cleaning decanters

[Glenn E.]

My mother-in-law was helping prepare for an estate sale and noticed two decanters. She asked about them and the owner gave them to her to give to me. Yay!

They had been stored for many years, possibly even decades, in an attic or storage room. I have managed to clean up the accumulated grime from their years in storage, but have been stymied by two things.

1) There appears to be a small amount of "normal" wine-related residue inside the decanters. It looks like the kind that very slowly accumulates in my decanters from normal use, but it has resisted my attempts to clean it with hot water and mild soap. The little particles are spread fairly evenly inside the decanter, so scrubbing isn't really an option. I do have a tool that can be used to apply a small amount of scrubbing pressure, but dissolving the particles seems like my best bet. Any suggestions?

2) There are some smears on the outside of the decanters that at first looked like whitewash. They're thin and look like someone who had dirty hands picked up the decanter and left a print and/or a little bit of paint on the decanter. So far, though, they have resisted scrubbing, finger nails, rubbing alcohol, and acetone. So I don't think they're paint or paint related even though that is very much what they look like. I haven't tried scraping with a razor blade or putty knife yet, but I may have to resort to that if nothing else works. What else could I try besides rubbing alcohol and acetone (nail polish remover)?

[griff]

Denture cleaner might work.

[jdaw1]

There appears to be a small amount of "normal" wine-related residue inside the decanters. It looks like the kind that very slowly accumulates in my decanters from normal use, but it has resisted my attempts to clean it with hot water and mild soap.

I’d stopped using my favourite two decanters. The glass was darker than that of less-favoured decanters. Then, suddenly, a recollection: they weren’t always darker. Perhaps a thorough cleaning was needed. And some of my funnels had also acquired a port hue: they could be cleaned too.

So an inch of bleach went in, the stopper on and a vigorous shake given. The stoppering and shaking was repeated a few times, and the decanters left for about six hours. They were then rinsed, really quite excessively. Next the bath was filled with fresh water, and the decanters left submerged overnight. In the morning both decanters had no nose at all, but were still rinsed an extra half-dozen times with very hot water before being dried.

And they are sparkly-white. I can see through them. They are, once again, my favourite two decanters.

I regret that I did not take before-and-after pictures.

[g-man]

i use vinegar actually .

regular white vinegar you can get in supermarket for like 89 cents a liter.

1 tbl spoon per cup of water .

just let it soak over night and rinse out thoroughly to get rid of smell.
the paint stain you can use that Orange cleaner thing, but agaian you'd have to let it soak for an extended period.

[Glenn E.]

Thank you for the suggestions. I'll try vinegar first since I have it available, then move on to denture cleaning tablets, C.L.R. (suggested elsewhere), and if necessary, bleach.

What is this Orange cleaner thing?

[djewesbury]

I think Orange cleaner may only be available in the US. Just wondering whether Milton or the cleaners and sterilisers that home brewers use (e.g. Chempro SDP) would be any use and less aggressive than bleach? The outside marks sound like the glass has been melted by a superhero, perhaps FonsecaMan or one of his arch-nemeses...?

[djewesbury]

I think Orange cleaner may only be available in the US.

But then you are in the US, right..?

Just wondering whether Milton [...]

Which may be a trade name for a product not available in the US. This is getting to be my very helpful. It's a steriliser for babies' bottles and so on but it also has some ability to remove light staining..

[Alex Bridgeman]

All of the previous suggestions are sound and worth trying.

I also invested in a couple of dozen stainless stell ballbearings of about 1/8" diameter. Put some warm soapy water into the decanter, add the ball bearings and then shake / swirl vigorously and the stains will be slowly and gently rubbed away. I tend to do this rather than resort to a chemical approach to trying to dissolve stains.

[DRT]

What is this Orange cleaner thing?

Agent Orange? Not to be confused with Agent Orange.

[g-man]

http://www.amazon.com/Citra-Natural-Cle ... B0012JIDZM

[djewesbury]

http://www.thewinesociety.com/shop/prod ... E&pd=SB207

[jdaw1]

I have magic balls, but don’t remember ever having used them.

[g-man]

I have magic balls, but don’t remember ever having used them.

i too have my set of magic balls, but every time i use them the number of balls seem to decrease.

[uncle tom]

- Bleach will take the colour out of old wine stains, but won't remove limescale and is not very effective against greasy deposits

- Vinegar will remove limescale, but is very slow

- Detergents will remove grease

By far the most effective glass cleaner is concentrated Nitric acid [HNO3] - normally sold at 70% strength, as it tends to fume a lot when stronger.

This cuts through grease, limescale, old wine stains etc - and all in no time at all. Glassware really gleams afterwards.

But be careful to wear eye protection and rubber gloves when using it - it's quite nasty stuff.

If you can't get Nitric acid, you can use Hydrochloric acid [HCl ] (sometimes marketed as Muriatic acid in the US) - but it has much less impact on grease.

Whatever you use, rinse well afterwards and leave the decanter full of water overnight to draw out any last residues of your cleaning materials, before using the decanter for wine.

[jdaw1]

On rinsing: pre-rinse in the sink, but rinse in the shower. Remove the shower head, not losing the washer. Then insert the hose into the decanter. Holding the decanter upside down, engage maximum pressure of maximally hot water. Wiggle the hose so that the hose is directed at all different places in the interior. When that’s done thoroughly, use the hose to rinse the outside of the decanter, and then re-rinse the interior the same way as before.

