[DanielCoffey]

Both of our local independent dairies are going back to glass bottles for their milk so I am wanting to be prepared for cleaning and sterilizing the bottles before re-use.

The system they are using is not "rinse and return", rather it is "sterilize and refill".

I don't have a dish washer so will be hand washing the bottles (the brushes are already on the way) but I also need to have them sterilized. This causes us a problem because we are on a private waste treatment system with a stern admonition not to use bleaches or sterilizing agents. I will need to hot water sterilize them instead.

I don't have a pan tall enough to take 1 liter bottles plus the necessary trivet so I wondered if there are any useful boiling water baths that can take 1 liter bottles?

What about bottle drainage too? Are there any nice milk bottle drainers I could look at?

[Pescador]

After washing and draining, place in oven and heat to 120 C for 20 minutes.

[DanielCoffey]

Thanks for the confirmation.

I had come across a preserving website suggesting washing and rinsing then to fill once with hot water from the kettle, drain then put in the oven until dried. It is like with jam jars... it is wet heat that kills the bugs, not dry heat.

Of course the lids can't be put in the oven but they can sit in a small quantity of boiling water for a moment and then dried.

[sunshineband]

Our local dairy is the same, but they sterilise the bottles before using them again, rather than relying on out sterilisation process, as during the collection of empty bottles they are liable to become non-sterile again. We wash the bottles thoroughly in hot soapy water but the dairy sterilises them before refilling

[DanielCoffey]

I think that if we opt for the delivery service (which is extra) they collect the empties to clean to the appropriate standards but for the "get it yourself" option where you go direct to the farm and use the vending machine, we have to deal with the cleaning ourselves.

[snowdrops]

Have a look at steam sterilisers for baby bottles, electric & microwave, they electric ones are very quick, about 15 minutes max, you might pick up a 2nd hand one on eBay, Facebook market place,gumtree or a car boot, no chemicals just water