How Best to Clean a Crusty Decanter?

[Mike Kerr]

I've used one of those foam scrubby kits before and soaked the inside of the decanter in warm/hot water with mild detergent and tried scrubbing the inside and especially with Port I find it hard sometimes to get the crusties out of there.

I've heard of using diluted vinegar to try and get it done, or using those metal beads. What has been your experience in keeping decanters free of the crusties? More looking for methods after you have them than preventative, although preventative suggestions could help down the road for sure.

From my move a while back I haven't used my decanters, so they are crusty and dirty now, so effective methods other than just letting them soak (tried that) are most welcome!

Thanks

Mike.

[Peter W. Meek]

WineEnthusiast.com (no connection) sells a little jar of stainless steel balls which you dump into the decanter and shake around (with what ever soap/cleanser you like) to provide impact and abrasion. When done, you just strain the balls from the solution, rinse them, and return them to the jar. (I expect you should leave the jar open until they dry, although they don't mention that in the catalog.) Don't spill them; they look really tiny. WE gets $20 +S&H for the jar of ???

For a different cleaning job I once dumped 100 #4-40 stainless steel nuts into a narrow-necked bottle for the same purpose. That worked fairly well. About $6 + about $4 or $5 S&H for a box of 100 in 316-stainless (food-grade), from http://www.mcmaster.com/ Part# 90257A005 (No connection with them, either.)

For perspective on S&H, I can't drive to the nearest hardware (or wine store) for less than $10 (total cost of driving a car, not just gas). I routinely buy stuff online because it's cheaper to pay shipping than drive to a hardware.

[Eric Menchen]

I find that just about anything can ultimately be cleaned by strong caustic or strong acid. Which one depends on what the residue is, but I start with caustic.

On the caustic side, I use P.B.W., which can probably be purchased at home beer or wine making stores. A more readily available although perhaps weaker equivalent is OxyClean. One caution is to not let the liquid evaporate too much while soaking to the point that it leaves its own residue (which can be removed, but a pain).

For acid, your choice depends on the material cleaned as you don't want to eat away at the decanter itself. Diluted vinegar is certainly an option. I use StarSan, although it is kind of weak and really intended as a sanitizer, not a cleaner. I use oxalic acid on stainless steel, but I'm not sure if it is safe on glass. The citrus based cleansers out there have citric acid and might work. For that matter, lemon juice might.

[Derek T.]

I put my decanters in the dishwasher and they come up just fine. I am lucky enough to live in an area with a good soft water supply so we don't have to use salt and the washer rinses extremely well so there is no resudue left on the glass. If you have a problem like that use the dishwasher to remove the gunk and then just rinse the decanter really well with hot water before you use it.

Derek

[Andy Velebil]

I've heard Oxy Clean works real well and I've also heard those denture cleaning tablets also work real well. Just be sure to rinse the decanter out real well so there is no residue left.

[Mike Kerr]

Interesting, I never would have thought of OxyClean. I've also heard about the metal balls from WE, as well as squeezing a lemon with a bunch of salt and hot water and swooshing around. Worst case with that the wine tastes a little fruitier... I have tried the dishwasher in the past after trying hot water and the wine scrubby pipecleaner things made of foam, but it didn't get the job done on these, sadly.

I've got a couple decanters to clean, maybe I'll try each method and see which one measures up.

In each case, would you recommend using one of those scrubby pipecleaner things, or just let the solution try and get off what it can with some swishing around? Hoping I can get away with not using a scrubby since I don't have one anymore after the move and they cost $20...

Mike.

[Andy Velebil]

I'd try the detergents first, then if all else fails, head out buy a new scrubber thingy. Or just head to your local discount store and buy a new $15-20 decanter

[Moses Botbol]

Urnex Cafiza coffee equipment cleaner works like nobody's business. The water will be pink. Absolute critical if you brew coffee at home. You'll be amazed on your glassware if you are not using this now.

[Peter W. Meek]

I've never considered it for decanters, but there is one more cleaner to consider: coil cleaner. It is designed to clean the "picnic pumps" used for dispensing beer where you don't have the keg refrigerated. The beer is fed through an extremely long, thin, metal tube, packed in ice, before coming out the tap. There is no way you could ever get any kind of brush through the tube, so the cleaner is intended to clean the tube just by being pumped through it. I used to keep beer on tap at home, and if you let the system sit between kegs for a while, it really got nasty. Coil cleaner cleaned it out every time. It's especially good at getting mold and crud out of the system. Rinse well afterwards.

