Cleaning the oil bottle

I have bottles with pourers that I use for oils and vinegars. We are moving in the next month or so, so I decided not to refill my oil bottle yesterday and use the oil straight from the original bottle.

I then proceeded to wash the olive oil bottle so that I could pack it away clean and ready for the new kitchen.

What has happened is there seems to be oil on the sides of the bottle, much like olive oil that has been in the frig. The opening is too small to use a brush. How can I get the bottle clean.

Paulette

I would imagine just shaking it up with good grease busting kitchen dish soap would do the trick. Best if you still have the cap. Make sure you use really hot water.

Did a run through the dishwasher also not work???

Nancy

Denture cleaner? I've used that trick to remove hard water/mineral deposits from old bottles with small necks. Not sure how well it would on oily residue but perhaps worth a shot.

grace

I typically run the bottles through the dishwasher before refilling them, sometimes twice if I'm not happy with the results the first time. Smaller bottles can just be impaled on the tines of the lower tray; larger bottles, like Lorina bottles, I put on the upper tray and have a plastic or silicone utensil over the neck of the bottle to ensure that it drains properly. That still traps some water, though, so I typically let the bottles finish drying in a warm oven for a while.

I've tried all of the above including one the condiment queen told me. Use vinegar except one. The dishwasher. I don't have one. None worked.

I guess I'll have to use my husbands suggestion. Throw the bottle out.
Paulette

We don't have a dishwasher (non-human ) either, so brushes are quite useful. Surely, you can find something that will do the job.
(click for larger image)

Although mine were obtained elsewhere, brushes such as these I have seen in science stores.

If hot soapy water does not work, you could try a mild alkali. A quick squirt of oven cleaner (with appropriate precaution and ventilation) into the bottle may help.

American Science & Surplus
5316 N. Milwaukee Avenue
Chicago, IL
773-763-0313

33W361 Route 38, 1/4 mile east of Kirk Road
Geneva/West Chicago, Illinois
630-232-2882

http://www.sciplus.com/stores.cfm

I've thought of buying similar brushes, but thought I could probably buy a new bottle cheaper. I just hoped I could save this one.
Paulette

Paulette,

What brand of soap are you using? It's just so hard to imagine that hot water, plain ole dishsoap and shaking it up aren't doing it.

I use a special brand because of allergies, but back in the old days remember Dawn being a great grease cutter.

To me nothing cleans oil better than dishsoaps that are geared for that, which many are.

Nancy

This would certainly cost more than the bottle's worth, but... Liquid dishwasher soap, with really really hot water, shaken hard in the bottle should most certainly work.

If that doesn't work, then try 409, which is like an atomic bomb...

No success, well then. Bye-bye bottle!

Geo

Paulette,

Fill the bottle with the hottest tap water you can muster, drop in a denture cleanser tablet (you may have to break it up) and a few drops of liquid dish soap (I prefer Dawn as it cuts grease better than others I have tried--I tend not to be brand loyal, but am a a few things and Dawn dish soap is one of them). Let sit until the water cools. Pour out, and Bob's your uncle.

It's nice to see your familiar things in new settings. Himself wants me to get rid of a number of bottles that currently store nothing, but they carry memories.

AnnieB
Tried that overnight last night. Didn't work. I give up.
Paulette

Two possibilities...

First, put a tablespoon of uncooked rice in the bottle, and shake the hell out of it. The uncooked rice is abrasive, and will remove some of the utz.

Second, dish washer soap, dry if possible. Fill the bottle half way up with hot water, then add at least a cup of dish washer soap. Give it a good shake, and let it sit for a couple of days.

The dish washer soap thing also works very will with old bowls or tureens that have crazed and discolored.

paulette wrote:AnnieB
Tried that overnight last night. Didn't work. I give up.
Paulette

You could always fill it with gasoline to remove the oil. Then wash with hot soapy water to remove the gas.

I reread this thread. Is there any possibility that what you believe is oil is actually distortions in the glass?

No Bruce I can stick my finger a little and it feels almost waxy, so I suspect its some type of coating. I happened to wash my cider vinegar bottle yesterday, same kind of bottle no problem.
Paulette

It's likely buildup from the oil. You need to use a degreaser. Check out that section at the hardware store. Oven cleaner might work, too.

Regular dish soap is too mild. You want something caustic that warns you not to touch it without gloves on.