How to Clean Out the Inside of a Glass Bottle (With or Without a Brush)

Bottles often come in cool shapes or colors, and if you’d like to reuse them, they’re easy to clean out. You can clean a bottle with a bottle brush and dish soap, use gravel or rice with dish soap, vinegar and salt, or Alka-Seltzer to remove sticky residue and get your bottles clean. Keep reading, and we’ll walk you through each way to clean inside a glass bottle so you can use it for beverages or decorations.

If you’re not cleaning glass, then check out our other guides for cleaning plastic bottles and sterilizing baby bottles.

How do you clean the inside of a glass bottle?

Fill the bottle with warm water and a few drops of dish soap. Use a bottle brush to scrub the inside of the bottle. Alternatively, add uncooked rice, pea gravel, or salt to the bottle and shake it around to break apart stubborn residue.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Cleaning with a Bottle Brush

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1
Add dish soap and warm water to the bottle. Take apart the bottle if it has a lid, nipple, or other parts that come off. Dispense a few drops of regular dish soap into the opening of the bottle. Then, fill the bottle about halfway or more with warm or cold water.
- Avoid soaking the bottle in your sink as this may introduce bacteria. If it needs to soak, set it in a basin that you only use for washing bottles.
Push the bottle brush into the bottle and scrub it from the inside. Make sure to use a bottle brush that will fit through the opening in the bottle and that is long enough to reach the bottom. Press the bottle brush against the side the bottle and move it up, down and around to scrub it thoroughly.^{[1]
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Empty the bottle and rinse it out to remove all of the soap. When the bottle is clean, dump the water into the sink and refill it with clean water. Dump it again and rinse again. Do this 2 or 3 more times to ensure that the soap is gone.^{[2]
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Main public health institute for the US, run by the Dept. of Health and Human Services

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- Repeat the process or try another cleaning method if the bottle still seems dirty.
Place the bottle upside down on a clean, dry towel or drying rack. Don’t try to wipe out the bottom with a towel because this may transfer germs to the inside of the bottle.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Scrubbing Inside a Bottle with Rice or Gravel

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Fill your bottle less than ¼ full with gravel or rice. If you choose rice, use raw, uncooked rice. If you choose gravel, choose a size between sand and pea gravel. That way, the gravel or rice reaches all the nooks, crannies, and corners of the bottle.^{[3]
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- This method is great for irregularly-shaped bottles, as the gravel or rice will reach areas that you may not be able to reach with a brush.
- Ensure your gravel doesn’t have sharp edges that can scratch the inside of the bottle. If you are concerned about scratches, use rice instead.
2
Add 3 or 4 drops of dish soap. Any kind of dish soap will work, and you don’t need a lot to get your bottle clean. The soap helps to remove residue from previous beverages as well as dust or dirt.^{[4]
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- If your bottle isn’t very dirty, you can omit the rice or gravel and simply use the dish soap.
Use hot water to fill the bottle nearly the top to help remove all the sticky residue.
Be sure to cover the opening of the bottle with your hand or a cap so the solution doesn’t spill out. Vigorously shake the bottle in every direction; back and forth as well as sideways. Swirl and rotate the soap, water, and gravel/rice around to scrub the residue off the bottle.^{[5]
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Empty the bottle. Dump out the gravel/rice, soap, and water mixture and inspect for any missed pieces of gravel/rice. Repeat the process as needed.^{[6]
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- Don’t rinse gravel down the drain. Instead, be sure to strain it out or pour the contents of the bottle into a bucket or bowl.
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Rinse the bottle thoroughly. Fill the bottle with clean water and dump it out. Repeat the process several times. Rinse the mouth of the bottle, paying special attention to the threads, and the outside as well. Be sure to remove all the gravel or rice, as well as any traces of soap.^{[7]
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- If you are going to drink from the bottle, wash it with an antibacterial soap, or use 1 to 2 drops of bleach, and rinse well before refilling.
Set the bottle upside down on a towel or drying rack so the excess water can drain out. Prop it up on another dish or rack to prevent the bottle from falling and breaking. After a few hours, turn the bottle right-side-up on the towel and allow it to fully dry.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

