Sterilizing Glass Jars

Hi All,
I’m about to do my first harvest, hopefully at the weekend, I’ve purchased some small glass jars which I intend to give as gifts to our friends. I’ve washed them out and rinsed with boiling water is that sufficient or do they need sterilising with something like “Miltons” before I fill with the honey ? Cheers Dave.

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I give mine a soaking for about a minute in boiling water then leave them to air dry. It has worked for me for many years and no deaths reported, yet… :wink:
Cheers

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Hi @jojo20.
I wouldn’t bother with attempts to make jars sterile. It is possible to sterilise equipment at home, but practically impossible to keep it sterile for more than few seconds if any manipulation in open air is required. I used to work in biotech lab and even there it wasn’t easy task despite of autoclaves, biosafety cabinets, harsh chemicals and work over open flame.
Just give them a good wash. Any soap or dishwashing detergent is a powerful disinfectant. Put jars up side down on a clean towel for drying to minimise dust and spores falling into them. Honey itself is uncomfortable environment for microorganisms to grow in it. Yes, there is always a small risk to have a food poisoning but only way to prevent it is to stop eating. I mean at all :slight_smile:

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@ABB makes a good point. We get all our jars directly from Cospak, they are packed and sealed directly from the factory, and I have to say they are filthy… they look clean but have a greasy film and an odd smell. They go into the dishwasher for a glass cycle with nothing else but the jars. They come out and turned upside down on clean tea towels that have been sun dried and then go into sealed containers in lots of 22 jars, they are then placed back in the sun for an hour or two which sterilises them with UV light (just in case) , same goes for the lids. I am not saying you need to go to this length but having the jars air dried in a sealed container in the sun after washing will do the trick AND don’t forget the lids, if mould is to grow it will start in the lids. Milton will leave a chlorine smell and taint your honey so don’t go there… :mask:

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I am with @Rodderick. I run all of my jars through the dishwasher. The lids get washed by hand with normal dishwashing liquid, and then rinsed and simmered in barely boiling water for 5 minutes.

I don’t want to eat industrial oils or coronavirus. I don’t see why people who trust my honey should do that either! :blush:

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Thanks guys for all your help, all bottles cleaned and ready to fill from the very first harvest this weekend. :crossed_fingers:
Cheers Dave.

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