Once you bring your finds home they will need a good clean ready for displaying. Always clean bottles individually, you don't want to break them after all that hard work probably digging them! A solution of washing soda in warm water is a good start. Clean off the ash and mud using one of those plastic scourers (never use the 'Brillo' types they will damage your prize finds).

Cleaning the internal dirt from bottles can be achieved using bottle brushes obtained from your local chemist or hardware store. Any stubborn stains will require a good soak in the solution over-night.

One trick to remove internal stains is to half fill the bottle with water and add grit and coarse sand, then shake vigorously (probably best done outside).

Acids can be used to remove 'sickness' and rust stains. The use of these is probably best left to the expert cleaner. Check them out on the internet or drop me an email.