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How to clean a Vietnam plastic canteen for drinking


gitana
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I gave my little boy a 1964 plastic canteen and cover, and now he wants to drink out of it. I don't think the dishwasher is going to work, and I know what bleach does to plastic. Any ideas to make it safe?

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Soak it in soapy water get a bottle brush and scrub, scrub, scrub. Then rinse in very hot water to sanitize it. Or just get him a new one and swap them out.

 

Good luck

Bob.

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Thanks, I might just take the latter route, or tell him it's just for appearances. For all I know it's had 50 years of suppurating cold sores using it.

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I use to 'clean' my canteen in the military by putting some listerine in it, shaking it, and then rinsing it out with water. I'm not sure how effective it is, but it seemed to work for me in the Army. Now I just buy Nalgene bottles instead, way easier to clean. -Steve

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We were supposed to clean those?! Ohhhhhhh, that explains a few things...

 

 

I use to 'clean' my canteen in the military by putting some listerine in it, shaking it, and then rinsing it out with water. I'm not sure how effective it is, but it seemed to work for me in the Army. Now I just buy Nalgene bottles instead, way easier to clean. -Steve

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Don't think I ever cleaned mine at Hood and Alaska, but then in Alaska we used the Arctic canteen for the most part, just placed the wall locker when back from field :lol:

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I used baking soda and hot water back when I actually used metal and plastic canteens. Would put some Arm and Hammer baking soda in fill with hot water and let sit overnight. Never had any issues and it certainly removes any nasty odors.

 

Let me add that just buying a new one for your son is probably the right answer. I would still use mine or any of the other suggestions to clean even a new one.

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I use to 'clean' my canteen in the military by putting some listerine in it, shaking it, and then rinsing it out with water. I'm not sure how effective it is, but it seemed to work for me in the Army. Now I just buy Nalgene bottles instead, way easier to clean. -Steve

 

I was never issued a "clean" one. Someone before me always had tried to make the C-Rat/MRE bug juice or hot chocolate inside of them. Like Steve, I usually resorted to Listerine (preferably mint) to try and reduce the smell and taste that never seemed to get out of the plastic, no matter how hard I tried.

 

With the canteens I have in my "collection" I just leave the top open so they can air out at all times. I occasionally rinse them out to get rid of spiders.

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Can you put a 1960s plastic canteen in boiling water? I thought about it, but figured the dishwasher would probably melt it, and probably so would boiling water.

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Water will boil at 212 degrees.

 

Possible it will soften the plastic but wont melt as far as I know.The older canteens are pretty thick.Boiling water wont melt a plastic milk jug but hot or warm water does make them pliable

 

Typical candle flame or small open flames are closer to 1200-1500 degrees and will melt or burn.(for comparison)

 

I have poured boiling water in canteens and let it sit and then poured it out.You can repeat the process.There are also sanitizers like they use in resutrants and bars.These are like a tablet.We had a 3 sink set up in the bar I worked in...one with glass washer and soap,second was water/santizer mix third was rinse and the air dry on the rubber matt.I would cahnge at beginning of my shift and a couple times if busy through out the night.Some of the girls I worked with never changed it all day.

 

I guess you could even micro wave water to heat it up if you wanted in a large pyrex measuring cup and pour it in and repeat a couple times.This way you wouldnt sumerge it in the water and you will

 

Typical pathogens or bacteria will die around 140 degrees but normal hot tap water isnt hot enough to kill them.Your typical home water heater is set or recommended to set at 120 degrees(40 c)

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When I was cleaning my VN dated canteens, I found that just water and soap didn't clean the black stuff out of the bottom of the canteen. So I filled them up about halfway with warm water, then added Dawn dishsoap and the tiniest (and I mean tiny) bit of bleach, and shook them for a good 2-3 minutes. If you can still see crud in the bottom (which I did), repeat until its gone and then repeat as needed without the bleach to get rid of any bleach smell or residue left. I did this to both of my canteens and it cleaned them up perfectly. I've used them multiple times since and do not taste nor smell bleach. I don't know if I'd trust hot water with my canteens, after all there is a hot burner plate warning on the sides of them.

 

EDIT: Don't use scented bleach. Just normal unscented.

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It DOES work, actually... for most ordinary deposits.

 

Use twice as much product as directed, and be sure to use HOT water.

I heard desinfecting tablets for false teeth also work well, at least on metal canteens.

 

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Another cleaning trick we used at the bar was on the coffe pot.These were the glass type and often would set on the warmer for a long time.The water here typically has a lot of lime in it.There would be build up or a film on the interior and was hard to get your hand in their to scrub.We tool a generous amount of salt and then ice cubs and then shook or aggitated the coffe pot by hand in circles and the salt would act like an abbrasive and clean the glass.Worke pretty well and then rinsed it and sanitized as normal.

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white vinegar will remove a lot of the crud/lime etc and its cheap (think COSTCO). Many restaurants, businesses, run it through their coffee machines, etc., to clean out lime build up, etc.,

 

General rule: Never mix bleach with any other item besides water. Use a mixture of bleach and water to disinfect the inside of the canteen. It is the approved method of disinfecting wells/water containers, etc., Just don't mix bleach with other cleaners, vinegar, etc., as there is a potential to create toxic gases. Just google what potential harm mixing bleach with other items can do. By the way, the approved Army way of cleaning out water buffaloes, canteens, etc. is by using vinegar (mineral deposit removal,etc) and bleach for disinfecting. See TB Med 577, Technical Bulletin, Sanitary Control and Surveillance of Field Water Supplies.

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