stinky nalgene bottles

[hikerfast]

i left water mixed with protein powder in a nalgene bottle for a couple weeks in the closet. i left soapy water in the bottle for a week now and the bottle still stinks. is this thing toast or is there a way to get the smell out of it?

 

[Mr. X]

Try white vinegar over night then flush it out well afterwards.

 

[Rob S]

Washing with a mixture of water and bleach might also do the trick. For a 32 oz Nalgene, just a few ounces of bleach should be enough.

Also, baking powder might help. Wash with baking powder and water, and/or leave a few ounces of dry baking powder in the bottle overnight to absorb the odors.

 

[Sherpa John]

Your not alone. My nalgene reaks of gatorade for WEEKS after use if I let one sit. Its no fun but I deal.

 

[sli74]

The vinegar definitely will do the trick . . . I've used that trick to wash smelly clothes in as well . . .

sli74

 

[Grumpy]

Washing with a mixture of water and bleach might also do the trick. For a 32 oz Nalgene, just a few ounces of bleach should be enough.

Also, baking powder might help. Wash with baking powder and water, and/or leave a few ounces of dry baking powder in the bottle overnight to absorb the odors.

I endorse the chlorine bleach option, and use it for periodically cleaning my Nalgene HDP water bottles.

Be careful about the baking powder though -- the stuff has a reactive component that is supposed to leaven dough without yeast. Maybe you should use baking soda, instead, which has a good reputation for "eating" odors and off-flavors.

G.

 

[Nonlegit]

I never have gotten rid of the bacardi smell in mine...tried baking soda.

 

[Rob S]

Be careful about the baking powder though -- the stuff has a reactive component that is supposed to leaven dough without yeast. Maybe you should use baking soda, instead, which has a good reputation for "eating" odors and off-flavors.

G.

I always get baking powder and baking soda mixed up .... guess you can tell how many cakes I've baked. Thanks for setting me straight, Grumpy.

 

[Rik]

There was an old thread similiar to this one in which someone recommended vanilla extract!

 

[hikerfast]

how much vinegar

yeah i looked for that thread, guess i lost my yarn. how much vinegar? i like the bacardi idea, maybe i could try single malt scotch

 

[Peakbagr]

I would be careful when the older Nalgene bottles "turn".
This happens thru aging. It seems to happen even quicker when you use them with hot or almost boiling water for winter.
My understanding is that once they get smelly, the odor you smell is the chemicals in the plastic that are leaching into your drinking water after the protective coating inside has worn away.

Besides the crummy smell making drinking upappealling, I feel that you are ingesting chemicals not intended for consumption.
I got rid of all of my old Nalgenes years ago when Lexan Nalgenes replaced them and have never had the smell problem reoccur.
While it bothered me to ditch my collection of old Nalgenes, I didn't feel it was worth the chance to save $6 bottles.

 

[KZKlimber]

Retire it to "Pee Bottle" status

 

[MarkL]

Retire it to "Pee Bottle" status

Just make sure to label it... in Braille

 

[BrentD22]

dish washer?

Is it a bad idea to just put it in the dish washer?

 

[Peakbagr]

Are you talking about the "old" white Nalgene's or the Lexans/
The Lexans can go in the dishwasher.
If you have the older Nalgene's and they are leaching chemicals, I don't think it matters how you wash them, but the hot water will only make it worse.

 

[jbreen]

After having left my bottles full for a few weeks, I found that my home-brewing sterilizer (B-Brite) works well to get out almost all of the foulness. I think it's an oxygen bleach/sodium carbonate mixture and it does not leave that usual bleach smell.

Nalgene also recommends placing a charcoal briquette inside a closed bottle for a fee days. I know from experience that this works on coolers.

Jim