How to Clean Essential Oil Pipettes

Co-authored by Susan Stocker

Essential oil pipettes, along with their bottles, are super easy to clean and reuse. All you'll need are some items you probably have at home like salt, dish soap, and towels. With just a few minutes of time, your pipettes will be rinsed and ready to dry. Use your clean pipettes for new essential oils, skin care serums, or any other project you'd like.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Soaking Pipettes in Warm Water

1
Separate the pipette or dropper from the essential oil bottle. Unscrew the pipette from the essential oil bottle carefully. Pop off the rubber cap that comes on the glass dropper to clean the glass part of the pipette easily.^{[1]
X
Research source}
- Wash each piece of the essential oil bottle if you're going to reuse it.
- If your essential oil bottle has a plastic cap with an internal dropper, this pops off of the bottle too.
2
Fill a large bowl with warm water and place the pipettes in it. Choose a bowl that’s large enough to fit all of the pipettes and other essential oil bottle pieces inside. Pour warm or hot water into the bowl and set the pipettes down in the bowl gently.^{[2]
X
Research source}
- Place the other bottle pieces in the bowl to soak, too.
Advertisement
3
Let the pipettes sit in the water for roughly 30 minutes to release the oil. Set a timer for 30 minutes so you know when the pipettes are ready to be taken out. Swish the pipettes around in the water gently so the oil comes out more easily, if you’d like.^{[3]
X
Research source}
- You might pour this water into your essential oil diffuser once the pipettes are done soaking to use up the oily water.
4
Transfer the pipettes to a bowl full of warm, soapy water. Fill a second large bowl full of warm or hot water, but add a dish soap or other gentle cleaning liquid to the water too. Place the pipettes in the new bowl of soapy water for a final cleaning.^{[4]
X
Research source}
- Stir the soap around with your hands or a spoon so it’s well distributed in the water.
- Transfer the other bottle pieces to the soapy water too.
5
Swish the pipettes around in the water before rinsing them off. Move the pipettes around in the water gently so that the soapy water gets inside of them. Hold the pipette under clean, running water to get rid of any soapy residue that might be left in them.^{[5]
X
Research source}
- If you want them to be extra clean, let them sit in the water for a few minutes for an extra soak.
- Move the other bottle pieces around in the soapy water before rinsing them as well.
6
Lay the pipettes on a clean towel so they dry. Spread out a soft towel on a flat surface. Lay your pipettes and other pieces out on the towel overnight so they have plenty of time to dry completely.^{[6]
X
Research source}
- Once the pipettes are dry, they're ready to be reused.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using Epsom Salt

1
Pop the rubber cap off of the pipette to separate the pieces. Unscrew the top from your essential oil bottle so the dropper is separated from the container. Most pipettes have a rubber top that can be removed from the glass dropper. Slide the rubber cap off carefully so you’re left with three pieces: the rubber cap, the glass dropper, and the bottle.^{[7]
X
Research source}
- Most essential oils come in a glass container and either have a plastic dropper attached inside or a glass dropper with a rubber cap.
- If your essential oil bottle has a plastic dropper that’s attached inside, pop this off with your fingers.
2
Rinse the pieces under clean running water. Hold the glass pipette under the water to make sure the water gets into the dropper to flush out the oil. If you're cleaning all of the other pieces too, hold the rubber cap and the bottle under the water to rinse them.
3
Fill a large clean bowl at least 1 in (2.5 cm) deep with Epsom salt. Choose a bowl that’s large enough to fit all of the pipettes and other essential oil bottle pieces that you’d like to clean. Fill the bowl with a layer of the salt that’s 1 in (2.5 cm) thick so it’s deep enough to submerge the pipettes and other pieces.^{[8]
X
Research source}
4
Submerge the pipette and bottle in the salt fully. Scoop the pipette into the salt so there’s as much salt in the pipette as possible. Then submerge the pipette in the salt fully so that salt is covering each side. Do this with the rest of the essential oil pieces as well.^{[9]
X
Research source}
- If you have really strong essential oil, such as tea tree, know that even submerging in this mixture might not be enough to remove the residues.
- It’s important to get as much salt in and around the pipette as possible so that the salt soaks up all the extra oil.
5
Let the pieces sit for 24 hours so the salt absorbs the moisture. Leave the pipettes and other pieces in the salt overnight to soak up as much as possible. If you’re crunched for time, it’s okay to let them sit in the salt for only a few hours before taking them out, but you might be left with a little bit of oil residue.^{[10]
X
Research source}
6
Rinse the pipette and bottle off with clean, warm water. Fill a large bowl with warm water. Place the pipette in the water and move it around with your fingers so the water moves through the pipette and releases the salt. Let the pipette soak in the water to get rid of any leftover oils, if you’d like.^{[11]
X
Research source}
- You might soak the pipettes in the water for 20-30 minutes.
- If you’re having trouble getting the salt out of the pipette, hold it under warm running water instead.
7
Lay the pipette on an absorbent towel to dry completely. Spread out a clean, soft towel to lay your pipettes on. Tap the open end of the pipette on the towel gently to release any extra water before you lay the pipette down on the towel so it dries.^{[12]
X
Research source}
- Let the pipettes sit on the towel overnight so they’re definitely dry before you reuse them.
- Reattach the rubber cap (once it’s clean!) so the pipette is ready to be used.