Tips for cleaning a thermos?

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 Kemics 04 Nov 2017
As it’s getting to that time of year when I take tea and not water climbing, I dug out my thermos. Over the summer in the cupboard it has become ungodly inside. I can’t really get a brush in to scrub it satisfactoryly. Has anyone ever restored a thermos? I’ve heard people who have used the tablets for cleaning dentures? And other tips?

Thanks
 Trangia 04 Nov 2017
In reply to Kemics:

Milton does the trick
 Rog Wilko 04 Nov 2017
In reply to Kemics:

Washing soda might do the trick. Just put a spoonful of the crystals in, fill with water, shake it up, and leave for 24hrs. You might get a nice surprise!
 Fraser 04 Nov 2017
In reply to Kemics:
Uncooked rice, lemon juice & water. About 1/3 full, screw on the lid and shake vigorously. Sorted.

Edit: the cleaners at our office sometimes use denture tablets to clean our coffee mugs, as mentioned above, so that might help too.
Post edited at 11:15
 Stiga 04 Nov 2017
In reply to Kemics:
Hi. I use clorine! Clorine and hot water overnight. And rinse liberally!
 timjones 04 Nov 2017
In reply to Kemics:

Fill with boiling water, drop in a dishwasher tablet, leave overnight and then rinse out.

If you make the mistake of fitting the stopper after dropping the tablet in there will be additional steps that involve running for cover and cleaning the mess off the ceiling
In reply to Kemics:

Tea spoon off salt & boiling water left for a bit
After a good shake has always cleaned my flask nicely having held Hot chocolate & Beefy Drinks
 matt3210 04 Nov 2017
In reply to Kemics:

A teaspoon of Bicarbonate & boiling water. Leave it overnight & pour out a load of brown gunk
Removed User 04 Nov 2017
In reply to Kemics:

Milton.
OP Kemics 04 Nov 2017
In reply to everyone:

I’m going to go with a mix of bicarbonate, salt and lemon juice (with boiling water) as a combination of lots of advice


(And it’s what I have in the cupboard)

Will report back

 Sean Kelly 04 Nov 2017
In reply to Removed UserDeleted bagger:

> Milton.

Milton? Paradise regained!
OP Kemics 04 Nov 2017
In the end I just used bicarb of soda and boiling water and got amazing results, mirror finish is back in the thermos, great success

Bring on winter
 KevinJ 04 Nov 2017
In reply to Kemics:
I keep a tube of Steradent tablets in the kitchen for this and similar.
Cost effective and efficient way to clean thermal coffe mugs, stainless thermos and other drinking vessels that I am prone to leaving with remnants in for longer than I should.

 mypyrex 04 Nov 2017
In reply to thread:
Will Steradent tablets work on hydration bladders?

 freeheel47 04 Nov 2017
In reply to mypyrex:

probably- I use infant feeding bottle sterilising tablets - v cheap from any big supermarket (vs v expensive for platypus / camelback branded tablets).
 Pete Houghton 04 Nov 2017
In reply to Kemics:

I use VWP home brew cleaning and sterilising powder. A very small amount goes a very long way.
 tehmarks 04 Nov 2017
In reply to Kemics:

I've tried a drop of Domestos with good results - it was the only thing to hand at the time, but it did the trick quite nicely.
 Jon Greengrass 06 Nov 2017
In reply to Kemics:

dishwasher if it is stainless

You can buy bottle brushes in the baby aisle at the supermarket that will enable you to scrub satisfactorily
 Toerag 06 Nov 2017
In reply to Kemics:

There seems to be a lot of people confusing 'cleaning' with 'disinfecting'. Milton and other bleaches don't clean, they just kill living things (bacteria and possibly algae in this case).
There's also people suggesting a mixture of an acid and alkali (lemon juice & bicarb) - all this does is create foam which looks nice, but the ingredients cancel each other out instead of working on the deposits in the flask. I suspect a dishwasher tablet/ clothes washing powder will work best to remove organic deposits, and toilet limescale remover/ vinegar/lemon juice will dissolve any hard deposits. Not sure how denture tablets work.
 Hat Dude 06 Nov 2017
In reply to Kemics:

Will any of these cleaning tips work with other makes of vacuum flasks?
 Neil Williams 06 Nov 2017
In reply to Kemics:

If it's a stainless steel one with no outer coating (and ONLY if it's that type, this will wreck glass or coated ones), first fill with boiling water then empty, and then give it a blast in the dishwasher on the hottest setting.
 Becky E 06 Nov 2017
In reply to Kemics:

> I’m going to go with a mix of bicarbonate, salt and lemon juice (with boiling water) as a combination of lots of advice

Unfortunately, mixing acid (lemon juice) plus alkali (bicarb) will just leave you with a useless mixture

 defaid 06 Nov 2017
In reply to Kemics:

If it's stainless steel, use half a teaspoon of washing powder and fill up with boiling water. Leave the lid off.

Note that if there's ANY plastic on the flask don't use washing powder as you'll never get the perfume out so don't put the lid or the cup on until the flask has cooled down and you've rinsed it a couple of times.

Bicarb is not an alkali: it's a pH7 buffer. Bicarb & lemon juice or bicarb & vinegar is an old, old household cleaner & stain remover and will probably do well on a glass flask.

D
 defaid 06 Nov 2017
In reply to defaid:

Hmm. no edit button. I guess I left it too late.

I've a suspicion the acid/bicarb mixture was originally intended to be used as a paste, for rubbing or scrubbing, with the acid doing the work, the bicarb acting as a mild abrasive and the evolved CO2 serving to lift dirt off the surface.

I doubt that a very watery solution would do much. You'd probably get as good a result using just vinegar or lemon juice. On the other hand, if you have a bottle brush, you could mix up the paste and use it with the brush for scrubbing the inside of the flask though, to be honest, nowadays you'd probably get the flask just as clean with a dash of Fairy.

D
 matthew jones 06 Nov 2017
In reply to Kemics:

Dishwasher powder/tablet. 12 hours. Job done!
 edunn 06 Nov 2017
In reply to Kemics:

Dishwasher.

Or Jetwash.

No joke.

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