mar 21, 2004)

adddititve? I must be stuttering![8D]


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## BottleDig1 (Mar 26, 2004)

Thanks, Everyone!
 I have cleaned almost one hundred bottles with only 2 bottles of listerine! That stuff goes a long way.

 Have a nice day,
 ________________
 BottleDig1  []


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## bottle_girl (Mar 27, 2004)

Wow!  It works great!  I just tried it out.  I had a Dr. W.B. Caldwell's bottle that was so hazy you couldn't even read it without straining... It's clean as a whistle now!!  Thanks for the idea... I love it

 Bottle girl


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## BottleDig1 (Mar 27, 2004)

Thank You []

 ______________
 BottleDig1  []


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## Maine Digger (Mar 27, 2004)

Hey Bottledig, maybe you can re-label it DIGSTERINE! ayeah


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## BottleDig1 (Mar 27, 2004)

I'm so happy with its results, I think I'll call it Blissterine. [] 

 _____________
 BottleDig1  []


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## Maine Digger (Mar 27, 2004)

I refuse to comment lol


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## BottleDig1 (Mar 27, 2004)

Why??


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## Maine Digger (Mar 29, 2004)

Because we're sinking into the depths of 'corniness' lol.  Actually, I'm getting worried, if that stuff can clean bottles the way you all say it does, what's it doing to people's mouths!?[:-], I have a muriatic acid solution that doesn't touch some of the stains this apparently does!!!!!  - ONLY JOKING[]


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## BottleDig1 (Mar 29, 2004)

A little lizard got into my listerine one day, and look what happened! []


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## Maine Digger (Mar 30, 2004)

Ok Bottledig, since you want to keep bragging about your 'discovery' I have the ultimate Listerine bottle for you, and what that stuff will do to you to![]


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## Maine Digger (Mar 30, 2004)

Here's a close-up of the guy who swallowed it.[&:]


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## maineahh62 (Apr 1, 2004)

Eucalyptus is the active ingredient in Listerine[8|]


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## BottleDig1 (Apr 1, 2004)

AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## David E Dearden (Apr 3, 2004)

Listerine, well it's powerful as it has been sitting around since 1879 and named after a SIR Joseph lister. Its the 1879 batch they sell to Target and Wal Mart.
 Dave


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## Kim (Apr 3, 2004)

Okay!
 Considering I never pesent my bottles clean and tidy I am going to try this stuff out, I have some in the cuboard and I have decided to cease using it,  will post a before and after.  This bottle has been soaking for weeks and I still cannot get it clean.

BEFORE


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## BottleDig1 (Apr 3, 2004)

Kim:
 I always scrub my bottles with an old toothbrush when the crud is caked on like the one in your pic. But I always spray them inside and out with a garden hose before I try to clean them.
 Listerine is not powerful enough to clean away stuff like that all by itself. If it was, the FDA would probably ban it. (They need to anyway [])

 Hope this helps []

 ___________
 BottleDig1


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## bigkitty53 (Apr 4, 2004)

Hi Kim,
           Can't be sure by your picture,but are the encrustations on your bottle coraline?They look like they could be and if they are,no,listerine would definately NOT effect them.A dilute muriatic acid dip(4:1 water to acid) will dissolve coral inside and out.Or a 4:1 bleach solution soak for about a week will soften it for easy manual removal.(Just give the bottle an 'indian burn',ie.twist in your hands in opposite directions simutaneously)  Then I use an 'eggbeater' for the inside.(Mine is a lenth of fairly soft plastic with the last inch or two split,used as a bit in my dremel tool.The centrifugal force spreads the 'wings' after the bit is in the bottle to clean the stubborn stuff.Like those wire paint stripper drill attachments or plastic rod heads for a garden string trimmer.[]Works pretty good on sediment and contents stains too!Try it,I think it should work for you as it does for me.

 KAT


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## Maine Digger (Apr 4, 2004)

Hi Kat, What a great idea using the Dremel that way.[] I have quite a selection of 'tools' in my cleaning arsenal and now you've presented another thanks[]


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## Gunsmoke47 (Apr 4, 2004)

Hey Norm, a word of caution with the dremel. If you use a wire brush, (I don't know about plastic) make sure you do it in SHORT intervals, or run a trickle stream of water on the area you are cleaning as the heat generated from the speed of the Dremel will surely crack the glass.[]  Happy diggin, Kelley


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## Maine Digger (Apr 4, 2004)

Thanks Kat, I figure I'll experiment first on some commons. I'm thinking I may make my own 'brush' using 18 - 22ga copper wire. I used it successfully this way by hand, can't wait to fire up my router-rooter![]


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## Kim (Apr 5, 2004)

Hi All
 Wow! You guys are really surprising me with the way you clean bottles, very productively I would imagine.  You come up with the best ideas, thanks for sharing them.
 I am not sure what is cake on in the bottle I have shown but I have had it soaking for weeks, as you can see nothing happening.  Does anybody know what this bottle is by the way?  I thought it could be an oyster bottle with an old oyster stuck in there, lol. What ever it is it is not budging.
 Thanks 
 Kim


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## Bottle tumbler (Apr 5, 2004)

I dont need to read to far in all the replies to see that some people like using or trying other methods of cleaning. Well if it works for you thats good, But acid dipping, do you realize that the vapors are released into the air, and if you have it around metals it will rust them, even if they are in the next room. your computor has metal inside it. I have muratic acid and it's in the next room. I only use it with a mixture of water and soap to clean bottles when they come out of the tumbler. and my comp, inside has rust from it. My son the computor guro, kinda told me this is the reason for the rust. anything metal with in 20 feet has rust, and it is from the vapors only...
 I keep it caped and up and out of the way, and it still causes this. SO acid?? why?? Vinegar is a acid. 
 When your all done trying all the different ways and find out you still have stain,scratches and overall sickness, Give me a call or drop me a line. check out my home page for the results of a good tumbling..

 rick kern


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## Maine Digger (Apr 5, 2004)

Hey Rick, I'm one of those DYI guys as well[&:] But from the results I saw at the show in Portland yesterday, when I have a bottle that needs tumbling I'll send it your way.  Something tells me if I went forward with my own make-up, the bottle would probably splinter and become imbedded in my basement ceiling.[]  I'm reposting the picture of before and after tumbling. As the center bottle shows, even after an acid bath, the bottle doesn't compare to the tumbled example to the right.


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## Bottle tumbler (Apr 6, 2004)

The picture is a little to dark to show much so I added some light to it. Now maybe people can see the difference between acid and tumbling, sure acid will eat off junk and dirt, but it will n ot remove the stain all the way.

 rick


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## idigjars (Dec 25, 2004)

Nice Pics


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## Trying not to break it (Dec 26, 2004)

hi all    after reading all the post about listerine.  i want and got mine , i also had two sample bottles of scope.  i wonder if it will work also.  i will find out, i put it a bottle of california fig syrup that look pretty rough. i guess i will let it set over night and see what it looks like in the morning.  besides alcohol, it has benzoic acid? anything that will make cleaning easier i will try. glad it work for you.  trying not break it.


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## spot34 (Dec 29, 2004)

Bottledig, 
 What a helpful, great, and fun forum this is.  We've had a few old bottles that we love just because they are beautiful and capture a different time, but this week my husband hit paydirt on his jobsite and brought home a bunch of old, pretty badly stained but very cool bottles!  I have been wondering about how to clean them.  Listerine!  Once their all prettied up, why I'm gonna take their picture and send them here.

 Janet


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