What is the preferred method to clean the inside of water bottle caps. I use Purist bottles and caps on the bike and Nathan squirt style caps for running. Both of these get really nasty black crap… mold? inside them after a while and it is really hard to get them clean. Thought about boiling them? Anyone have a good method? I realize I could simply replace them but they’re not cheap and neither company sells just the caps?
D
Dishwasher?
Dishwasher is fine for the bottles but it will not get the crap out of all the crevices in the caps…
Dishwasher?
The plastic won’t tolerate boiling water well.
Disassemble them and scrub with dish soap and a toothbrush; let dry; and snap back together.
Are you washing them after every use?
Also, occasionally I’ll fill the sink with a bleach/water mixture and put in all my bottles/caps
Soak in bleach (rinse well before use)
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Are you washing them after every use?
Ha, every use…? Bleach is not a bad idea…
Also, occasionally I’ll fill the sink with a bleach/water mixture and put in all my bottles/caps
I’m such a cheapskate. When I see anything the least bit ugly; I give a shot of the spray bleach stuff (Clorox “clean-up”) we keep under the kitchen sink for cleaning cutting boards, etc. I spray in the bottle while I’m at it. Let it sit awhile, then use a bottle brush and some running water. Rinse, rinse, let drip dry and good to go. Note: Any mix that has protein will “stick” and form that nasty stuff much quicker - best to just do the above technique after each use. Otherwise, on bottles that I mix my favorite Cytomax I won’t bother with the bleach technique for quite a while (did I mention that I’m lazy too?).
Good luck in Kona.
I’m such a cheapskate. When I see anything the least bit ugly; I give a shot of the spray bleach stuff (Clorox “clean-up”) we keep under the kitchen sink for cleaning cutting boards, etc. I spray in the bottle while I’m at it. Let it sit awhile, then use a bottle brush and some running water. Rinse, rinse, let drip dry and good to go. Note: Any mix that has protein will “stick” and form that nasty stuff much quicker - best to just do the above technique after each use. Otherwise, on bottles that I mix my favorite Cytomax I won’t bother with the bleach technique for quite a while (did I mention that I’m lazy too?).
Good luck in Kona.
Thanks! 38 days…? Good advise on keeping a spray bottle handy! 
D
I use Miltons to disinfect (let cap soak in it for a while). Then toothbrush to get the gunk out.
(Miltons is a product used to disinfect babies bottles)
Miltons is just watered down bleach with some table salt sprinkled in!
Supposedly denture cleaning tablets work… not given them an adequate trial yet.
Don’t use bleach. It will destroy the plastic and rubber over time. The dishwasher won’t clean it completely.
Rinse them out well, fill them back up with water with a little baking soda in it and squirt it through the bottle top. Rinse with fresh water and take it apart to dry.
Clorox Clean up with bleach is what I’ve been using for years.
Put caps in a bowl of water, spray them good and let them sit for a while.
Fill water bottles with water and give them a few sprays and let them sit for a while too.
jaretj
Don’t use bleach. It will destroy the plastic and rubber over time.** The dishwasher won’t clean it completely.
Perhaps an incredibly long time but tell that to all the bottles I’ve treated with ~ 10% bleach solution many dozens of times over their 10+ year use spans. I keep a squeeze bottle of diluted bleach solution right over the sink for disinfecting bottles, cutting boards, counters etc… Please keep this in a really safe place if you have little ones around at any time. I use use cheap old unscented chlorine laundry bleach diluted to ~ a 10% concentration with tap water. A bit of scrubbing with a bottle brush and or tooth brush helps with really nasty gunk. Rinse well afterwards and you’re good to go.
YMMV,
Hugh
Clorox Clean up with bleach is what I’ve been using for years.
Put caps in a bowl of water, spray them good and let them sit for a while.
Fill water bottles with water and give them a few sprays and let them sit for a while too.
jaretj
x2
I just spray the inside with Clorox Clean, let it sit for a minute, or two, then scrub with an old toothbrush and rinse with water. Works fine and I haven’t noticed deterioration of bottle or components.
I’m guessing that if you left that bleach solution in there overnight, it’d eat away at the bottle and its components.
Baking soda and white vinegar cleans almost as well and is not a poison.
Baking soda and white vinegar cleans almost as well and is not a poison.
Hey I want to poison those beasties!!!. A quick double rinse knocks the concentration left in the bottle to way less than in chlorinated water but I suspect you avoid that at all costs too;)
Hugh
Dishwasher is fine for the bottles but it will not get the crap out of all the crevices in the caps…
Dishwasher?
Maybe I’m missing something obvious, but I toss both my bottles and caps in the dishwasher after every use (like I would any other food container). I never have any issue at all with them being clean. Never even gave it a second thought, actually.
Same… just throw them in the dishwasher and I haven’t died yet