bottle cleaning

[frank]

Hello guys,

I was wondering what method of bottle cleaning you are using, if any, before you do your fill. I have heard of washing, air blasting and not washing at all. What's your take on the matter?

[relaxol]

Frank,

I sell new bottles and wash bottles for a living but I use to sell cleaning and sanitizing chemicals for the beverage industry.

The best way that I can answer that question for everyone is simply by asking you a question '' do you wash new dishes when they come out of the box before using them for the first time?''

There are many good answers;

You may dust it off and use it,

Rince it with clear water,

Wash it with soap,

Sanitize it.

As a bottle distributor, I highly recommend to blow air or rinse bottles before filling.

If you receive your bottles in bulk, layers of bottles are separated by carton tear sheet which may leave particles of cartons in the bottles.

If you receive prepacked, they most probably have been handled by hand (our employees wear surgical gloves to handle the bottles) and placed in the cardboard box, which is then stacked on top of others,

creating a lot of motion which can leave carton particles in the bottles as well.

I hope this can help in your decision,

Cheers!

[John McKee]

We use a mild citric acid & water solution for our bottle cleaning regimen. We bought the sparger rig seen in the hyperlink below then had a 4 custom racks built for our bottle style. So:

• Set the sparger up over a trough style sink filled with warm water and citric.
  
• Sparge the bottles and allow the wash to fall back down into the trough sink
  
• Clean 200-400 bottles between wash batches.
  

Basically, our intent is to break the mold oils that carry over from the mold process. Works great.

Good Luck.