Any place that sells beer by the keg, especially if they cater to home tappers, should be able to get it for you. Also bar supply places, if they will sell retail.

There is always the possibility that a cleaner that strong might etch glass or crystal. I wouldn't let it sit for too long, and, if possible, (as the ads say) test it in an inconspicuous place first - like a decanter you were planning to toss anyway. If you try this, you are probably breaking new ground; let us know if it works, or if it causes problems.

[Andy Velebil]

I've never considered it for decanters, but there is one more cleaner to consider: coil cleaner. It is designed to clean the "picnic pumps" used for dispensing beer where you don't have the keg refrigerated. The beer is fed through an extremely long, thin, metal tube, packed in ice, before coming out the tap. There is no way you could ever get any kind of brush through the tube, so the cleaner is intended to clean the tube just by being pumped through it. I used to keep beer on tap at home, and if you let the system sit between kegs for a while, it really got nasty. Coil cleaner cleaned it out every time. It's especially good at getting mold and crud out of the system. Rinse well afterwards.

Any place that sells beer by the keg, especially if they cater to home tappers, should be able to get it for you. Also bar supply places, if they will sell retail.

There is always the possibility that a cleaner that strong might etch glass or crystal. I wouldn't let it sit for too long, and, if possible, (as the ads say) test it in an inconspicuous place first - like a decanter you were planning to toss anyway. If you try this, you are probably breaking new ground; let us know if it works, or if it causes problems.

Never thought about this before, but I suppose it would work well. So long as you rinsed it real well after....and didn't let it sit too long.

[David OConnor]

Hi! A new member but while browsing saw this thread and wanted to comment. Especially as I saw references to steel balls etc. A number of years ago I had a problem with deposits on the bottom of a Waterford decanter. It was a wedding present and Waterford is fairly pricy so I actually called Waterford in Ireland and asked for advice. They said not to use a brush with steel wire or anything steel as it can scratch crystal. The Waterford people suggested putting a cup full of lead shot into the decanter, gently agitate it and then empty the shot into a strainer for reuse. I proceeded to my local gunshop and bought a bag of medium sized shot in a canvas bag. It did a fine job of cleaning the decanter. I still have decanter and bag of shot is under the kitchen sink.
CAVEAT! at least for those from the US. Lead shot is now illegal in the US for waterfowl hunting and a lot of the shot sold is steel shot which would defeat the purpose. It is my understanding that lead shot is still available in most states for target use. Most gun shops sell shot for those who reload shotshells.

Hope this is helpful to someone.

[Peter W. Meek]

Re: steel balls for cleaning

I think highly polished steels balls wouldn't scratch much, but I withdraw my suggestion for using tiny stainless hex-nuts. They have corners (rounded, but still corners) which might scratch. The balls are smooth enough that I doubt they could cause damage unless you really shook the decanter hard with the balls, but no liquid to cushion the impact. (Even so, it wouldn't be scratches, but microscopic spalling at the points of impact, a tiny version of a windshield star caused by a flying stone.)

There is one point to consider, sometimes what looks like a crusty deposit is actually etching caused by exposure to an alkaline environment (strong dishwasher detergent is one). If the decanter has been etched, I don't think there is any practical repair. I suppose you could polish with a series of abrasives, ending with something so fine that it returns the original finish. My guess is that the cost of doing this would exceed the value of anything that any of us own. (It would also destroy the antique (original surface) value of an older, unique item.)

[Roy Hersh]

This was a fun read.

I have used white vinegar and that tends to work really well, except when the "crust" is either lime scale deposit or long term sediment build up. I know quite a few people who use denture cleaning tablets and swear by them, but I must say ... I don't use 'em. What I have had great success with, is pure Clorox bleach in a water solution (hot water) left overnight in the decanter. This works best for me. Typically though, I just toss them into the dishwasher OR just rinse really well with hot water. But the addition of bleach makes em shine and no worries about scratching the lead from the crystal decanters.

[Moses Botbol]

WineEnthusiast.com (no connection) sells a little jar of stainless steel balls which you dump into the decanter and shake around (with what ever soap/cleanser you like) to provide impact and abrasion.

The same thing can be done with dry rice instead of the stainless steel balls. Same principle, but toss the rice out when done. 1/3 cup should be fine.