Cleaning plastic bottles.

I was just given a number of Datatainer plastic 1 liter bottles that had contained various darkroom chemicals. Knowing that it is "not a good thing" to mix and match your containers is there a way I can properly clean these items for reuse? Specifically for my kodak fix.

Thanks,
Mike

Are the containers marked to indicate what has been stored in them? The major concern is that you don't want to put fix in containers that used to hold developer, and vice versa. Putting new fix in a container that used to hold fix shouldn't be a major problem.

As to cleaning them - hot water is always the place to start. I would probably let them soak for a few days, changing water periodically, and being sure to shake things up a bit each time to make sure that the insides are thoroughly rinsed out.

If in doubt, throw them out. Did you realize that those containers are identical (except for the labeling) to the bottles in which drugstore hydrogen peroxide is sold? The peroxide + bottle is a lot cheaper than the bottle alone as sold through photo suppliers. They are made polyethelene and aren't so good for storing chemicals.

Recycled soda pop bottles are a much better alternative and are essentially free. Don't worry about them not being brown. All you really need to do is keep the bottles away from direct sunlight. Developers are not terribly light sensitive anyway. Make up your own labels, or just write on them with a permanent marker if you want to use them. They may not look too sophisticated, but they work like a charm.