How to Clean Antique Bottles

Soak it. Especially important for "dug" bottles, meaning bottles that have literally been dug out of the ground, soaking antique bottles in room temperature water will help to loosen dirt and stains. You can use a mild dishwashing liquid or even denture cleaning tablets to get the first step in cleaning complete.

Remove mineral deposits. Especially prevalent in antique flower vases, mineral deposits are that tough, scaly white deposit that is usually found in a ring around a glass container or at the bottom of a bottle. Use a household cleaner designed to remove mineral deposits to rid your glassware of this problem. Simply spray the cleaner to the area or pour a little into the bottom of a bottle and let sit. Rinse with cold water and reapply if necessary.

Remove rust stains with a careful scrubbing with a non-abrasive pad. You can also scrape the rust stains gently with a piece of copper-wool as it won't scratch the glass.

Get rid of paint drips or dried liquid stains. If a warm water soak doesn't rid your bottles of the stains you can either fill the container with paint thinner or dip it in a bucket of thinner. Close the container and leave it to soak for three to five days.

Use masonry sand. Mix masonry sand with some vinegar in your antique bottle and shake. Stains and some clouding will disappear. Keep agitating until the glass is clean but be careful not to scratch the glass.