Decanter Cleaner Steel Beads

I purchased these to help with some glass vases that have small necks and big bottoms. QUALITY: Yes absolutely! They come in this black little tub with a screw top, the balls are very small and yes easy to spill if your not paying attention. Each one has a little bit of a weight to it, so keep that in mind. USE: I put a bit of water and vinegar into the vase first, then roll them slowly down the neck so that they don't just drop plunk to the bottom of the glassware. Be mindful that your using metal inside of glass, so go easy. The water vinegar combo keeps the balls swirling in motion without jumping around side to side. Just slowly build up a good swirl motion to get the beads started and your doing great! Once I have a good swirl going I will tilt the vase a bit so the balls climb higher without ever slamming into the side of the glass. I havn't broken anything yet! WHATS IT FOR: Well I have cleared rust stains off glass, and hard water stains. Soap buildup and flower food residue. HINTS: Yes buy one of those mesh strainers Winco MS3A-8D Strainer with Double Fine Mesh, 8-Inch Diameter Like this one so that you can slowly pour the balls back out of your glassware and not risk losing any. Rinse with some water and then I paper-towel dry them and put them away. I had a spill once before I bought a strainer, so it is a good investment. -----> It is a good buy for those glass items that refuse to come clean or are hard to reach into. <-----

These little things are amazing, but you definitely need to be very careful how you handle them. They're tiny, they bounce, and they can quickly disappear in the kitchen. How it works? I half-filled the bottle with water, inserted a funnel, and poured the beads into the bottle. My funnel was apparently too narrow, so I had to shake it to get the beads to drop (next time, I'll use a rolled piece of paper). Unfortunately, I lost my first bead... shook too hard; those little things can bounce! After capping the bottle, I proceeded to gently swish the beads around. It was fascinating to see the little beads roll back and forth over the crud inside. When I turned the bottle to work on a different section, there was a definite, clean area! A few minutes later, I poured out the water and beads over the sink, and into a small hand strainer (NOT a colander). I would suggest that you plug your sink - just in case. Rinsed the beads, then carefully poured the beads onto a hand towel. You just pat the beads dry with the towel and then carefully scoop them back into the black container. I keep a small paper towel wad inside the container to absorb any excess water. Now turn your attention back to the bottle... Voila! Cleaned bottle! No more scummy lines!

My antique crystal decanters from both sides of the family have ancient stains, not color from red wine, but cloudiness at the bottom from mineral deposits from the water in which they were washed over the years and most likely put away still damp inside. For best use, and to maintain control of the small beads, have ready: a small mesh strainer, a plastic kitchen funnel with a medium-sized opening, a 2-cup plastic measuring cup, paper towels, a small deep dish, like a small plastic mixing bowl. Before starting, just to be safe, put a small bit of warm water or white vinegar in the bottom of the decanter (this will keep the steel beads from bouncing against the crystal, possibly cracking the glass as others have reported, when funneling the beads into the decanter). The product comes with a pull out lid once you've unscrewed the cap. Gently pull off the lid. Put the mesh strainer over the measuring cup and gently pour the beads from the container into the strainer. Put the funnel in the neck of your decanter, and gently pour the beads from the strainer into the decanter. Fill the decanter about half way (per the included instructions; I used a 50-50 water/vinegar solution) but others have reported warm water alone worked for them. For two minutes, vigorously swish the beads (this does seem like it is taking forever). Place the strainer over the measuring cup, and pour the water/vinegar mixture with the beads from the decanter back into the measuring cup. Rinse the decanter well in warm water and stand up at a high angle in a drain board or use a decanter drying stand. Best to let the decanter sit this way overnight, as putting the stopper back in prematurely will cause condensation on the inside, thus creating mineral deposits again. I was surprised to see that the wells of my decanters cleaned up really beautifully --- I had not stopped to think that there had to be some slight mineral residue from washing that occurs not just on the bottom, which takes most of the abuse, but along the entire inside of the decanter. Unfortunately, the mineral deposit stains on the bottoms of my antique decanters are just too old to remove completely, but I did achieve about a 60% clean up on the bottom. With the beads in the strainer, gently rinse under hot water. Pat as much water as possible with a paper towel while the beads are still in the strainer. Then use the funnel to transfer the beads into the small deep dish. Dry the beads more thoroughly by hugging them in clumps with your fingers using a paper towel . Let the beads sit out (out of reach of kids or busy areas) for a few hours, then transfer back to the original container. The procedure may seem a bit onerous, but using the funnel/strainer approach alleviates the problem of beads bouncing around and down the sink. :)

I'd never seen anything these before. Given the reputation of Riedel, the likelihood of this product working was high. In the end, this is a surprisingly effective way to clean hard to reach glassware & crystal. As a person with large hands, this is especially beneficial for me. So for small necked carafes, decanters, IPA glasses, etc. this is very helpful. Given the cost @ ~10$, your risk is low. I highly recommend these! I would definitely buy them again. Footnote: Get a SS sink drain screen that prevents these balls from going down your drain. Use this screen primarily to prevent getting one in your disposal. Additionally, these screens will be useful to clean, rinse, & dry the balls. I normally use my screen to make my cold brew. It filters out most coffee grinds as I rinse out my cold brew equipment. That is, helps minimize coffee grinds from going into my plumbing. It does the same for my Riedel SS cleaning balls.

So, you are paying quite a bit for a tablespoon of small ball bearings in a plastic cup. The plastic cup is smaller than it looks - just about 1.5" in diameter. However, they do work well for cleaning out decanters and bottles. Since they operate by "swirling" around it is easy to get the sides and bottom edges of the vessel nice and clean - though the flat surface on the bottom can be more challenging. I haven't tried decanter brushes, but find this is an easy way to clean out stains and mold from bottles that would otherwise be very hard to get at.

Used these on a particularly stubborn stain in a wine decanter and frankly got tired of swirling with no real progress. They may work better for less challenging stains, but not in my case. However, when I combined them with a decanter cleaning brush, using them as the abrasive for the brush, then I got good results. I will use that method again in the future, but as a stand alone cleaning item, I really wasn't that impressed.

Works as advertised

Did not work for me. Decanter still has residue after use. Beads are a pain to use. Have to take care when emptying the bottle so that they don't bounce all over the place and get lost and then they take forever to dry before you can put them away. Use dry rice as others have also suggested. Better in every way.

pUÑADO DE BOLITAS DE ACERO INOXIDABLE (DE VERDAD, NO SE OXIDA) Y las ehas en el fondo de una botella, un florero, lo que quieras limpiar que sea profundo, yo lo sueo echar con un embudio para no perder las bolitas. Yo lo tengo desde hace mas de 10 años y no habia vuelto a verlo, asi que lo cuidaba como oro en paño. Echas una gota de jabon u un poco de agua y agitas, limpia TODO. Despues los saco a un colador para no perder las bolitas, las acklaro y espero que sequen para guardarlas. La botella se aclara y queda como los chorros del oro. Es una tonteria de cosa, pero maravillosa.

Me gustó mucho el producto.

If you own any Riedel decanters (or any other brands for that matter) you must buy these cleaning beads. Unfortunately I did not purchase them until I had owned my decanter for over a year and although I always soak and wash it out after use by hand, It has stained with the tannings from the wine. These beads have managed to remove most of the build up, however I am certain had I always used them to clean the decanter it would be as new now

洗剤とスポンジで洗っている時には落ちにくかった赤ワインの色が違いが分かるくらい落ちました。