To clean a thermos easily, drop in four Alka Seltzer tablets and let soak 1 hour or more, then rinse.
By Monica from Cortez, CO
This page contains the following solutions.
I contacted the company that makes "Simple Green" and was told that their product will not damage a stainless steel thermos.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have a pop top thermos that doesn't come apart, but I need to clean it. I use it everyday and I need to figure out how to clean this. I don't want to buy a new thermos. Can you help me? Thank you.
By Yvonne
You can also add alittle salt & chopped ice & shake, let sit and shake again comes out crystal clean! Also works good for your glass coffee pot.
I purchased a baby bottle brush and have found it to be very useful.
Add some uncooked rice & a little water & shake that should break up any sort of residue that formed. The chipped ice works really well on coffee pots.
Maybe a denture cleaning tablet and warm water placed inside the thermos could clean the inside.
Those denture tablets are not expensive at the dollar-type stores. They can be used to clean a number of items; such a a vase, even to cleaning the toilet bowl. (I learned about these denture tablets right here on Thrifty Fun!)
Does anyone have some tips on cleaning a dirty (coffee) thermos?
By Sushila
Let it soak in hot water and dish soap in the sink, then scrub.
My son left a new stainless steel thermos in a friends car for several days with a small amount of hot chocolate in it. I cleaned out the mold by soaking with bleach but some odor still remains. How do I get out the remaining moldy odor?
Try a heavy mixture of boiling water and 1/4 cup dishwasher soap and let it soak overnight, then rinse thoroughly the next day, until all smell of the soap &/Or mold is gone. This may take a few times to completely clean it out.
Kim, from Canada; I use baking soda and water,to get odors out of my thermos, it works everytime. Let it sit, for a while.
Try filling the thermos with plain white vinegar and let it set overnight. Then empty it out in the morning and rinse well.
Thanks for the tips. I'll give them a try and will let you know what works.
What is the best way to remove coffee stains from my thermos?
How do you get the hot chocolate flavor out of a thermos?
How do you remove a metallic taste from a stainless steel thermos?
By ERC
The taste is probably not coming from the stainless steel. It is probably coming from the cap or plug which is lined with plastic or rubber.
I have the same problem with a stainless steel thermos, and it is a stainless steel taste, not plastic or rubber. I'm hoping someone posts a good solution.
I have used a stainless steel thermos for years, and have no problem with metallic taste. I have found that decaf coffee doesn't keep a fresh taste and taste metallic, but that is the nature of the coffee.
I have a new stainless water bottle that I recently used to put iced coffee in. I ended up dumping it out because it tasted so bad, bitter & metallic. This was a new bottle I'd never used either. I washed it & air dried it without the lid on it too. I'm disappointed, hope someone else has an idea on it, I just figured I wasn't going to be able to put coffee in it.
How do you thoroughly clean the pop top (pourable) lid to a stainless steel thermos? I don't see any way to take it apart, but it smells and needs some serious cleansing.
I have tired soaking in dishwater, bleach, and dishwasher detergent. I have wedged it open and put it through the dishwasher. Nothing helps.
By Marnie L.
I used baking soda and ice cubes to clean the coffee residue from inside my glass lined thermos. Within thirty seconds of swirling it exploded, what did I do to get that?
By TV from Spring Hill, FL
My thermos has black scale in it and I hope someone out there can help solve my problem. How can I remove this?
By Julie Z. from Kamloops, BC
My husband has a flourishing thermos, but somehow the lid with spout now smells and tastes like burnt coffee. How do we get rid of it?
By Suzie D
This is a page about cleaning a stainless steel thermos. Tea and coffee are common beverages kept in a thermos. Both can leave stains inside.
