Are my water bottle and thermos a lost cause?

April 9, 2019 10:07 AM

I used dish soap to clean out a plastic water bottle and metal thermos that had gotten a bit gross. It turns out - the left a taste of dish soap in both of them. So I looked online for advice, and found that vinegar can clean that out. Now, uh, they taste like vinegar. Is there a proper way to clean these vessels, or should I just give up and buy new ones and take better care of them?
posted by LSK to Food & Drink (9 answers total)

Is there a plastic mouthpiece/lid on either/both of them that can be taken off? If so, try soaking that in water with one or two of those denture cleaning tabs. In my experience, it's the mouthpiece parts that really hold on to funky odors and tastes. For the rest of the bottle and thermos, you may just need to rinse it out way more times than you'd like before the vinegar funk goes away.
posted by yasaman at 10:13 AM on April 9, 2019

Best answer: Vinegar, in my experience at least, tends to dissipate with exposure to the air, too. As in, leave it wide open for a few days after you've rinsed it really, really, REALLY well with hot water.
posted by stormyteal at 10:23 AM on April 9, 2019 [8 favorites]

Unflavored denture cleaners can work miracles. Definitely give them a try.
posted by andythebean at 11:09 AM on April 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

Rinse with lemon juice & water; if it leaves a mild taste, it will be pleasant.
posted by theora55 at 11:24 AM on April 9, 2019

There is a coffee pot / espresso machine cleaner called Puro caff that you can get on Amazon that is AMAZING for cleaning out anything that has hard to get to places.
posted by Medieval Maven at 11:34 AM on April 9, 2019 [3 favorites]

for the thermos, i would rinse it with very hot water.
posted by zippy at 11:37 AM on April 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

A baking soda solution followed by a clear rinse will remove the vinegar smell/taste.
posted by bricoleur at 1:30 PM on April 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

for the thermos, i would rinse it with very hot water.

This.
I’d do it for both containers, and do it for a lot longer than seems necessary. It just sounds like you aren’t rinsing them enough after you treated them.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:05 PM on April 9, 2019

Response by poster: Checking back in - lots of rinsing in hot water and airing them out (vs placing them upside down in a dish rack) worked! Thanks so much!
posted by LSK at 3:46 PM on April 9, 2019 [1 favorite]