Hi, this is my first post! I was just given some cake decorating tips by a friend, and as I looked at some of them I noticed they had some light green rust inside them (maybe rust isn't right; I'm not sure exactly if it started off as frosting or what). I was hoping for a suggestion for what I could clean the tips with. Is there a good solution to soak the tips in? I do have the tip cleaning brush, but I'm not able to scrape it off, and I've tried running them through the dishwasher, too. Thank you for any ideas.

I would toss it! I have a flower nail that is rusted, and I cant get it out. If you find a way let me know. Maybe vinegar, but I dont know.

It may just be discolored. I have some that have rusty colors on them, as well as darker grays and are just discolored from leaving them soaking in water or by certain dish soaps.

If they are Wilton tips they are nickle plated and really shouldn't rust. If it doesn't flake or rub off, chances are it is just a discoloration of the finish and is fine to use, just not as pretty to look at.

I would pipe some icing through the tips and see if it discolors the icing. Sometimes tip can be salvaged and sometimes it is best to just toss them and get new ones.

I have a rule at my shop....NEVER soak tips more than 10 minutes. I had one employee that thought she would soak them overnight...GRRRRR! Like soaking in cold water cleans dirty tips. I put the tips in a container and add the hottest water and soap. Then I stir and agitate them every couple of minutes with a spatula. I dump the whole thing into a sieve and rinse under HOT water. Then I repeat the process one more time. It really doesn't take much effort and the tips are clean and I did not have to clean them one-by-one!

I then set each tip upright on a clean towel and let dry...never have rust!

Srsly, tips are like 79-99 cents new.

Classic: What a great tip for tips! I have found they rust when I put them into the dishwasher! So I do them one at a time under hot running water. But now I will try your method. Thanks!!

Hmmmmm, I've never had one rust in the dishwasher. What brand are yours that are rusting?

I have some that had that green color on the inside too. I cleaned out with a good scrubbing with a tip brush. Mine is tree shape, small at the tip and about an inch wide at top....does a fantastic job of cleaning. The yukky green stuff was just excess icing that never got cleaned out througly...Now I wash each tip in hot soapy water, rinse and air dry. no more green stuff...

But when in doubt.....by new....they are not that expensive and well worth the piece of mind that all is clean and safe.

It looks like the container says Ateco. I ordered a kit from, Gosh, I think kitchengifts.com, but I'm not absolutely sure that was the place. It came with decorating bags, bottles. Like a starter kit for decorators (cookie)

YOU CAN ALSO USE STAINLESS STEEL CLEANER (ALMOST LIKE COMET) AND RINSE VERY WELL .. THIS CLEANS IT AND POLISHES

Put the tips in a microwave safe bow with a little DAWN dish soap and cover in water. Make sure the tips are COMPLETELY COVERED with water and microwave for about 1 minute and rinse well. It will remove all dirt and grease.

first I would try piping with it first, check if the icing is coming out of all of the tip and if the green stuff effects the color and there are no lumps in the icing when it is coming out.

Okay so now you will wash them after icing, fill a container up with really hot water and add dish washing liquid and put the tip/tips in and leave for about 5 mins after that take the tips out and with a brush try to brush out the green stuff.

hopefully this works for you