[Hobie]

I have a bunch of old lip balm tubes from last year's batch that I would like to clean up and re-use rather than toss in the landfill. Can anyone give me pointers on how to clean them? Get that last little bit out and sterilize them again?

I'm not selling commercially, so it doesn't have to be perfect.

 

[XLB]

do the lip balm tubes have the screw type thingy that you twist to push the balm up? (it may seem like a stuiped question but i've seen different looking lip balm tubes.) if so I can't really help you. :dontknow:

other than that, hot soapy water and some sly fingers always did the trick for me. :thumbsup:

 

[Hobie]

Yes, these are the twist-up kind, like your basic "Chapstick" tube.

 

[BjornBee]

What have you been doing to get a bunch of old tubes....eating it.... :lol:

Can you hit them with steam, where it will clean them without damaging the plastic?

 

[Charles]

I would think dipping them with tongs in boiling water for 30 seconds or so would melt everything (except the plastic) and sterilize.

Just a guess though ;-)

 

[Omie]

Were they used?
I'm just as much into recycling as anyone else, but...personally, I'd want to know if my lip balm tube had been rolling around on some stranger's lips a hundred times...even if it 'was' thoroughly cleaned.

 

[Iddee]

The OP sounds as if they were a year old and unused. She just wants to replace it with new stuff for her own use. At least, that's the way I read it.

 

[Omie]

The OP sounds as if they were a year old and unused. She just wants to replace it with new stuff for her own use. At least, that's the way I read it.

Yes of course, if they were unused or just for her own use then that'd be fine!

 

[Hobie]

Yes, they were used. Fortunately, my family isn't very sqeamish as long as reasonable efforts at hygiene are taken. We return last years canning jars and honey jars (glass and plastic) to the origin for "refill," too. No one has died yet.

I may try steam or hot water (double boiler). I figure if the tubes are damaged... well, I'm no worse off than before!

What have you been doing to get a bunch of old tubes....eating it.... :lol:

This is more funny than you think! And there is a lesson here: Several of the tubes were a bit soft, so I left them out overnight with caps off to get a bit more solid. I live in an old Victorian house in the country. Mice move in in the winter. Mice REALLY like lip balm. 'Nuf said!

 

[Bens-Bees]

What have you been doing to get a bunch of old tubes....eating it.... :lol:

Sounded to me like a lotta kissin' goin on... ancing:

Mice move in in the winter. Mice REALLY like lip balm. 'Nuf said!

Ok, a lot of kissin' mice! You know those things have like 12 litters a year... it's no wonder they need so much lip balm! :rolling:

 

[Hobie]

Well, for what it's worth, soaking in near-boiling water and cleaning out the remaining balm with a toothpick does work. But what a tedious pain in the *$$! I will have to think long and hard before being too cheap to buy new tubes next time.

 

[BjornBee]

I think you wouldn't need to think to long or to hard.... :thumbsup:

Next time, just ask ahead of time and I'll call you a cheapskate upfront, and save you the hassle.... :rolling:

 

[Hobie]

I've been called worse!

And besides, the word is "thrifty." !!

 

[BjornBee]

I like "frugal"....

 

[Iddee]

You're both old fashioned.... Today it's "green".

 

[Mama Beek]

Hobie has found another new, green, frugal way to be extra thrifty.....LOL. We wash ziplock baggies here as long as they haven't stored meat, so I totally get the picture

 

[Hobie]

I cleaned the tubes, washed in dilute Clorox, then cleaned again in near-boiling water, so I don't think I will pass on the plague to anyone! Maybe I'll make green labels this year.

I wash zip-locks, too! My husband thinks I'm weird, but doesn't seem to mind that we haven't bought a box in years.

I grew up in a house where we recycled everything possible and it is an irrepressable habit now. We laughed about "washing the garbage" (bottles, cans, aluminum foil, etc.)

 

[BjornBee]

Hey, I like to be green. And you can have fun too!

Showers together..... :thumbsup:

No underwear.....

Bet you can't get those pictures out of your head today..... :rolling:

 

[Charles]

Need ..... to keep ....... naked bjorn thoughts ..... from entering ...... my head

 

[Walt B]

:goodpost: :rolling: :rolling:

Walt