[grandma]

I think the title says it, but ...I don't drink cola very often (maybe if I am at a restaurant, occassionally) but I've seen and heard that many people are storing smaller amounts of rice, beans, etc in 2-litre cola bottles. I have asked a friend who I know drinks copious amounts of Coke to save a few bottles for me. (don't want to ask for too many at one time and have to deal with questions).

I have one bottle that I put in the dishwasher last night. My dilemma is that it isn't completely dry inside. How do you guys who use them dry them completely? I did put a few grains of rice inside to see if they'll absorb the excess moisture...

 

[snowpeasandcarrots]

My secret weapon is patience. I usually set them upside down on a dryer rack and wait.

If you're in a pinch for time, you can put a rubber band around the base of the bottle and clip it (upside down) to the clothes line.

 

[dch]

i'd think drip dry then a day in the airing cupboard, (that may be an english saying so, where you store your laundry that also houses the boiler or hot water pipes to keep all your bedding from picking up any damp in the air, cupboard) i'd bet at this time of year they would dry in an hour just in your kitchen once its drained, unless your boiling water.

 

[grandma]

dch, lol...no worries; I've lived in the U.K. I took it out of the dishwasher early this morning and set it on the counter...still has visible moisture inside.

snowpeasandcarrots, hanging a plastic bottle on the clothesline would bring on more questions then I am prepeard to deal with...

 

[Optimist]

Grandma, set it neck-up out in the back yard under a dark towel or rag in the sunshine. It won't take long for the sun to dry it out. An alternative, for rainy days, is to take some clean sawdust, dry it in the oven, and pour it into the bottle. Swirl it around until it has picked up all the water, then dry it in the oven again.

 

[ReadyMom]

I use a thin cloth and stuff it into the soda bottle. Then I stick a long skewer into the bottle and use that the move the cloth around to dry the inside of the bottle.

When done, I use the skewer to pull a small amount of the cloth out of the bottle. The key to getting the cloth in the bottle is pushing a little bit at a time into the bottle. The same would be for getting the cloth out. It's a small, narrow opening. So, you are going to be pushing in or pulling out a small narrow amount of cloth.

This method works very well. I use a thin, absorbent dish washcloth I have, that is clean and dry. Hope this helps! -k

 

[soo-girl]

This isn't a terribly useful suggestion now, but when the weather gets colder, you can place them upside down over your heating source, providing it doesn't get too hot. Obviously, you wouldn't be propping plastic pop bottles atop a wood stove, although a hanging rack over the stove would be great! My house is heated with hot water radiators - wonderful things for proofing bread dough, drying dish towels and mittens, keeping your dinner warm when you get distracted with the computer. LOL

 

[klickitat]

If you you really want to make sure they are dry, Use a hair drier on high heat.

 

[Texas Patriot]

My wife drinks gallons of sprite. I save the two litre bottles and store white rice in them. I wash them by hand ,shake them out,then leave the cap off the standing bottle for awhile. They droplets left evapourate. TP

 

[MikeK]

They do take a while to dry out. Set them near a window and let the sun help if you can.

 

[HeartofTexas]

Bottles for rice

I save the two litre bottles and store white rice in them.

Do you stuff an oxygen absorber in the bottle or just pack them as is?

 

[Monique]

I also just wash them and give them several days to dry. No, I don't use 02 absorber. I kept rice in a plastic 1-gal water jug and after 2 years it's just now starting to smell a bit stale, still fine when cooked.

 

[ro2935]

I wash the bottles by hand. then I turn them upside down place them on a cup for balance on a sunny windowsill for 24 hours

 

[randkl]

Turn it upside down and sling it a few times in an overhead arc to get all the excess out, and then pour a cup of table salt down into it and shake it around. Dries them out totally in about 30 secs. I use 2 liter bottles for rice, lentils, split peas etc. If there's a storm brewing, we fill a few with water for drinking and cooking. I often carry a 16oz or 20oz with rice when hiking/camping. Cheap storage.

rich

 

[Jojo]

Just set it outside on a sunny day evaporation will do the rest.

 

[ackbob]

I think that while all the answers provided are helpful the bigger concern is that I have serious questions as to your ability to survive if you can not figure this out for yourself........ sorry for seeming negative on this one

 

[grandma]

I think that while all the answers provided are helpful the bigger concern is that I have serious questions as to your ability to survive if you can not figure this out for yourself........ sorry for seeming negative on this one

lol..point taken, ackbob. I appreciate your concern about my ability to survive; maybe my post wasn't clear enough...I don't drink bottles of pop (soda for those in the U.S.) so I was wondering if there was a quicker way to dry them out, if the type of plastic used precludes drying them in many of the ways people have suggested. (I ended up putting rice inside to finish the drying process, btw).

For what it is worth, I have a pacemaker, so in the event of an EMP situation (one of the most likely ways of the *HTF, in my mind) I'll be toast anyway...

I hereby bequeath my Coke bottles full of rice and beans to ackbob...

 

[Daisy]

Grandma, thanks for bringing this up, I hadn't seen the tip about storing in bottles, great idea, and good about questioning the quickest drying method. I will be doing this next week. I have lots of bottles.

A question for anybody else who knows about this. I have lots of empty brown and green beer bottles left from a "helpful friend". I was going to use them to store water and then found that this is not a good idea, that I should use clear bottles.

Are there any problems storing rice, flour and beans in said beer bottles? (2 liter bottles)

 

[Wall*e]

I store water in them, so no need to wait for them to dry out....

I imagine a day up right in the open air would do the trick.

 

[soo-girl]

Grandma, thanks for bringing this up, I hadn't seen the tip about storing in bottles, great idea, and good about questioning the quickest drying method. I will be doing this next week. I have lots of bottles.

A question for anybody else who knows about this. I have lots of empty brown and green beer bottles left from a "helpful friend". I was going to use them to store water and then found that this is not a good idea, that I should use clear bottles.

Are there any problems storing rice, flour and beans in said beer bottles? (2 liter bottles)

I am curious as to how you would close the beer bottles. Do you have a bottle capper? Of course, the problem with re-capping the bottles is that it would make them less than handy for use in the pantry, which I think is what the majority use the plastic pop bottles for.

Also, why is it not a good idea to store water in dark bottles?