# Cleaning old canning jars?



## MidwestGal (Nov 5, 2010)

I scored at least 12 dozen old canning jars today from a friend. :clap: They were empty with various dried up bugs, spiders, dirt, etc. I put them in bleach water for a bit before an initial hosing down. Can I ever get them sanitary enough to reuse? How do I go about it?


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

wash them good with soap and water.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Glass isn't porous and won't retain anything from the bugs and etc. I can guarantee that is any jar sits empty in my basement, it will eventually have a dead bug in it! Treat them just like dishes, soap and water.

Martin


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## pattycake (May 16, 2010)

This makes me remember my childhood years as it was my sister and mine's responsibility to bring all jars up from the cellar and wash then in a big wash tub. After washing we would then rise them outside. My Mother took over at that point and would pour boiling water in each one to sterilize them. This was many years ago and we never once got ill from any of my Mother's canned goods.


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

Those are clean compared to one bunch of jars my sister and I were given -- full of spoiled food due to the lids rusting thru -- can you imagine how old that food was? And stink!!!!! We dug a huge hole in the middle of the garden, dumped the garbage, used 
the hose to rinse out the jars and dumped that water in the hole, then used two big tubs to wash, then rinsed in bleach water, then ran thru the dishwasher, then boiled in water bath for 10 minutes. My dh said that I was never to do that again no matter how broke we were. Spiders and cob webs no problem.


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## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

I got a bunch of those blue quart jars from someone that had been in a basement forever. I've tried to get them clean but they just don't look it. Will try vineger next.


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## Gayle in KY (May 13, 2002)

NickieL, try a Mr. Clean magic eraser. 

MidwestGal, just wash them good for now, then boil them before you fill them. Like others have said, glass isn't porous and won't retain anything (not even poison). It's really the lids you have to watch out for.


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## insocal (May 15, 2005)

NickieL said:


> I got a bunch of those blue quart jars from someone that had been in a basement forever. I've tried to get them clean but they just don't look it. Will try vineger next.


Try vinegar on a microfiber cleaning cloth.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Nickie, if you get desperate enough for chemicals, lol, I've heard CLR works wonders!


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## Tiempo (May 22, 2008)

I've heard denture soak is good for stubborn stains on glass, but I've never tried it.


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## katy (Feb 15, 2010)

Glad to see that I'm not the only one looking at the jar situation. My inherited jars;

some full and still sealed after 25 years......... yuck

some emptied but not washed, now full of dead bugs and dust.

bands and flats ............ rusted so bad there is no turning those suckers.

My plan and it's WORKING............ YEAH

Here is the neatest part, and it gets better with practice.

Needle nose pliers.......... will take them off and frequently in one piece. The band sticks up just far enough above the flat to get a tine grip on the band, then roll pliers over and down the side. It's like opening a sardine can. lol The bottom of the band is a tad thicker metal but once it breaks the whole thing will just lift off. I did 8 pint jars that way, no quarts yet. No broken jars or nicked rims either. Yeah for the compost pile.

Rinse out the stuff that will come out easily.......... then fill with hot water and touch of dish soap and let sit 1-2 hours in sink of hot water, softens the outside film also. Note to self, need bigger sink, it only holds 10 and that's pushing it.

Wash with bottle brush and scrubby pad for the rims, not spotless but on the way, drain in dish rack.

Mix 1/3 cup CLR and 1/3 cup water in a two cup measuring cup preferably or whatever fits. The idea is to only soak the jar rim for the rust.. After jars are mostly dry turn one at a time upside down in clr mixture for 10 to 15 minutes, this is for the RUST.

I used dishcloth to remove some then a serrated steak knife, scraping rust off. There will likely be some that refuses.

Next set that jar upside down in vinegar (I use white for economy), for maybe 5 minutes. If there are stains on the outside bottom, use vinegar on dishcloth or scrubby, for inside bottom pour the vinegar in and use bottle brush.

18 jars sparkling clean, you'd never guess. Jars being $1.00 ea. these days it is worth it to me.


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

FYI - a clean new round toilet brush (with plastic no metal) will fit into a jar and scrub it. Definitely do this outside as it will spray when you pull it out. I suggest wearing eye protection and keeping your mouth shut. My sister and I do come up to with some unique ideas. Maybe we're crazy but we had fun doing things like hauling home and cleaning up those filthy jars. Had even more fun working on filling them together. Sure miss her since she's moved away.


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

Yep, if washing in hot - soapy water, and vinegar fail..... CLR will do the trick.
If you have a dishwasher....let it do the work for you.... and you will get double duty( clean dishwasher) too!!
If not, WEAR GLOVES!!!
I have cleaned many this way!


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## KentuckyDreamer (Jan 20, 2012)

Funny....Instead of coming to the forum first, I decided to google "cleaning canning jars". 
First thing to appear? This thread. 
Why do I waste my time anyplace but here?


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## jlxian (Feb 14, 2005)

We once had the job of cleaning out my great aunt's basement after she died and I brought home all of her canned stuff. Much of it was VERY old and unrecognizable. We dumped it all out outside far from the house, rinsed the jars well, then brought them in and washed with soap and water. Any we wanted to re-use we sterilized with boiling water.


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

For really bad organic material you can get a product called B-Bright from a brewers supply shop. It's used for cleaning beer and wine bottles. I usually mix up a gallon or 2 then let the bottles soak for a couple hours. Rinse and you're ready to sanitize.

Just be sure and wear gloves as it will also eat your skin raw.


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## mrs whodunit (Feb 3, 2012)

We where given the contents of an old pantry. I fed the jar contents to the chickens and the proceeded to clean the jars.

Citric acid removes the build up wonderfully.


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## Classof66 (Jul 9, 2011)

Try soaking in a hot fabric softener water first. It will remove years of old dirt and dust. At least overnight. Then go ahead and rinse and scrub with soap and water and a bleach rinse. I'd rewash before canning in them too. I have tried many things and the softener works great, and I had some really bad jars. I had some old glassware in my basement, including some fake cut glass that was very dirty. The softener worked wonderful on that too. Softener will remove wallpaper also.


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## marytx (Dec 4, 2002)

KentuckyDreamer said:


> Funny....Instead of coming to the forum first, I decided to google "cleaning canning jars".
> First thing to appear? This thread.
> Why do I waste my time anyplace but here?


I one time googled a specific goat problem and the first thing that came up was a picture of my own goat, posted previously on HT.


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## Tabitha (Apr 10, 2006)

NickieL said:


> I got a bunch of those blue quart jars from someone that had been in a basement forever. I've tried to get them clean but they just don't look it. Will try vineger next.


Was just going to suggest that. Did it work?


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