Cleaning a Canteen

Z

Zip06

Joined
Mar 2, 2003
Messages
76
I have an Army (current issue) Canteen and there is crud in it. Does anyone have some ideas on how to get the inside of a canteen clean? The crud feels somewhat oily and is black specked.
 
Yeap , a few drops of bleach or iodine , add water not about 2/3 full and shake the heck out of it , let it sit for a few minutes then rinse until it's clean enough for you.
Or , you can always slap that badboy in with the dishes :D
 
At $1.99 each I would just pich-it and get a new one, Oilly, black specked crud? :barf:
 
I usually boil mine out after a long trip or when it has been sitting for a while.Just fill a large pot with water, sit it on the stove and hold the canteen under the water with a pair of tongs or something.Boiling mine out keeps it fresh and reay to go.
 
Myakka said:
At $1.99 each I would just pich-it and get a new one, Oilly, black specked crud? :barf:
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I agree, sounds pretty gross! But for regular cleaning, I use hot water and a denture cleaning tablet. Shake it up, let it sit, then rinse. Leave no taste at all. It works especially good for Camelback type bladders.
 
Along with the bleach you can always throw in a few hands full of river sand or fine stone chips to loosen anything particularly nasty.
 
Careful with the bleach though!! Too much will leave a taste forever.

I don't use surplus canteens anymore. I know WAY too much bad stuff that joes put into them!!!!
 
Once I mixed up some lemon MRE bug juice or something in there, spent some time getting all the gunk out. So after that, I switched to a Camelbak.
 
Try some salt and some ice. Shake the crap out of it. Rinse well then wash with soap and hot water. then a few drops of bleach plus water then rinse.
Easier to just buy a new one...but that should work well to get the crud, then the oil , then finally to sanitize.
 
Thanks guys. I think I will get a new one AND try to clean out the old one. How's that for a politically correct answer?
 
Go to the store and buy a bottle scrubber, its a flexible wire with large bristles on it, end of problem.

Skam
 
Bleach will kill that sh-t!!! Most of the units I went to issued out used, supposedly clean canteens when you inprocessed...that black sh-t was pretty common. A few drops of bleach, sit for a day, rinse very well, repeat as needed. I've done it many times and I'm not dead yet, slightly F-cked ;) but not dead.
While on the subject of canteens, when I was in my first school a buddy of mine used to carry water in one of his canteens and spit his tobacco in the other. One of the Chics on our team (Air Force Security Forces, what can I say..) who he happened to be sleeping with on the DL felt cozy enought to snatch one of his canteens during a break and take a big fat swig....anyone care to guess what she got a mouthful of?!? Chew spit!!! She didn't even puke....from then on I was strangely attracted and repelled by her! ;)
 
Why risk an unknown substance?

Pitch, and get a new one or two.

Not worth potential chemical, fungal, or bacterial poisoning, esp if petrochemicals are involved. The black specs could also be black mold, nothing to mess with.
 
thatmguy said:
Why risk an unknown substance?

Pitch, and get a new one or two.

Not worth potential chemical, fungal, or bacterial poisoning, esp if petrochemicals are involved. The black specs could also be black mold, nothing to mess with.
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And when you get a new one buy a bottle scrubber to clean the thing.

Skam
 
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