Since I did my last bottle post I have had several questions that were posted or emailed to me. I thought I would answer them in one post. I hope that is okay. If I haven't covered everything please comment or email me.
First - Where do I find them? You don't have to have a river to find them. Most towns and farms have old dump sites. They are going to be away from the town or farm. Usually in an area that is wooded or near woods. This land can't be used the same way farm land or built on like town land. Sometime you can stop at farms and ask where their old dump site is and can you dig there. I often trade photographs I take of the farms for the afternoon of digging. In desert areas they usually dumped the trash far enough not to bring in animals but far enough not to stink to much. Some times asking questions when you see or find bottles will lead you to dump sites.
Second - Once you have them how to clean them? First remove as much surface dirt as you can with a hose. I often just dump them in a large plastic bucket with some Dawn dish soap and let them soak for a day or two. Then rinse, and re soak. Sometimes there are some pretty disgusting things in them so wear heavy duty rubber gloves when you are cleaning them. Next I use a wire brush to clean the inside. If the mouth and neck are small I use a baby bottle brush. If this does not work then rice is cheap and works well.
I use plain old white rice uncooked. Pour into bottle and add a small amount of water, then shake. The agitation usually gets most of the crud out. Dispose of the rice in the garbage. Rice can make birds sick so you do not want to leave this outside. Certain stains and stuff do well with just white vinegar. Just add some vinegar and soak, then shake. When the bottle is looking good I throw them in my dish washer and wash them. Be careful when taking them out, the glass gets hot. Fill the bottles with a small amount of water, add flowers and enjoy.
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