I decanted a bottle of Fonseca Vintage Porto, thinking that I would be able
to enjoy this with guests as they came over during the holidaze. We finished
off the last of it but my decanter has a heavy layer of sediment along the
sides. It's a hand-blown port decanter that defies my getting a barman's mop
inside. Can someone suggest any other ways of cleaning the inside?

Note: I've let it soak all day with mild soap and hot water. The sediment
laughed at that attempt.

The Ranger
--
"Grits are akin to Elmer Paste with less flavor and more sand."

"The Ranger" wrote in message
...
I decanted a bottle of Fonseca Vintage Porto, thinking that I would be
able
to enjoy this with guests as they came over during the holidaze. We
finished
off the last of it but my decanter has a heavy layer of sediment along the
sides. It's a hand-blown port decanter that defies my getting a barman's
mop
inside. Can someone suggest any other ways of cleaning the inside?

A quick rinse with bleach diluted with warm water should remove it in
seconds. Rinse thoroughly afterwards. You don't want _any_ bleach residue
in your decanter to ruin the next wine you put in it.

Tom S

I have seen brass ball bearings smaller than BBs which were sold at an
abominable price for swishing around the inside of a decanter to clean it.
I would think small ball bearings would do the same job, and cheaper.
--
Reka

I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

"The Ranger" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
I decanted a bottle of Fonseca Vintage Porto, thinking that I would be
able
to enjoy this with guests as they came over during the holidaze. We
finished
off the last of it but my decanter has a heavy layer of sediment along the
sides. It's a hand-blown port decanter that defies my getting a barman's
mop
inside. Can someone suggest any other ways of cleaning the inside?

Note: I've let it soak all day with mild soap and hot water. The sediment
laughed at that attempt.

The Ranger
--
"Grits are akin to Elmer Paste with less flavor and more sand."




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I would suggest that you use a tablet for denture cleaning. You can buy a
box at a US drugstore for about $2, and they work for me every time.

Mike Hagley
"The Ranger" wrote in message
...
I decanted a bottle of Fonseca Vintage Porto, thinking that I would be
able
to enjoy this with guests as they came over during the holidaze. We
finished
off the last of it but my decanter has a heavy layer of sediment along the
sides. It's a hand-blown port decanter that defies my getting a barman's
mop
inside. Can someone suggest any other ways of cleaning the inside?

Note: I've let it soak all day with mild soap and hot water. The sediment
laughed at that attempt.

The Ranger
--
"Grits are akin to Elmer Paste with less flavor and more sand."

I've always used 1/4 cup of rice, and then added a water/ vinegar
mixture. The rice acts like little scrubbers.
--
Bear Graves
"Unlike the other Vikings, he did not throw babies into the air and
catch them on the end of his spear. For this reason, he was known as
"Child Friend".
-Landnamabok: Icelandic Saga

My general understanding is that crystal should never be allowed to have
wine rest for a long period of time. Crystal is not a smooth surface, and
your bound to get stains. This has happened to my Riedel Sommelier series
glasses (well at least one or two) after I left some heavy reds overnight.

The torture of using a cleansing product is that it is likely to embed in
the crystal the same way the wine has embedded. The best suggestion I read
might be the rice and vinegar. Personally, I would pick a $2 wine and rinse
the decanter several times to get out any notion of a cleansing product.

My number one decanter issue is drying . Still haven't done my better than
hanging upside down and letting nature dry it out.

good luck cleaning.
"The Ranger" wrote in message
...
I decanted a bottle of Fonseca Vintage Porto, thinking that I would be
able
to enjoy this with guests as they came over during the holidaze. We
finished
off the last of it but my decanter has a heavy layer of sediment along the
sides. It's a hand-blown port decanter that defies my getting a barman's
mop
inside. Can someone suggest any other ways of cleaning the inside?

Note: I've let it soak all day with mild soap and hot water. The sediment
laughed at that attempt.

The Ranger
--
"Grits are akin to Elmer Paste with less flavor and more sand."

We use denture tablets that contain bicarbonate. Dont use that tablets that
contain whitening agents as they contain bleach. Fill the decanter with warm
but not hot water then leave a denture tablet overnight soaking, and by the
morning you will be left with a nice clean decanter. Rinse thoroughly with
warm water to remove any residue and leave to dry upside down.

grazza

Tom S wrote in message
. com...
=== Port stain in Decanter ===
A quick rinse with bleach diluted with warm water should
remove it in seconds. Rinse thoroughly afterwards. You
don't want _any_ bleach residue in your decanter to ruin
the next wine you put in it.

