FAQ: How to clean your Klean Kanteen

Australia may be saying goodbye to a local source of Klean Kanteen bottles, but there are still hundreds of thousands of their stainless steel water bottles in the country and we are still selling them while we can get our hands on the stock, so it's important that you know how to keep them clean. Bacteria and mould can build up in water bottles and their lids and should be cleaned on a regular basis.

Klean Kanteen were the first manufactured stainless steel water bottle in the world, they're still one of the best quality on the market despite hundreds of competitors. For those who get a metallic taste in their mouth from drinking out of cheap stainless steel water bottles, the Klean Kanteen bottles have a polished inner surface and are far less likely to cause this issue.

Klean Kanteen produced a series of videos on how to clean their bottles and accessories, which we are sharing with you here. The Growler bottles from Klean Kanteen are no longer manufactured, but if you have one, they were the lid that was designed to handle carbonated drinks and craft beer.

Klean Kanteen Growler with Swinglok Cap

This video show you how to operate the Swinglok Cap on the Klean Kanteen Growler and also how to remove it from the bottle and put it on one. While this lid is no longer available to purchase, there are still plenty around in the market. They are made to last, so this information is still useful for many. If you already own a Klean Kanteen Classic Width water bottle and you can get your hands on a Swinglok Cap, you can convert your existing bottle in to one that can carry carbonated drinks. The rest of the lids in the Klean Kanteen range are not equipped to carry carbonated drinks. Most drink bottle lids aren't.

How to clean your Sports Cap 3.0

This next video shows you how you can pull apart your Sports Cap 3.0 to clean it to ensure you don't get any type of mould build up. You should allow your bottles and lids to be cleaned and completely dried between uses. The video shows you how to safely remove the silicone gasket that provides the seal between the bottle and the lid. The gasket can be washed with warm soapy water.

The other silicone piece in the lid, the valve, can also be removed for cleaning. Watch in the video as it is pushed through to the underside of the lid. It is this valve that allows for excellent water flow but also means that small droplets of water can get through which means that this lid is not completely leakproof and it is not a good idea to allow them to roll around school bags or anywhere that you're storing electronic devices or anything that's valuable. You'll need a piece of dental floss to put the valve back in place. It's pretty simple once you watch the video.

Cleaning silicone gaskets on any water bottle, no matter the brand

This next video can be applied to any of the water bottles you have at home with a silicone gasket. You can use the guide to clean an existing gasket or replace one. Klean Kanteen do have replacement gaskets and tools to replace them. While we don't have them available in our store, they are available from the USA. While it's probably easier to just purchase a replacement lid in Australia, we still wanted to show you this video for the cleaning information.

Remove the gasket and soak your lid in some white vinegar. Don't waste apple cider vinegar on cleaning, although you can if that's all you have.

Clean your Kanteen

The last video we're showing you today is how to clean your stainless steel Klean Kanteen, and again, the same tips will apply to any water bottles you have at home, especially if they're stainless steel. The rounded corners in the Klean Kanteen bottles make then particularly easy to clean and the wide opening means you can easily get a bottle brush inside (on both the Classic Width bottles and also the Wide Mouth bottles which are even easier to get inside and see inside).

Normally, you could just choose a dishwashing liquid from our natural cleaning products category, but if you have 3 day old banana smoothie left in your bottle, that probably won't cut it. Here's a great cleaning tip and it will work just as well on your stainless steel lunch box.

1. Soak with water and about ⅕ cheap white vinegar and leave overnight
2. The next morning, pour out most of the liquid and add a couple of heaped spoons of bi-carb soda
3. Mix it around to form a paste
4. While adding more vinegar at this stage will make it bubble up like a volcano, we don't need to do this
5. Just grab your bottle brush (see right) and scrub