Pour some vinegar or CLR inside and let it set a couple hours, then bend some pipe cleaners so you have a little scrubby tool head and do your best...

This is probably a dumb question, but would apple cider vinegar do the same as regular? I don't think we have any regular vinegar.

Vinegar is one of my two go-to cleaners. Ammonia is the other. It seems to do wonders. It makes my "good" jewelry really shine and my costume jewelry back to its original state... without harming the finishes. You might try some diluted ammoina instead of cider vinegar?

Apple cider vinegar is more expensive, but it'll work just fine... I usually keep a big jug of the white stuff around for cleaning and pickling only...

If you can't get a cleaning tool inside after the vinegar treatment, poor some uncooked rice in there and together with vinegar or soapy water, shake the dickens out of it.

Sorry Dickens, I did not mean you!

Pour a little baking soda down into the larger part of the vase, adding just a little water. After it sits for awhile--and/or after trying the other remedies--use that bent pipe-cleaner or a Q-tip to try and remove the gunk.

As Heloise says, vinegar and baking soda are the two best cleaners around!

Vinegar is my first thought, but sometimes that just doesn't seem to work. Possibly because some manufacturers are selling 4% instead of 5%... not noticed on a salad but a definite difference when cleaning.

Try an effervescent denture tablet (or three). Let it sit overnight, do the rice shake, rinse thoroughly.

Why worry about the inside, are people going to peek into the vases? All these tricks sound good but another one is: after soaking with vinegar water put pehaps 1/4 c. of small pebbles in the vase and then shake it. The pebbles act like a scrubbing brush. Also a baby bottle brush might work. Or those skinny brushes made to clean the old perculator coffee pots. Good Luck!

@ posieh. If it doesn't come clean very easily, I won't worry about it too much, but I figured I might as well try to get it clean, in case I decide to keep it after the wedding. I love milk glass, so I'm sure I'll end up keeping quite a few of the ones I find. And the ones I don't want, I'll probably just try to resell.

Try a little Liquid Clorox bleach and hot water. Let it sit for a few minutes, then try some friction action, whatever you can fit in there, be it rice, pipe cleaners etc.

I have my own teeth but I always keep the denture cleaners on hand.Dishwashers clean well but if there is scummy matter the denture cleaners will remove it.

Thanks for the tips, everyone! It looks like I'll have to try the denture cleaner next. The baking soda and vinegar didn't do a whole lot. Right now, it's sitting in the wink, half full of windex, because I figured it wouldn't hurt to try it. lol I'm sure it won't do much, so I'll be heading to walgreens or someplace tomorrow night, for denture cleaner.

I'm sure you know this, but in the 1 in 100 case you don't: don't mix ammonia and bleach.

Ammonia+Bleach=chemical pneuomina. A lesson Ed learned the hard way. Don't know why that man would never listen to me. Poor guy.

How did it go Tish?

Well, they are still cruddy. Better, but still gross. I'm on a mission now though. LOL

Looks like I'll be buying denture cleaner and a baby bottle brush later today. I'll let you know how that goes.

Thanks for all the tips, everyone!

Try pouring a couple of teaspoons of baking soda into ti, then add white vinegar. It will fizz like mad and may belp clean it.
Also try some powdered dish washer detergent and a little water. Soak at least 24 hours.

I thought bleach would clean everything.
The glass must be etched by the crud.

I haven't tried bleach yet.

I have the same thought as janis g, the glass must be etched by crud. When something green, brown or black such a mold is growing in unwanted places, I'd go with the big guns, liquid bleach and I even clean my drains regularly with a mixture of soda and bleach.
Most of the time I go with the "green" cleaning products, but there are times when I need more power.

Try pouring sand and water in it, then swish the sand all around inside the vase, then pour it out. The sand is abrasive and scrubs as you swish it around.

That's how my husband cleans the old bottles that he digs out of the ground.