Help, how do YOU clean your tips? I have wasted more RI the last couple of days because of greasy tips. (I don't have a dishwasher to run them through) I soak in hot soapy water and scrub out with the little tip brush and I'm still having problems with my RI decomposing. I tried a brand new tip this morning with the same batch of RI and it worked like a charm. Should I just keep a separate stash of tips just for RI? Your thoughts please!

You can boil them for a few minutes....or try soaking them in vinegar for a little while!!

Thanks! KH to the rescue!

I've never had any problems with my tips and royal icing. I use palmolive dish soap and wash them by hand with the tip brush....Palmolive-cuts the grease and keeps hands soft...ha ha...I don't know if it is just the soap or what for me...I can only use Palmolive. I have an allergy to the dye in certain dish soaps..especially Dawn dish soap...I found that out the hard way by being the low-woman on the totum pole in the bakery I interned with and had to do the dishes for the first four months...after a week of being red and hives- we knew. At least I learned a lesson. Poppyseeds were a bad lesson too. But I do remember that when we used the Dawn dish soap, I had trouble getting the tips clean with it. Since we had to switch soaps...we also found out that the palmolive worked really great on the decorating tips. Maybe it is your soap??? Hope this helps you!

Ohhhhh......don't use the vinegar just yet!!!! I read on here that the vinegar dulls your tips pretty stainless steel....check out the site to read up on it. I can't remember which thread..but it was how to keep the tips great looking.

yeah, didnt think of that...my tips are sooo old they aren't pretty any shiny anymore anyhow LOL I'm sure you could stick your little tip brush into vinegar though and just was the inside.........regardless.......boiling them definitely gets the grease off.......I do it all the time. I wipe my stainless bowls out with vinegar on a paper towel before making egg whites or royal icing...so I guess I was a little presumptuous in saying that you can soak your tips in it .......oops it never discolored my bowl.....so I didn't think there would be a problem....sorry Samsgranny, don't wanna make you ruin your tips....just boil em' you'll be fine!

KH, do you throw your couplers in there as well? Wondered if it would melt if I only left it in for a few minutes. Please advise.

I do...but you gotta watch them...I have melted some LOL No different than boiling bottles and nipples for babies I suppose....just a minute and they're done...I always pull them out and run them under cold water and feel them with my fingers (the couplers)....you'll know right away if they're still greasy!

I was just wondering if it is the tips or maybe the bag causing the RI problems. I was thinking to myself that if I start doing more RI work, I should get new bags for it and lable them so that I don't put greasy BC into them. What do you think?

It's been discussed on here many times. Many of us swear by popping them in the microwave. I was very sceptical at first, but it works like a dream. Put them in a glass container, cover well with hot water and a squeeze of dish liquid and microwave on high for 2 minutes.

Separate bags for RI can be quite helpful, IMO. I don't have separate bags yet...but one of these days I plan to. Right now, I'm just using the boiling method. I boil a 4 quart sauce pan of water and throw my tips in, then put a few couplers in and pull them back out after a few seconds and same thing with my bags: I dip them in, turn 'em, and pull 'em back out (I use a pair of tongs for all this). Haven't had any problems with my RI breaking down when I do this so I'd say it works. Haven't tried vinegar. Oh, and I wash my tips, couplers, and bags as good as I can before I boil them, just in case you were wondering. Good Luck!
Stephanie

steph95- Some people recommend just having bags marked only for royal icing.
I prefer using the disposable bags for decorating so that I don't have to worry about the bags causing the RI to break down.
I keep regular large bags only for buttercream, these are pre-cut to fit my icing tip.
Samsgranny, I know that you don't have a dishwasher, but I have found that my tips and couplers don't feel greasy when they are washed in the dishwasher.

Do you think I could use a sharpie to write on the bags, or could that bleed into the icing? (not so much color wise, as chemical-in-the-ink wise)

My wilton instructor told us she puts her bag in the laundry with her towles. I did this and it worked great. I also boiled my tips for less than a minute in vinigar and water mix, them put them in very hot soapy water (dawn) and had no problems.

Thanks everyone for your comments, I only use disposable bags so I know it's not my bags. I will boil the tips and couplers when I get home tonight. Have to finish up my flowers for my Easter cakes!

I don't have a dishwasher either, well actually I do, I'm typing this, lol! (not funny) ANyway.....I pour dishwashing liquid all over them and my couplers and just let them soak for a bit. I then wash/rinse with very hot water...so hot I have to wear rubber gloves; and I don't really have a problem.

Good Luck!!