Taking care of your mason jars

[Stwood]

Ok. So looking for how others take care of your jars.
We simply wash after emptying, apply a lid (new or used) and band, and try to box them back up neatly and store somewhere, which we put them in our storeroom.

Another jar cleanup is to boil them in vinegar water to remove the white from them.
After a time it seems the minerals turn the jars white.

[Redman]

I just hand wash the jars and if there are any white spots of fat stuck inside I stuff a green non-abrasive pad in and the dish cloth on top. Twist it around a few times. I haven't had white deposits on the jars themselves that I can see, yet. I see stuff on the lids from the WB canner but it needs boiling out with vinegar water, we are supposed to have very Hard Water. I use cream of tartar in the pressure canner.

BTW we still don't have a working dish washer except for me and I don't work too well usually. Just 2 of us.

[Stwood]

We add vinegar to the water bath and canner both. Keeps the jars cleaner coming out.

[fritz_monroe]

I rinse them out and put them in the dish washer.  When they come out, they just go in the basement on a shelf.  I kept most of the boxes, so most of the time the jars go in the boxes.

[CharlesH]

We wash them out by hand then store them top-down in the pantry.

[AvenueQ]

I run them through the dishwasher when they've been emptied, then store them in a cupboard. Lids and bands get stored separately, we've had rusting issues in the past with leaving them on jars. I'm gonna wash and sterilize everything again before using them anyway, so a little dust in the interim doesn't concern me.

[David in MN]

I treat canning like brewing. I wash them and when I have a flat of jars they go into sanitizing solution. Usually this is when I brew a beer, cider, or mead. I'm going to sound crazy but it's the outsides that give me paranoia. the inside of the glass is smooth and cleans easily. It's the outside with goofy lettering and unnecessary etching that drives me nuts. So they get washed and soaked in sanitizer.

[Stwood]

Yes. Little critters can hide in the lettering. I've had spots that would not wash off. After scraping around a bit, it comes off.

[Black November]

I wash in the dishwasher, and store in the garage. I hang the bands on a horizontally strung piece of paracord with a carabiner on each side. Recently washed bands add to the left, and bands needed for next canning pulled from the right (FIFO). We also separate new and used lids. New lids for canning, used lids for vacuum sealing.

[Redman]

We also separate new and used lids. New lids for canning, used lids for vacuum sealing.

^^^^This

We also put used lid upside down with band on freshly washed jars in addition to use for vacuum sealing. Don't worry about foreign stuff getting into the jars. We keep all supplies in the house also. Too hot in the summer in the garage and too dusty, it's sort of a woodshop too.

[Stwood]

Yes, and on the lids. The used lids are usually marked with the previous contents.
I remove the magic marker markings with lacquer thinner, then just strike a black mark across the lid, thus identifying as a used lid.
Most lids that have been used, you can readily tell. Some not so much, like a lid that has been used for vacuum sealing.

I try and use used lids to put on clean jars for storage. I can't always, so then I put new lids on. And I leave the band a little loose.

And band pressure. I've had new jars come in that the band was way to tight, and had the seal on the lid compressed. So I always ck new jars when I get them.

[Redman]

Yes, and on the lids. The used lids are usually marked with the previous contents.
I remove the magic marker markings with lacquer thinner, then just strike a black mark across the lid, thus identifying as a used lid.
Most lids that have been used, you can readily tell. Some not so much, like a lid that has been used for vacuum sealing.

I try and use used lids to put on clean jars for storage. I can't always, so then I put new lids on. And I leave the band a little loose.

And band pressure. I've had new jars come in that the band was way to tight, and had the seal on the lid compressed. So I always ck new jars when I get them.

Fingernail polish remover (denatured acetone) will take off permanent marker. $1 bottle, lasts forever. I put new lids that show a little indentation from a tight lid in simmering water before using. Actually all lids new from jar or box I do that. Indentations come out.