Is Your Squeeze Bottle Grimy? Here’s How to Clean It.

What we don’t love: the sticky, grimy film that builds up on the outside of those squeeze bottles—particularly the ones that hold oil. 

Fortunately, there’s an easy way to get rid of that buildup.

Get rid of that sticky residue with this simple method.

1. Wait until your squeeze bottle is empty, then make a paste with baking soda and a little water, and rub it all over the outside of your bottle with a paper towel or rag. The sticky residue should come off in no time, thanks to the gentle abrasion that the baking soda provides. 
2. Wash the inside and outside of the bottle with hot and soapy water. 
3. Make sure to dry the bottle completely before refilling it with any oil or other condiments.

Here are some tips for success when using a squeeze bottle.

• Buy a cap. Most squeeze bottles don’t come with anything to keep dust or debris from getting in through the opening. But you can actually buy separate caps for our favorite squeeze bottles. They’re simple and inexpensive and can also help prevent spills.
• Cut the tip as needed. If you’ve ever had liquid leak out of your squeeze bottle, there are two possible problems. One: you haven’t screwed the top onto the base tightly. (Check to make sure it’s secure!) Two: you’re squeezing the bottle too hard because you want more liquid to come out faster than the hole in the tip will allow. The solution? Using scissors, simply cut the tip so that the hole is bigger. This will allow the liquid to come out more quickly through the tip, so less pressure is put on the rest of the bottle, instead of forcing it to come out through the gap between the lid and base.
• Only use squeeze bottles for condiments you use often. Oil or other ingredients that sit in your squeeze bottles for long periods without being used are more likely to go bad and to contribute to residue buildup inside. That’s because they’re exposed to more light and heat next to the stove than they would be if kept in a dark cabinet or in the refrigerator. 

It’s not just plastic squeeze bottles that get grimy. Lots of us keep our olive oil in dark glass bottles; the darkness keeps light from oxidizing the oil inside and making it go rancid. These bottles or cruets can also get gunky over time.

You can use the same baking soda paste to clean the outside of glass bottles or cruets used to hold olive oil, though you can also run the bottles and any spouts or spigots through the dishwasher in many cases, too, effectively cleaning the whole bottle.