schrodingers_hat - 21-6-2014 at 09:54
What ways do you experts have in mind to chemically clean tarry and other unwanted byproducts from glassware (by chemically, I mean no scrubbing or
physical removal of the substance)
Do you just barrage it with strong acids or bases and polar and non polar substances until something does the trick, or is there a more methodical
formula?
leu - 21-6-2014 at 09:59
Using:
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/search.php?fid=2
would have found:
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=7277&a...
as well as many other threads concerning cleaning glassware 
The end results
from the effort applied 
arkoma - 21-6-2014 at 10:02
cleaning a round bottom flask through a 24mm neck is a pain in the arse no matter HOW you slice it.
mnick12 - 21-6-2014 at 10:14
Potassium hydroxide in ethanol is an excellent way to dissolve organic residue. Let it soak for one or two days, but just be careful because it will
slowly etch the glass.
hissingnoise - 21-6-2014 at 10:23
I'd have thought hot toluene would do the trick?
schrodingers_hat - 21-6-2014 at 10:42
Thanks for all the suggestions!
plante1999 - 21-6-2014 at 10:49
I really like boilling hot chromosulphuric acid to clean stained glass. It brings it like new.
This Just In
arkoma - 21-6-2014 at 11:39
Was distilling Juniper berries this morning---lots of splooge in my flask. Used a phosphoric acid bathroom cleaner with a few drops of dawn dish soap
added--Voila--clean glass.
Texium - 21-6-2014 at 19:37
I have a nice curvy flask cleaning brush that works very well for cleaning both round-bottom and Erlenmeyer flasks. It's really flexible, so it'll go
into the flask easily and will conform to the shape of the sides to get all surfaces. Here's where I got it:
http://www.cynmar.com/ProductDetail/12030242_Bristle-Flask-B...
They have a few different sizes
Also, arkoma, what were you doing with the juniper berries? I have a ton of juniper trees around my house, and if there's anything
cool that can be made with them I'd be very interested in doing that.
[Edited on 6-22-2014 by zts16]
hyfalcon - 22-6-2014 at 00:20
Look up Gin additive.