How to Clean Inside Glass Bottles with Vinegar and Salt

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1
Fill a pot ¾ full with warm water. Don’t fill the pot more than that or the water will spill over the top when you add the bottle. You will heat the pot later, so place the pot on your stove.^{[8]
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- This method works for glass bottles only. Plastic bottles may melt or get damaged when they’re heated.
Distilled white vinegar works best for this process. Be generous with the vinegar; a couple of glugs from the bottle should work well, but don’t overfill the pot. Swirl or agitate the solution to ensure it is fully mixed.^{[9]
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Fill the bottles with water first. This ensures that they will sink, rather than float, when you add them to the vinegar and water solution.^{[10]
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Set your stove to a low heat setting to help the vinegar clean the bottles. Keep the heat on for up to a couple hours, but be sure to turn it off after that.^{[11]
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Leave the bottles in the pot on the stove with the heat off. This helps the vinegar remove any stains or sticky residue from the bottles. It also allows the bottles and vinegar solution to cool down.^{[12]
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Remove the bottles from the pot and empty them. Don’t worry about drying the bottles yet because they’re not completely clean yet.
7
Add 1–2 inches (2.5–5.1 cm) of coarse salt to the bottle. Coarse salt works best because it’s the most abrasive. The salt helps scrub the inside of the bottle and remove any residue.^{[13]
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- Alternatively, baking soda works well as a replacement for salt because it also is a slight abrasive.
Cool or lukewarm water works the best. Use just enough water to make a saltwater slurry without the salt completely dissolving.^{[14]
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Be sure to cover the bottle opening with your hand or the bottle cap to ensure the mixture doesn’t escape. Shake the bottle back and forth as well as up and down to scrub the inside.^{[15]
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Rinse the bottle thoroughly with clean water. Empty the solution and rinse the bottle with warm, running water. Rinse the inside as well as the outside, paying special attention to the mouth of the bottle and any threads.^{[16]
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- Clean the bottle with antibacterial soap, or use 1 or 3 drops of bleach, and rinse well before refilling it if you plan to drink from the bottle.
Set the bottle upside down on a dish rack or towel. You may need to prop it up to ensure it doesn’t fall over. After a few hours, turn the bottle right-side-up and allow it to dry completely.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Using Alka-Seltzer to Clean Inside a Bottle

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If you overfill the bottle, the Alka-Seltzer will bubble over the top of the bottle.^{[17]
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Drop a 1-2 tablets of Alka-Seltzer into the bottle. Choose an effervescent type of Alka-Seltzer, such as Original or Extra Strength. It is the fizzing that cleans the bottle, so the other varieties will not get the job done.^{[18]
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- Alternatively, denture cleaning tablets work well if you don’t have Alka-Seltzer.
This gives the Alka-Seltzer time to fizz and remove any residue or stains from the bottle. Leave the bottle in your sink to ensure you don’t wake up to a mess the next morning.
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Rinse the bottle thoroughly. Rinse the bottle under warm, running water. Be sure to fill and empty the bottle several times to remove all traces of the Alka-Seltzer. Pay special attention to any corners as well as threads on the mouth of the bottle.
- You may want to wash the bottle with antibacterial soap or a couple of drops of bleach to ensure the bottle is clean enough to drink out of.
Set the bottle upside down in a dish drainer or on a towel. Prop it up to keep the bottle from falling or breaking. After a few hours, flip the bottle over and allow it to dry completely.

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Question

What if I want to clean the outside too?

Michelle Driscoll, MPH
Founder, Mulberry Maids
Michelle Driscoll is the Owner of Mulberry Maids, which is based in Fort Collins, Colorado. With five years of experience, her business specializes in cleaning homes and small offices. She holds a Masters in Public Health from the Colorado School of Public Health. Additionally, Mulberry Maids has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.

Michelle Driscoll, MPH

Founder, Mulberry Maids

Expert Answer

These methods will help clean the outside of the bottles well, especially allowing the bottle to soak in a hot vinegar mix.

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Question

Which of these methods works best for getting rid of bad smells from glass bottles?

Michelle Driscoll, MPH
Founder, Mulberry Maids
Michelle Driscoll is the Owner of Mulberry Maids, which is based in Fort Collins, Colorado. With five years of experience, her business specializes in cleaning homes and small offices. She holds a Masters in Public Health from the Colorado School of Public Health. Additionally, Mulberry Maids has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.

Michelle Driscoll, MPH

Founder, Mulberry Maids

Expert Answer

Vinegar works well as a deodorizer, so a thorough vinegar wash should help get rid of the bad smells.

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Question

Can't I just put some soapy water in the bottle and shake it for a minute or two? Will it still clean the bottle?

Community Answer

That will work, but you only need to shake it a few times.

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Warnings

Avoid using abrasive cleaners like steel wool or stiff scrub brushes because they could leave marks or damage on the bottles.

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Avoid putting cold bottles in hot water, or hot bottles in cold water, because the sudden temperature change could cause them to break.

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