My Bottle Cleaning Nightmare

So I got tired of washing bottles by hand every damn day. My kitchen sink looked like a recycling center explosion 24/7. Decided I needed a machine but nearly choked when I saw prices - some fancy ones cost like a month's rent!

Here's how my hunt went down:

• First I hit Craigslist searching for "used bottle cleaner." Found nasty machines covered in mystery gunk or broken belts - total junk.
• Went to restaurant supply stores next. Those stainless steel beasts cleaned great but cost more than my fridge. No way.

The Dollar Store Solution

Got desperate and wandered into Dollar Tree for sponges when I spotted those plastic tubs with spinning brushes inside. You know - the kind for washing veggies? Thought "What the hell, it's three bucks."

My Frankenstein setup:

• Took the scrubber part out of the plastic housing
• Duct-taped it to a plastic storage bin I already had
• Plugged it into a $5 timer from Walmart

Poured hot water and soap in, dropped bottles in upside-down, hit the switch. Watched it churn like a tiny tornado! Left it running while making coffee.

Surprise Win?

Came back 20 minutes later expecting a mess but... bottles were spotless. Even the cruddy milk residue ones! Been using this ghetto rig two months now. Only issue? Sometimes cheap motors burn out - bought three extra scrubbers as backups.

Total cost: $12 for the scrubbers plus tape. Beats that $800 monster I almost financed!