G.I.1943 Posted July 10, 2021 Share #1 Posted July 10, 2021 I have an original 1911 U.S. Army canteen and wondered if it would be safe enough to drink water from during re-enactments after properly cleaned up or would I be better off buying reproduction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiziwater Posted July 10, 2021 Share #2 Posted July 10, 2021 I used a WWII canteen as my water bottle for a while. I washed it thoroughly with hot soap and water, and then swished a lot of rubbing alcohol around in it for good measure. Be sure to clean under the cap as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWW Posted July 10, 2021 Share #3 Posted July 10, 2021 I would use a 10% solution of bleach and water. That is what medical labs use to clean and disinfect with. An internet search will give you all kinds of information on it. Rinse thoroughly with lots of fresh water and enjoy a nice clean drink of water while reenacting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earlymb Posted July 10, 2021 Share #4 Posted July 10, 2021 Early canteens were soldered with lead, so keep that in mind. It probably won't matter for a few days per year, if you change the water regularly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suwanneetrader Posted July 10, 2021 Share #5 Posted July 10, 2021 My kids and I used 4 WWII canteens for camping from about 1955-1990. And I continued to use mine Relic Hunting until about 2010. Canteens and web belts still in Den closet. As far as I know they caused us no harm. Just as stated above clean as you would any old aluminum pot etc not used in a long time or dirty or possibly contaminated. Common sense. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonT Posted July 10, 2021 Share #6 Posted July 10, 2021 I'd keep the lead soldering in mind if you want to use it on the regular. Then again, probably not much worse then what's in some towns water. Some east coast cities still have water pipes in use from late 1800's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.I.1943 Posted July 10, 2021 Author Share #7 Posted July 10, 2021 Yeah I know about the lead, which is why I was asking if it would be alright for re-enactments which only happen once or twice a month for 2-3 days for my unit. Thanks for all the help everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collector Posted July 11, 2021 Share #8 Posted July 11, 2021 All us kids used canteens our fathers provided all during our childhoods, no ill effects after washing first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conn Posted July 11, 2021 Share #9 Posted July 11, 2021 a lot of water companies put additives in water to react with lead and produces a protect layer between the water and lead pipes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikie Posted July 12, 2021 Share #10 Posted July 12, 2021 Like others here, I used my Dad's old canteen a lot as a kid. And I came out just fine... Ummmm, on second thought, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the canteen's fault anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earlymb Posted July 12, 2021 Share #11 Posted July 12, 2021 The lead soldering applies only to the older, aluminium canteens; the stainless steel canteens are fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collector Posted July 12, 2021 Share #12 Posted July 12, 2021 15 hours ago, mikie said: Like others here, I used my Dad's old canteen a lot as a kid. And I came out just fine... Ummmm, on second thought, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the canteen's fault anyway. Same here, can't blame the canteen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now