Stinky Water Bottles

Are they tupperware? Well, a tupperware trick is to put newspaper in the container with the lid closed. It absorbs the odor. I let it sit for a whole day, then change the paper for about 3 days and it should be gone.

Vinagar. Really great for getting the smells out of plastic. I recycle 5 gallon pickle buckets for food storage and plain white vinegar is the only thing that gets the smell out.
I use it to clean almost everything in my house- sprinkle a bit of baking soda on the stove, then some vinegar- disolves stuck on food almost instantly! Also if you run a cup through the empty dishwasher once a month you wont need jet dry. Microwave some for about 30 seconds and the microwave wipes right out.

Plastic is a porus substance once broken down. If they are smelling it is time to throw them out. If they are breaking down they are leaching chemicals into whatever is in there you are drinking. May I suggest the pricier stainless steel drink containers? They are more expensive but much more durable, can keep things cold all day long and very easy to clean. You cannot put hot things in them for the ones I use for my kids but at the same time they are very easy to rinse with warm soapy water and will not retain smells or bacteria. I can fill my daughters up with ice water and even after she is done at the end of the day there will be bits of ice still in them!
Anything with plastics triangle label on the bottom with 7 or 3 is toxic, meaning BPA. 5's are debatable and 1,4 and 2 are usually okay. But once they break down, which is why you cannot drink out of a water bottle that has been heated up left in a car, they are not something you want to keep.
I never heat in plastics now at all, only to store cooled off foods and reheat in ceramic or glass microwave/oven safe dishes.

Hi!

Put baking soda about 1/2 or more) in the bottle and put the lid on and let sit for a few days then dump out the baking soda and wash it as you would normally. It might take a few times for all the smell to be gone, but it does work. Do the same with the pitcher.

A.

When ever I have left milk or juice for too long in my kids' sippy cups, I can clean them, then soak them in a mixture of lemon juice and water, then clean them again and they will no longer smell. Hopes this helps.

I have tried vinegar in the cups and that didn't help. For me the lemon juice works best.

You could try using vinegar. I use it to get the odor out of clothes when washing them. I would say to fill them 1/4 with white distilled vinegar and the rest of the way with hot water.

I am not sure it will work, but it couldn't hurt to try!

Have a GREAT day!

S.

I'd try baking soda or vinegar

lemon juice or vinegar or bleach and if that doesn't work probably time to get some new ones.

Hi D. - if it were me, I'd probably just buy some new ones! I like the nalgene bottles over the plastic ones for water because they dont seem to retain odors like plastic (they are not good for acidic liquids though)

A lemon juice wash could work. You also might try soaking them in a weak bleach solution with very hot water.

Good luck!

C.

I'd definitely say its best to get rid of them. Eliminating plastic from your life as much as possible is the way to go. If you simply can't, put a tablespoon of baking soda in them with some warm water and let them sit, then wash them with water. I do this with our Sigg and stainless steel water bottles- gets rid of any stank and doesn't leave a soapy taste. Good luck!

I'd toss em. Sorry.

I would try bleach maybe a teaspoon or two then fill it with water. Let it sit for awhile then rinse again.

I had a friend of mine tell me that you wash them then sit them in direct sunlight on a hot day for a few hours and the smell will go away. Never tried it myself but it might work.

I'd use a combination of sunshine (as a bleach), vinegar and boiling hot water. If this doesn't work, the protein drinks have leached into the plastic and then they're not too safe anyway. I'd chuck them and start over with some BPA-free ones :)

I've left my protein shake bottle in a corner & not washed it for a couple of days. Yuck!! Coming from the family that reuses sour cream containers for "tupperware", I wouldn't replace the bottles. I've found that the dishwasher shrinks my plastic water bottles to funny shapes & I end up tossing them because they leak all over me. My mom swore by bleach to get anything funky off of her real Tupperware, but if you don't want anything that drastic, try the lemon juice (gets rid of fish smells & bleach smells, should work) & sunshine trick that somebody suggested. If that doesn't work, rinse well & try some vinegar. Rinse well & try baking soda (rinse well or you'll have a volcano reaction w/the vinegar dregs) if that doesn't work. Bleach as a last resort & if none of that works-toss it! Hubby got me a Camelbak water bottle that I love-as long as I take the rubber drinking seal off & wash it when I wash the rest of the bottle.

Hi D.-

I would consider getting rid of them...plastics leach chemicals (which can cause cancer), particularly when you stick them in the dishwasher.

Invest in some nice stainless steel water bottles (like Sigg) and you won't ever have that problem!! It's safer for you and your kids, and you don't get the stinky side effect. :)