Decanter cleaning suggestions?

OK, so I know that we all ought to wash immediately after emptying the decanter, but in the real world that does not always happen.

What do you do to get the inside of a decanter really clean? I have tried my dishwasher, but that failed at completing the job. I seem to recall something about scouring beads you could swish around. I cannot seem to find a good bottle brush for scrubbing anymore either.

What do you use? Thanks in advance.

Swirl some powdered dishwasher detergent and some water around, let sit, rinse well. Works like a charm.

This will sound a little crazy, but it works just fine. It was recommended by a local cider mill for reusable glass bottles and I did it many times to no ill effect.

A solution of diluted bleach. Works wonders. Just make sure to rinse well after application.

Efferdent.
Etches the glass clean as new, and has no residual smell/odors of any kind.
Works with glasses too.

Yep efferdent or any denture cleaner.
Soap, lemon juice and salt make a nice cleaning solution.
Dishwasher soap DOES do better than liquid dishsoap.
If it’s really bad add some physical abrasion by adding ice or even rice to the mix and swirl.

Good lord. I would never use anything other than warm water to wash out decanters and riedel stemware.

Ever.

Terrence,

As long as you rinse the stemware and decanter throughly serveral times, there is no problem using a chemical cleaner…

Grape shot has been suggested, but I’ve never tried it.

I use denture cleaner, and leave it for several days.
Not perfect, but pretty good.

As for Riedel, I leave that to rich people. I’d rather put my money into wine.

Best regards,
Alex R.

Alex, I’m one of those guys who coats and rinses his glass with the wine he’s about the drink. I have run into so many detergent smelly wine glasses (restaurants / tastings /etc.) that I have conditioned myself to do this every time.

For me, warm water is plenty, then a wine coating of the decanter and glass, and I’m set. No possible off aromas or flavors.

And really, no one is going to see the “empty” decanter! Their going to see it full of wine, so why go to all that trouble unless you have it displayed in your trophy case. A well seasoned decanter is a proud decanter! (sorry, that’s grill talk)

Try baking soda. It worked wonders with my wine glasses. Not such a marked effect on my decanter, which had been stained badly by then, but still helped to make it a little clearer.

Put some raw rice in the decanter, add some water and swirl a lot. Works pretty good. You only have to find the right amount of rice and water to be effective.

I’ve had pretty good luck with dishwasher powder and boiling water. That removes stains. It doesn’t take care of some precipitates, though. I’ve meant to try denture cleaners for that but never have. But I figured that if boiling dishwasher cleaner won’t take it off, it’s probably inert.

I have some of the Riedel beads, but they didn’t work on the tougher precipitates in an antique decanter that I suspect someone used as a vase.

One caution: Dishwasher soap will etch lead glass with time. But if you only do this occasionally (I do it once every year or two), I doubt that’s an issue.

Do you polish your stems? I often find that if people have been eating while they drink wine the hot water will not get the glass clean. Do you have a soap free sponge that you use? I have no problem using some dish soap. I am extremely thorough when rinsing it out.

oxiclean

+1- it thoroughly removes the purple tartrate film that developes after some time.

Really? If the glasses have any food residue or lipstick, water alone doesn’t really get it off for me. I add a drop of dish soap to a sponge and at least wipe the rim, then just rinse really well.

Dishwasher detergent, Oxiclean or denture cleaner, fill with hot water to the rim and let it soak. Rinse well, works great.

+1 for Efferdent. I thought I had permanent stains, but the Efferdent has made them look new again. Very easy, too.

Pardon my ignorance, but what’s the problem with putting your stemware in the dishwasher? Seems to work fine for me (admittedly none of mine is particularly fancy)

I find you need to wash glasses out with detergent and a cloth, or else you won’t get them properly clean. You then need to rinse thoroughly.

For the decanter, it’s impossible to remove the red stain without some sort of physical abrasion. I’ve found rice and a bit of water quite effective. Most often though, I just rinse with hot water and then prime the decanter with a rinse of wine before I use it next.

I use whole coffee beans with a mild detergent and warm water.