Since acquiring glass bottles to store well water in, I find that they grow algae in them about a year into use. We tried cleaning out the algae but could not get all of it out from the bottles. Not wanting to have to replace our glass bottles every year I decided to build a bottle drying rack for these empty drinking water bottles.
What the bottles look like after about a year of filling up and emptying with well water. It was hard to figure out a way to dry them out without risking them getting broken falling over.
We use milk crates bought from home depot and towels between the bottles so they do not clank together. We have been doing this for a few years now and only consume the water from the well. Only using city water to shower, for the toilets and for washing stuff.
I start off building my rack by buying a cedar 4x4, I went with cedar as it smells nice and when oiled can look really cool. Though for the moment I will just assemble and leave dry.
Using a 5/8th wood spade bit I drill my first hole. Being careful not to go all the way through the frame, as I will need meat there for my screws that will attach the feet to the base.
With the first 5/8 dowel in I test the angle and see how hard it is to work it in. Using the same size drill bit for the dowel is quite the tight fit, but this way no glue will be needed. Just a hammer when all done to knock them into the hole deep.
Measuring three inches of gap was my first try, but later I found 5-6 inches of gap worked better. Maybe even more space. The longer your dowels are the less space I find you need as they sit up more straight. Short dowels the bottles do not dry as well so finding a balance is important in spacing.
As I drill the second hole I start off more flush and then work at an extreme angle to give the dowels the angle they need to help the bottles dry out better.
With two dowels in place I test again, these end up being way too short and I cut much longer ones later on.
The smell of drilling cedar wood was quite enjoyable. The color of it compared to pine is different as well, I do not work with cedar much so it was a nice treat for drilling into. My corded power drill worked great for the job.
Measuring longer dowels I mark and then get ready to cut them. My miter saw makes quick work of these little towels.
Cutting the wooden dowels for the bottles to sit on. I was worried they would be flung after cutting like what happened with bamboo once. But luckily all the cuts went well without the cut part going flying off somewhere.
Once the base was assembled it was time to make sure it fits and looks alright. I used wood screws at an angle to hold the 2x4s together.
I attach three long screws to the 2x4 feet holding the cedar 4x4 to the base. Three and a half inch screws were used to really sink into the frame.
Since building it I have added more holes and dowels, so now I can hold 14 bottles on the rack. I do find that I need to turn them after a day or so to get any water left but overall it works great and seems to help keep our water bottles dryer. We shall see in a year if they get that green algae on the bottom again. Hopefully this solves that problem.
