# Evaporation from bottles
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
**Created:** [February 18, 2023, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020 "2023-02-18T23:37:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2023, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/1 "2023-02-18T23:37:00Z")
OH MIGHTY UNCA CECIL!
I posted this a few years back, & the question decended into quibbling, with no good, convincing answer.
So now, I submit it to you, Oh Font Of Universal Wisdom and Part-Time Yo-Yo Demonstrator.
To whit: **If I am washing out a glass bottle or narrow-mouthed jar, what is the best way to dry it?**
Upside down, for the water to trickle out?
Or, right side up, and let evaporation work?
Towels just leave traces of moisture.
Which way does it dry the fastest?
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### Author:  [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2023, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/2 "2023-02-19T00:27:14Z")
This is very good.
This is a first world question that merits a precise answer.
As a corollary;
Which method is the fastest to dry shirts on a clothes line?
The collar (and sleeves) at the top or collar hanging at the bottom?
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2023, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/3 "2023-02-19T00:31:33Z")
Clearly upside down if there is an appreciable amount of water that could drain out instead of that water sitting at the bottom when it’s right side up. Things dry faster when you remove the bulk of the water, after that is when evaporation begins to matter.
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### Author:  [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2023, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/4 "2023-02-19T00:43:24Z")
It would seem that upside down on a table would be not as good for evaporation, because the opening would be blocked.
So, it might be the best of both methods to place it upside down, but either
- On a non-solid surface like a dish rack; or
- On a spindle or some such.
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### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2023, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/5 "2023-02-19T00:57:54Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#):
>
> So, it might be the best of both methods to place it upside down, but either
>
> - On a non-solid surface like a dish rack; or
> - On a spindle or some such.
You don’t really get the best of both worlds. Evaporation is going to work better with the hole at the top, because moist air is less dense than dry air.
I would think @TriPolar’s strategy is best - invert for a few minutes until any substantial bulk of water has drained out, then turn it right-way-up for evaporation to take care of the rest.
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### Author:  [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2023, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/6 "2023-02-19T15:45:02Z")
FWIW, for my French press coffee pot, when I leave it to dry overnight in a dish rack upside down, there is sometimes a drop or two of water on the bottom, unless angled where the drops are more likely to run to and down the side. When emptied and put rightside up on the counter, it’s dry by morning, so I’ll go with evaporation.
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2023, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/7 "2023-02-19T16:50:29Z")
My wife dries everything right-side up. I see them drying that way and flip them over.
Not because of speed, but due to the hard-water residue that results if any significant amount of water evaporates…
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### Author:  [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/8 "2023-02-19T17:40:25Z")
I’m in a hard water area, if I tried the evaporation method you’d see white marks where the droplets had sat.
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### Author:  [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2023, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/9 "2023-02-20T01:12:23Z")
If I need to dry out something quick I invert it over the cold air return duct on my heater/AC. The little water left drips down and evaporates and the turbulence in the air flow dries out said something.
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### Author:  [@cincinnatus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cincinnatus)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2023, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/10 "2023-02-20T01:27:08Z")
Lucky you! Coincidentally I have been researching this for the past few weeks.
My finding shows to achieve the best drying is to invert the bottle in a rack for just several minutes after washing so it can drain.
1. Then dry the outside with an appropriate cloth or towel.
C. Stand it small opening up. By morning it generally is dry inside and out. Sometimes I have noticed they were even thoroughly dry by late evening.
Whenever I left the bottles inverted, they would still be wet inside the next morning.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2023, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/11 "2023-02-20T13:30:39Z")
I dry wine bottles on a tree, upside down.
> **[Bottle Tree - 90 Bottle Drying Tree with Rotating Base](https://www.northernbrewer.com/products/bottle-tree-90?variant=7554821554220&gclid=CjwKCAiA0cyfBhBREiwAAtStHKqo-A-dzuaDuQO0BRcwn7zcxZn_-iCDHa1lW1DJNEPvoSOYaDTwthoCAs0QAvD_BwE)**
>
> Holds up to ninety bottles upside down to drain, dry, and store. Stackable sections with sturdy arms hold up to ninety bottles upside down to drain, dry, and store.
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### Author:  [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2023, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/12 "2023-02-20T14:10:26Z")
Brewers I can understand but why would one need to dry 90 wine bottles at once?
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### Author:  [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2023, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/13 "2023-02-20T14:54:26Z")
> [@Riemann](#):
>
> moist air is less dense than dry air.
This seems counterintuitive to me. Can you provide an explanation?
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2023, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/14 "2023-02-20T16:21:51Z")
> [@DesertDog](#):
>
> why would one need to dry 90 wine bottles at once?
When I make a six gallon carboy of wine, I prefer to bottle and age it. I have an [Italian floor corker](https://www.northernbrewer.com/products/italian-floor-corker-brass-jaws). One of my nephews makes a carboy of wine for parties and dispenses it directly form the carboy. Six gallons of fresh wine is too much IMO.
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### Author:  [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2023, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/15 "2023-02-20T16:24:38Z")
Ah. New wine in old bottles, then. Classic. 🙂
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/16 "2023-02-20T16:56:45Z")
Actually, even if you use brand new bottles you need to sanitize them before use.
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### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2023, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/17 "2023-02-20T17:13:26Z")
> [@Pleonast](#):
>
> This seems counterintuitive to me.
First, the same volume of any gas at a given temperature and pressure has the same number of molecules.
[Avogadro's law - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avogadro%27s_law)
So when water vapor becomes part of the gas mixture its mass is not added, it’s better to think of it as displacing a proportion of the other gases.
Atomic masses are
O=16
N=14
H=1
So water molecules (H2O=18) are significantly lighter than nitrogen (N2=28) and oxygen (O2=32) molecules.
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### Author:  [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2023, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/18 "2023-02-20T17:44:56Z")
Ah, yes, partial pressures.
So, is this important for the drying-out process? That is, is convection significant?
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### Author:  [@TemporalFix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TemporalFix)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2023, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/19 "2023-02-21T07:46:00Z")
The molecular mass of water, 18, is much less than nitrogen, 28, and oxygen, 32, the main constituents of air.
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### Author:  [@TemporalFix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TemporalFix)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2023, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evaporation-from-bottles/980020/20 "2023-02-21T11:04:26Z")
Sorry, i failed to see the earlier reply.
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