I'd first thought of using bleach (a tsp.) and letting it set for 30-60
minutes, then rinsing it "forever." I'm just not convinced that I'd be able
to remove the bleach with enough certainty. [shrug Over-paranoia, I know.]

The Ranger

Hagley suggested in message
...
Suggestions for removing port stain from port decanter?
I would suggest that you use a tablet for denture cleaning.

blink

I'd've never thought to use this product; thanks!

The Ranger

Da' Bear wrote in message
...
I've always used 1/4 cup of rice, and then added a water/ vinegar
mixture. The rice acts like little scrubbers.

Thanks! My uncle, the barman, clicked his tongue when I asked for his advice
and suggested those items.

The Ranger

"The Ranger" wrote in
:

Da' Bear wrote in message
...
I've always used 1/4 cup of rice, and then added a water/ vinegar
mixture. The rice acts like little scrubbers.

Thanks! My uncle, the barman, clicked his tongue when I asked for his
advice and suggested those items.

The Ranger





baking soda in solution will act as a mild bleach as well, and leaves no
nasty residue.

Jason Massey wrote in message
...
My general understanding is that crystal should never be allowed
to have wine rest for a long period of time. Crystal is not a smooth
surface, and your bound to get stains. This has happened to my
Riedel Sommelier series glasses (well at least one or two) after I left
some heavy reds overnight.

I don't think it's crystal, at least not the fancy leaded crystal that I've
seen advertised.

I think I'll try the rice/vinegar first and if that doesn't work, I'll move
on to the denture cleaner.

Many thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts and experiences.

The Ranger

Several of the methods suggested will work for at least some stains.
More severe stains that produce etching probably can be completely
removed only by polishing the glass on the inside using shot and very
fine grinding and polishing compounds and a machne that rotates the
decanter for a long time. Unless you polish rocks as a hobby, this is
something for a professional, and would be worthwhile only for a very
expensive item.

In the US, there is a commercial product called CLR that often will
remove many calcum-lime-rust types of stains(hence the name). It can
clean up coffee pots that can become very stained. It is widely
available in some home improvement stores and supermarkets. Be sure to
read the instructions carefully. It contains glycolic,sulfamic, and
citric acids as well as surfactants. If it works, it works fairly fast
and long contact is not suggested for most surfaces. I have used it on
coffee pots and a rust stain on a bath tub, but not on a decanter yet.
This might be a good last resort if milder cleaning methods fail and you
can not justify the expense of professional polishing.

My mailbox is always full to avoid spam. To contact me, erase
from my email address. Then add . I do not
check this box every day, so post if you need a quick response.

The Ranger wrote:

I'd first thought of using bleach (a tsp.) and letting it set for 30-60
minutes, then rinsing it "forever." I'm just not convinced that I'd be able
to remove the bleach with enough certainty. [shrug Over-paranoia, I know.]

Not really paranoia at all. The chlorine smell is *very* hard to totally
remove. However, if you've got access to winemaking supplies, you can rinse
with a solution of sodium metabisulfite, which will quench the bleach and
eliminate all traces of it. Having said that, I'd still be wary of using
bleach and opt instead for peroxide solution, again rinsing first with
metabisfulite and then with distilled water.

Mark Lipton
Paranoiac chemophobe -- not!

Cwdjrx _ wrote:

In the US, there is a commercial product called CLR that often will
remove many calcum-lime-rust types of stains(hence the name). It can
clean up coffee pots that can become very stained. It is widely
available in some home improvement stores and supermarkets. Be sure to
read the instructions carefully. It contains glycolic,sulfamic, and
citric acids as well as surfactants. If it works, it works fairly fast
and long contact is not suggested for most surfaces. I have used it on
coffee pots and a rust stain on a bath tub, but not on a decanter yet.
This might be a good last resort if milder cleaning methods fail and you
can not justify the expense of professional polishing.

IIRC, you've quite knowledgable about chemistry, so forgive me if I state
the obvious: the CLR is designed to remove inorganic salts through
chelation and probably won't do much on the presumably organic residue left
in a decanter. The surfactants might possibly help loosen the deposits,
but then so too would alcohol or soap.

Mark Lipton