[glassmaker]

For a large quantity of glass, I'll throw in another vote for the dishwasher. Easy and effective. For just a few rods, both alcohol and acetone work great. However, both are very flammable, which is an obvious drawback around a torch. Vinegar seems to work well without risking any fires.

Barb, to answer your question about straight acetone, it doesn't leave any residue. Back in the days when I worked as a glassblower in a research lab we always used acetone as a final rinse when cleaning glass, for exactly that reason. And we had virtually any chemicals we wanted at our disposal. (Have I ever mentioned how much I hated working with HF every day?)

Brad