Although I've occasionally run my yellow running Amphipod bottles through the dishwasher, they developed a thin layer of gray muck which I can only assume is mold. I used to only put water in my water bottles but lately I love the Nuun tablets and adding the sugar mixture to my bottles then letting them sit closed for a week is creating a micro-organism environment. Not sure what type of bad things I'm growing or what comes from that but I figured it's time to really clean them.
After a quick search on the web and turning down the option of using some bleach in the bottles (seriously? I'm going to drink out of it again and don't trust my rinsing abilities) I opted for the solution to use lentils or dry rice, baking soda, hot water and dish soap. In each bottle I put 2 tsp of lentils, 1/2 tsp of baking soda and filled it half full with hot, almost boiling, water and a drop of dishsoap and secured the lid. Then shake away. If you haven't secured the lid tight enough or left the top open, air and bubbles escape. I recommend working over a kitchen sink. After shaking for a bit I opened up the top to release the built up air and shot water and soap across the kitchen. After you've shaken the bottles to your hearts desire. Rinse thoroughly.
The gray layer inside the bottle is gone and they smell cleaner. I do still have tiny grey spots in the tops and think I'll go soak those in baking soda, hot water and soap solution from the water bottles.
Recipe for cleaning running bottles. For each 8oz running bottle (I use the yellow Ampipod brand) add:
2 tsp lentils or dry rice
1/2 - 1 tsp of baking soda
Hot Water- fill bottle 1/2 way
Drop of dish soap
Cover and Shake, Shake, Shake your bootie.
Put your caps into a bowl. Empty the cleaning solution from the bottles into the bowl with the caps and let soak.
Rinse well
Happy Running!
2 comments:
Very good to know. My water bottles get that musty smell sometimes, even after I've run them in the dishwasher. Now I know why.
You can do the same thing with a bit of hot hot water, ice cubes, and salt. We sued to clean coffee pots that way in the restaurant biz. It works great for larger water bottles, not so good for little 10oz Nathans.
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