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A stainless steel water bottle only tastes of water if you clean it. After a week in a gym bag or on the commute, three things build up inside: limescale if you live in a hard water area, leftover flavour from tea or squash, and the musty smell you get from screwing the lid on while the bottle is still damp.
What follows is the routine from our own care instructions, step by step, plus the three parts most guides leave out: the seal, the lid, and what the dishwasher really does to both. It applies to every stainless steel water bottle in the range, and the lid section is written for the classic bottle with the wood detail.
How to clean a stainless steel water bottle in 6 steps
- Unscrew the lid and lift the seal out. The silicone ring sits in a groove inside the lid. Take it out first, every time you deep clean. It is the only part that holds water, so it is the part that goes wrong first.
- Rinse the body with warm water. This is also what our care sheet asks you to do before the very first use, straight out of the box.
- Scrub the inside with the natural bristle brush. Lukewarm water, a little washing up liquid, and get right down to the base. Our thermo flask manual is blunt about the choice of product: “You can use any washing-up liquid.” Tabs, eco liquid, whatever you already have.
- Wash the lid by hand. Warm water, nothing else. If your lid carries the wood detail, keep it from soaking. Too much water on the wood shortens the life of the lid, which is why the whole bottle does not simply go in the machine.
- Dry the lid and the seal groove, then refit the seal. A wet groove is the reason seals stop sealing. Dry both before the ring goes back in.
- Sterilise in boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes. Lid off, seal out, body standing in the water. Do this when the bottle needs a proper reset, or before you hand it on to someone else. Scalding risk, so use tongs and let it cool.
Two extras from the same care sheet. Wipe a little olive oil onto the thread now and then: it keeps the screw action smooth for years. And store the bottle with the lid off, so air can move through it and the stale cupboard smell never starts.
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Get YoursCan you put a stainless steel water bottle in the dishwasher?
The body, yes. The lid, no. That is the honest answer, and it is what our own care sheet says.
The bottle body is made for the machine. Our care sheet sets no temperature limit for the cycle at all. Unscrew the lid and take the seal out before you load it, and it comes out clean.
The lid is the exception. Rinse it by hand under warm water. The wood detail on the lid must not get soaked, because that is what costs the lid its lifespan. Most guides that answer this question with a flat yes have never read the manufacturer's sheet.
Two more rules for the rest of the range. On a stainless steel lunch box, the seal has to come out of the lid before the cycle, not after. On the insulated food flask, rinse every part under the tap before you load it: coarse food waste belongs in the food caddy, it keeps the machine filter clear, and it is the only way the flask comes out 100% clean.
How to clean a water bottle: what to use for which mark
| Problem | What to use | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday rinse after use | Warm water | |
| Food or drink residue inside | Natural bristle brush, lukewarm water, a little washing up liquid | |
| Tea and coffee staining | 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, a splash of white wine vinegar, hot water (a household method, not from our care sheets) | 15 minutes |
| White spots from hard water | Lemon juice or vinegar, then rinse (a household method, not from our care sheets) | |
| Musty smell or mould in the seal | Seal out, warm soapy water, then air dry completely | |
| Sterilising a bottle or lunch box | Boiling water, lid off and seal out | 3 to 5 minutes |
| First use of a thermo food flask | All parts in boiling water, then dry | 5 minutes |
| Before a dishwasher cycle | Rinse all parts under the tap | |
| Cotton carry bag | Hand wash only, warm water at about 30 °C |
The two household methods are marked as such: they work, but they are not in our care sheets. An empty cell means our care sheets give no time for that step, so we are not going to invent one.
Why does my water bottle smell, and where does mould hide?
Both questions have the same answer, and it is not the steel. 18/8 stainless steel is non-porous: bacteria and odours have nothing to grip, and unlike plastic it never takes on the taste of your washing up liquid. Mould in a water bottle sits in the silicone seal and in the groove the seal lives in, because that is the one place that stays wet after you screw the lid back on.
So the fix is mechanical, not chemical. Lift the seal out, scrub it in warm soapy water, let it air dry completely, dry the groove, then refit. If it has gone too far, a fresh seal set is £3.99 in accessories and spare parts, which is a good deal cheaper than a new bottle. For a full reset, the boiling water step above does the rest.
Cleaning a lunch box, food flask or travel mug
Same steel, three small differences worth knowing.
Lunch box. Take the seal out of the lid before it goes in the dishwasher, and dry the lid and the seal groove afterwards. One warning from the sheet that has nothing to do with cleaning but saves you a struggle: never fill the box with boiling hot food. It creates a vacuum, and then the lid becomes very hard to open. Full sheet: lunch box care instructions (PDF).
Insulated food flask. The anti vacuum stopper pulls out of the main lid, and it needs cleaning like every other part. Before first use, put all the components in boiling water for 5 minutes, then dry them. Rinse everything under the tap before the dishwasher. The flask holds food at 14 hours hot and 19 hours cold in 530, 730 and 1000 ml. Full sheet: thermo food flask manual (PDF).
Travel mug. The silicone sealing ring comes out of the lid the same way the bottle seal does, and a spare ring is in the box. The insulated mugs hold 8 hours hot and 10 hours cold, in 354 and 500 ml.
Cotton carry bag. 100% cotton, hand wash only, warm water at about 30 °C. It does not go in the washing machine.
The bottle sheet itself is here: water bottle care instructions (PDF).
Questions we get asked most
Can you put stainless steel in the microwave?
No. Every bottle, lunch box, food flask and mug we make is stainless steel, and metal does not belong in a microwave: it reflects the microwaves instead of letting them through, so the food does not heat, and the appliance can arc. Our round lunch box is listed as not microwave safe for exactly that reason. If the point is hot food at lunchtime, that is what the insulated food flask replaces: 14 hours hot, no microwave queue, no plastic tub.
Are stainless steel water bottles safe?
The body of every bottle is 18/8 stainless steel, food grade and taste neutral. Because steel is non-porous, nothing sits in the surface and nothing leaches into your water. The lunch boxes are DEKRA tested and free of BPA and BPS. Be precise about the lids, though, because that is where the materials differ: the water bottle lid carries a wood detail, and the food flask and travel mug lids are recycled food-safe plastic with a silicone sealing ring.
Do I need a special bottle brush?
You already have one. The classic insulated bottle and the sport bottle both ship with a natural bristle cleaning brush, alongside a spare seal and a 100% cotton bag. Replacements are £3.99 to £4.99 in accessories and spare parts, and every seal set is £3.99.
Can I put a personalised bottle in the dishwasher?
The body will survive it, but hand washing is what we recommend on every engraved item, and it is the answer in the product FAQ too. The engraving is laser cut in Bremen, one fixed position on bottles, flasks and mugs, and four positions on the square lunch box.
How do I clean the cotton carry bag?
Hand wash, warm water at about 30 °C, and let it dry flat. It is 100% cotton, so a hot machine cycle will shrink it.
The short version
Rinse with warm water after use. Seal out, brush, dry the groove when you deep clean. Body in the dishwasher, lid by hand. Boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes when it needs a reset. That is the whole job.
All three care sheets are collected on the care instructions page, and the full range sits on stainless steel water bottles.
