I have had a problem with the inside of my glass bottles getting stuck-on schmutz that couldn’t be cleaned out. The bottles are too narrow for me to reach inside, and no matter how long the bottles soaked in soapy water, and no matter how many times they went through the dishwasher, they just couldn’t get clean.
My most problematic bottles are the ones I use for orange juice or lemonade (all that pulp!) and kombucha. Eventually, I stumbled across a product that promised to solve my problem: a two-piece, magnetic scrubber. I was skeptical that the product would work and didn’t want to wait to clean my bottles until I could get one, so I improvised my own magnetic scrubber. AND IT WORKS!!!
To make your own scrubber, you need only two things: (1) a strong magnet and (2) a small metal object that is attracted to magnets. I found my strong magnet attached to a clip on my refrigerator- it’s one of those magnets that is shaped like a watch battery. I experimented with a few different small metal objects, but I found a nut (from a nut and bolt) to be best. It’s heavy duty, has a flat surface for scraping, and it is small enough to fit inside all of my bottles.
To clean your shmutz, fill your bottle with warm water, and give it a good shake to get the dirt loosened up somewhat. Empty the water, and drop the nut inside. Use the magnet on the outside of the bottle to attract the nut, and then guide the nut over the dirty portions of the bottle. You should be able to see the crusty bits start loosening and moving around. When you think you’ve gotten a lot off (it doesn’t take too many passes), dump out the nut and rinse out your bottle. Repeat as necessary.
When you’re done scraping, clean your bottle with soap and water. I cleaned two bottles this way and they both came out sparkling. I am very happy! Some notes: it is possible that this method could scratch your bottles, although mine survived just fine, so don’t use it on anything you’d be upset about getting scratched; if you’re having trouble getting the nut and the magnet to connect, try getting a stronger magnet (also try touching the nut and the magnet outside of the bottle to ensure that they really are magnetic); and lastly, I imagine that this simple solution would not work on glasses that are too thick for the magnetic connection.
Have any of you used the non-improvised magnetic scrubber product or do you have any other tricks for cleaning inside these narrow spaces?
Great idea!!! You are definitely your father’s daughter!!
Well, this is interesting, but you didn’t mention trying a bottle brush. Just in case you didn’t know, there is such a thing, in various sizes and so forth, and it is much easier and faster than using a magnet! LOL! My Grandma Edith was famous for all her “McGyver” inventions to solve household problems, so this made me think of her, so thank you for that.
Jenny
PS made Nutella-coffee hot rolls yesterday, and they were great!
I’ll have to check out those bottle brushes… thanks for the tip! And I’m glad you liked the Nutella rolls, but now I have a serious craving for them!