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Bloom (clouding) on Bottles


Phil

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I just opened a pallet of bottles that I've had for a while and the bottles all have a cloudy film on them. I called the manufacturer of the bottles and he said its "bloom" and to not worry about it.

Have any of you dealt with "bloom" on your bottles? If so, what did you do about it if anything?

thanks,

Phil

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Hey Phil,

We've had that before... and "don't worry about it" is not the route you want to go. We had to rinse all of the bottles in a water/vinegar (I think a 3 or 4:1) solution and then an RO water bath to rid them of the haze, or "bloom". Just a quick dunk and they were crystal clear... but it added some unnecessary long hours to bottling.

You could always try to fill a few of them and see how they look. Film on inside could potentially cloud the product. Film on the outside looks like shit, IMHO.

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Two causes of film, one is an oily deposit from the glass manufacturing process (rare) the other is a bacterial growth (most common). Yes an acid wash will get rid of it quickly, but I would avoid acetic acid (vinegar). Even the slightest trace will taint your product, and the smell gets into everything. I would suggest a weak solution (1%) of food grade phosphoric acid. No taste or smell. You can use this in your bottle wash water and not need to rinse, but rinsing is always preferred.

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We have this problem when empty bottles sit in the warehouse for a long time. Rinse the bottles with a food grade bottle sanitizing solution and they will be good. The biggest problem we have with "bloom" on the bottles is the labels don't stick good and the edges will peel up.

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I encourage you to inform us all of who you purchased the bottles from. If there are recurring problems with certain bottle sellers, we could avoid them or, hopefully, they can figure out how to fix it......Seems like it could be a win for everyone...

Adi would be fine with that as long as they are not recieving ad money from them. Or so I have been told.

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I encourage you to inform us all of who you purchased the bottles from. If there are recurring problems with certain bottle sellers, we could avoid them or, hopefully, they can figure out how to fix it......Seems like it could be a win for everyone...

All bottles will get "bloom" on them when they sit in storage. We buy bottles manufactured in 3 different countries and they all get "bloom on them. It's not the bottle sellers fault.

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When empty bottles sit in a warehouse for extended periods of time they get dirty and cloudy. Dust, changes in temperature, and humidity are all causes.

Interesting. We've never had issues with this so-called "bloom" with our stored bottles. A manufacturer told me it was a film leftover from the production process and not cleaned off properly/fully.

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Hi Everyone,

I been in glass manufacturing for 25 years. "Bloom" is caused by sodium, which is in the raw materials used to make glass, leaching to the surface. This can sometimes occur when bottles are stored for extended periods of time but true blooming in container glass is rarer than people think and not easy to remove from the glass. Container manufacturers today used techniques to prevent blooming.

Most likely the discoloration is occuring with the lubricant that is applied by the glass manufacturers to prevent bottles from scuffing each other in their or their customers' packaging lines. The "cold-end" coatings are basically a vegetable-base oil and EVERY glass manufacturer uses them not just the Chinese (but who knows what some of those companies use). I've even seen this discoloration occur on Saverglass bottles. This can effect labeling if applied to heavy or if the label do not have a proper adhesive. Like absoraka said, a little vinegar, water and elbow grease is a safe and effective way to remove it.

Dave

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  • 1 month later...

Lesson learned from a local friend. Keep an eye on the shipping route. Humidity in the truck? Did the shipment spend time in a refer trailer? Was it shipped along with produce or other organics? You may not see it, but it may have. Try to specify at time of purchase to be shipped and terminal stored "Dry". Then if your bottles (or even Barrels) arrive on a trailer which smells you can refuse them.

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