Introduction: How to Clean Small Jars
Don't you love small glass spice jars? They are refillable and you can see what is inside. They are a PAIN to clean though! Let me show you an easy, quick way to get them tidied up!
Step 1: What You Need
You most likely have everything you need already in your kitchen!
You need:
A small dirty jar that needs to be cleaned
Warm tap water (not pictured)
Plain rice
Liquid dish soap
This technique is also fantastic for cleaning bud vases or salad dressing cruets as well.
If you do not have plain rice on hand, coarse salt or quinoa may work. I have not tried them for this purpose but they seem small enough and should be abrasive enough to do the trick.
You need:
A small dirty jar that needs to be cleaned
Warm tap water (not pictured)
Plain rice
Liquid dish soap
This technique is also fantastic for cleaning bud vases or salad dressing cruets as well.
If you do not have plain rice on hand, coarse salt or quinoa may work. I have not tried them for this purpose but they seem small enough and should be abrasive enough to do the trick.
Step 2: First Pass
First, add a small amount of water to your jar or other dirty container. Cold water works, but I find warm water works faster.
Then, add a pinch of rice and a small drop of your dish washing liquid. If your dish soap is a concentrated variety, use a very scant drop!
Now, shake that jar! Try to shake it in different directions to get the rice and water into any funny corners.
Then, add a pinch of rice and a small drop of your dish washing liquid. If your dish soap is a concentrated variety, use a very scant drop!
Now, shake that jar! Try to shake it in different directions to get the rice and water into any funny corners.
Step 3: Second Pass
Now that you have given your jar a good shake, quickly dump the water in the sink. Some of the rice should stay in the jar and that is good.
Refill your jar roughly half full with warm water. You do not need to add any rice or soap here. Now, repeat your shaking process to break loose any stubborn gunk in the corners.
If at this point your container is not quite as clean as you need it, you can certainly dump out the water and re-start the first pass. In my experience that is rarely needed though.
Refill your jar roughly half full with warm water. You do not need to add any rice or soap here. Now, repeat your shaking process to break loose any stubborn gunk in the corners.
If at this point your container is not quite as clean as you need it, you can certainly dump out the water and re-start the first pass. In my experience that is rarely needed though.
Step 4: Ta-Da!
Give your shaken-out jar a nice rinse in warm water and voilà! A clean jar in just a few minutes!