Customer Reviews

Riedel Bottle Cleaner Beads 1.75-Inch, Black Container with Lid

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The product description says the beads are small, but they're truly tiny -- the entire set of beads, in the case, will fit inside your espresso cup. I was skeptical that they would succeed in removing an iced tea stain from a recycled green glass bottle.

But, as other reviewers say, the beads were up to the task, solving the problem with 5 minutes of on- and off- swirling. I'm very impressed. Unfortunately, I lost probably 5 of the beads in the first use, since they're prone to bouncing and too small to catch. This is a great tool, if you can keep track of the set.

Got this to clean a REALLY old crystal wine decanter. At first they did not work. I added some white vinegar to the water and the beads and it did a really nice job getting all of the old gunk off the bottom of the decanter. Will probably work better when you use them from the start.

I had hoped that these beads would solve my problem with a badly stained decanter. After several washings, the stain was 75% removed. Perhaps if I had started using the beads earlier before the stain set I would have been more successful. The Amazon price was about half of what other Reidel dealers wanted. The beads store easily in the plastic dish after use.

Saw this and thought, what the heck, I have an antique silver and crystal decanter that has been in the family for 100 years. My parents gave it to hubby and I for a wedding gift, but it was would never come clean on the bottom. So this came today, and I immediately unearthed said decanter to give it at "whirl" (hah) and it worked like a charm.

In 5 minutes the piece looks better than it has in 15 years and after unearthing the silver polish, looks fantastic. Now commands a place of honor in the living room.

Simple, easy, effective.

I know this seems gimmicky, but these beads really do work. Hard water stains and discoloration is removed from those areas impossible to reach. The cons would be they are a bit of a pain to work with and scatter easily if you're not careful, but once you get a system down, then no problem. I simply pour mine out of the decanter into a small strainer and then dry with a towel. The entire package is also very small and easy to store.

After much brushing, soaking, and gnashing of teeth I was able to remove a hard water deposit from the bottom of a decanter with these little beads. I found a gentle up and down shaking motion as you swirl the beads around in water to be the most conducive to getting into a satisfying groove as you clean. Shwirling, if you will. OK, sorry. Anyway, very pleasantly surprised at their cleaning abilities.

Take care with managing these little guys. As others have stated in previous reviews, the beads want to get away from you as you are dumping, rinsing, funneling, etc. After losing three down the sink and into my garbage disposer, trying (and failing) with forceps and a magnet to remove them from my garbage disposer, and then thanking God they just slipped through the little holes in my disposer and right down the drain, I advise more caution than I exercised on my first go with these.

I do plan to try rice as another reviewer suggested, by the way, and these may find their way into the re-gift pile as tiny stainless beads may just be prone to mischief with a couple of clumsy-ish adults, a toddler, carpet, occasional cleaning while under the influence of mild hangover, etc. No regrets, though.

Overall, great product!

The same task can very well be accomplished with rice. Yes, rice. Cheap, disposable, and you will never care if you lose the grains in the process. Plus, you will not have to drain, rinse and store the beads =)
Old trick.

OK so it is a tiny jar of BB's, yes ball bearings. But they will clean off the stains.

I use this mainly to clean hummingbird feeders, which even a bottle brush can't get entirely clean. These babies get to all the hard-to-reach corners and easily remove even the stubborn algae that is hard to scrub off. The challenge with this product comes after use--drying the beads (which is why this is 4-star, not 5). You have to use a mesh scoop of some sort to dry them so basically need a utensil to clean your utensil. The company could have avoided this issue by putting drain holes in the container the beads come in. Still, well worth the hassle for the thorough and easy cleaning job it does. One tip: If you drop the bead down the sink into the garbage disposal (like I did), they're magnetized, so you can sweep them all back up with a good magnet.

I purchased this with a riedel lyra decanter which has a very small opening and large bulb which would be very difficult to clean otherwise.