[g-man]

On rinsing: pre-rinse in the sink, but rinse in the shower. Remove the shower head, not losing the washer. Then insert the hose into the decanter. Holding the decanter upside down, engage maximum pressure of maximally hot water. Wiggle the hose so that the hose is directed at all different places in the interior. When that’s done thoroughly, use the hose to rinse the outside of the decanter, and then re-rinse the interior the same way as before.

How do you ensure that the residues may not stay behind in potential grooves and imperfections in the glass?

[uncle tom]

How do you ensure that the residues may not stay behind in potential grooves and imperfections in the glass?

leave the decanter full of water overnight to draw out any last residues of your cleaning materials, before using the decanter for wine

- Then rinse again..

[jdaw1]

How do you ensure that the residues may not stay behind in potential grooves and imperfections in the glass?

Because anything not dislodged by a direct blast from a hot shower hose just isn’t coming out.

Then rinse again.

Of course, my shower hose, and then leaving it full overnight, would be even better.

Then rinse again.

[Glenn E.]

I used Jeff's vinegar solution suggestion overnight last night and that appears to have cleaned out the inside pretty well. For the time being, at least, I don't need to use anything more caustic.

I do still need to clean the whitewash-like substance off of the outside, though, so will be picking up some more powerful cleaners this weekend to see what works.

In the mean time the decanters are fully functional and do still look pretty nice. There's just a few smudges of whitewash on them so they're usable as-is.

[Alex Bridgeman]

By far the most effective glass cleaner is concentrated Nitric acid [HNO3] - normally sold at 70% strength, as it tends to fume a lot when stronger.

Errm...for normal people, it is quite difficult to buy concentrated nitric acid without attracting unwanted attention from men in grey suits. Given your occupation, you can probably buy it but I can't. I have tried. I have to make do with concentrated hydrochloric acid.

[jdaw1]

attracting unwanted attention from men in grey suits

In 2007 I phoned various US laboratories, asking whether they could measure very low quantities of uranium in a liquid. No success, but no ‟unwanted attention from men in grey suits”. So don’t be too chicken. (Previous thread.)

[uncle tom]

Errm...for normal people, it is quite difficult to buy concentrated nitric acid without attracting unwanted attention from men in grey suits. Given your occupation, you can probably buy it but I can't. I have tried. I have to make do with concentrated hydrochloric acid.

There's no specific restriction on the sale of HN03, which has a vast number of industrial applications. You can buy it here:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-Litre-Nitri ... 53e3ef7f8d

[RAYC]

cripes. that's really escalating the war on watermarks....

[DRT]

I have magic balls, but don’t remember ever having used them.

Perhaps SCP-DFS uses them while you are asleep?

Since this discussion I have been using Steradent denture cleaner to clean my decanter and it has worked very well. I use three tablets, fill the decanter to the brim with warm water, leave for half an hour and then rinse it whilst pretending Julian is watching me so that I make a good job of it. I then rinse it again.

[jdaw1]

and then rinse it whilst pretending Julian is watching me so that I make a good job of it. I then rinse it again.

("That's exactly the method," the Bellman bold
In a hasty parenthesis cried,
"That's exactly the way I have always been told
That the capture of Snarks should be tried!")

[JB vintage]

I use baking soda with excellent result. I take a tee spoon or perhaps a little bit more (5-10 ml) of baking soda in the decanter and then fill it up with hot water and leave it for the night. After 5-10 hours all the red deposits have been lifted from the glass - like magic! I am actually surprised of the fantastic result every time I do it. If the glass of the decanter is thin I would preheat the decanter with hot tap water and let the boiling water cool down slightly before pouring it in the decanter. Just to be sure the heat doesn't crack the glass.

Sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydrogen carbonate is the chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It has many related names such as baking soda, bread soda, cooking soda, and bicarbonate of soda. In colloquial usage, its name is shortened to sodium bicarb, bicarb soda, or simply bicarb.

[Alex Bridgeman]

I use baking soda with excellent result. I take a tee spoon or perhaps a little bit more (5-10 ml) of baking soda in the decanter and then fill it up with hot water and leave it for the night. After 5-10 hours all the red deposits have been lifted from the glass - like magic! I am actually surprised of the fantastic result every time I do it. If the glass of the decanter is thin I would preheat the decanter with hot tap water and let the boiling water cool down slightly before pouring it in the decanter. Just to be sure the heat doesn't crack the glass.

Sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydrogen carbonate is the chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It has many related names such as baking soda, bread soda, cooking soda, and bicarbonate of soda. In colloquial usage, its name is shortened to sodium bicarb, bicarb soda, or simply bicarb.

Baking soda does indeed have good results like this. It is also a traditional mild disinfectant used commonly a generation or two ago, to wipe clean surfaces, fridges, picnic equipment etc.

However, if you buy some be sure to buy Baking Soda and not Baking Powder. Baking Powder is baking soda that has been cut with plain flour. Use that in your decanter and you will end up with a horrible, gloopy mess stuck to the glass.

[Glenn E.]

However, if you buy some be sure to buy Baking Soda and not Baking Powder. Baking Powder is baking soda that has been cut with plain flour.

Is this another terminology difference between the US and the UK?

Over here Baking Soda and Baking Powder have completely different uses. Baking Soda is sodium bicarbonate. Baking Powder also contains sodium bicarbonate, but the primary ingredient (in terms of functional use) is cream of tartar as an acidifying agent. There's also a drying agent, but in the US it is usually starch not flour.

[g-man]

i use a baby bottle cleaner with excellent results