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Does anybody have any tips on how to get right to the bottom of those wine glasses that are made from recycled beer bottles to clean them? Mine seem to become a haven for certain species of fungi as I can't clean them right down to the bottom of the 'flute'!

http://www.greenglass.co.uk/cart.php?m= ... &p=222&c=1

I've used a long length of bath plug chain to clean wine bottles. Long enough to reach the bottom and then a bit. Hold it at the top add soapy water and swirl. I did see on one of those interminable antiques for sale programmes one of the experts recommending lead fishing shot (or its equivalent) to clean decanters. A good soak in some bleach will also work.

Would a small bottle brush get down into the bottom?

+1 for a bottle brush, with a little washing powder (laundry) just to give a gentle abrasion.

A Bottle Brush! That's what I need! Thanks! I've never had need for one before now... Although perhaps a little baking soda could be used instead of washing powder?

I'm not sure I completely understand the bath plug chain suggestion. Unless it had been particularly well soaked I don't think you'd be able to get enough pressure behind the contact between glass and chain?

GeorgeSalt wrote:+1 for a bottle brush, with a little washing powder (laundry) just to give a gentle abrasion.

Make that +2 and a soak in biological then rinse well.

or you could try denture tablets, grandma used them to clean teapots in the dim distant past.

Re the chain method, egg shells and uncooked rice also used to shift debris from decanter, swooshed round and round with soapy water.

I've been told to use Rinse Aid, the stuff they put in dishwashers. Well it is supposed to get your dishes sparkling.
I've got a few bottles that need freshening up so i'm gonna mix up half a bottle with water in a spare fermentation bin and put the bottles in there for an hour or two to soak.

Lets see if that works.

Hernaic Tom wrote:A Bottle Brush! That's what I need! Thanks! I've never had need for one before now... Although perhaps a little baking soda could be used instead of washing powder?

I'm not sure I completely understand the bath plug chain suggestion. Unless it had been particularly well soaked I don't think you'd be able to get enough pressure behind the contact between glass and chain?

The idea is that it abrades the deposits by repeatedly scouring over the top of them. It's useful for cleaning demijohns and the like.

I remember trying to clean out a crystal decanter that I bought at a vide grenier (French equiv to a boot sale).

Someone recommended using denture cleaning tablets although I actually got it clean using a baby's bottle cleaning brush and a bit of biological washng powder.

I used to do bottle-chopping (still got the kit in the garage) and gave up on this style of "goblet" for that very reason - that they are too difficult to clean. And you risk the glue giving up on you.

be honest - its just a crap design

and we have glass recycling these days.

Chopping the lower half of a bottle into a whisky tumbler makes much more sense....

Ahh I remember hours of grinding the edges with various grades of silicon carbide grit..... was it all worth it? None have survived.