brown staining in waterbottle?? Are they ok to use?

[Mike8472]

I bought some metal army canteens from a carboot sale last week and just got round to cleaning them today.

I decided because they were a bit grubby i would put a weak bleach/boiling water solution in them to kill any nastiness off then wash them in washing up liquid and water.

when I poured the bleach water out the insides had become stained brown.
Never seen this happen before. I think the canteens are aluminium, they were nice and metal coloured inside before the bleach solution went in.

???Is this just cosmetic and they will be ok to use???

 

[susi]

Bleach and aluminium are not a good mix > they react and you're probably seeing the result of oxidation. Is it safe? Probably, but I wouldn't take the risk. Maybe there is some pitting, and that could harbour dirt and germs. Maybe you get a metallic taste too.

 

[offroadmick]

The previous owner may have had tea in it... Or it may have been used to store something chemical...
I clean my water bottles with a couple of sterilizer tablets and cold water, give it a shake and leave for an hour... You could find a big pot and boil the whole bottle for a few mins and then see what happens...
If your not sure about it, bin it.

 

[johnnythefox]

buy a proper cleaner dont use bleach ever

 

[Minotaur]

The previous owner may have had tea in it... Or it may have been used to store something chemical...
I clean my water bottles with a couple of sterilizer tablets and cold water, give it a shake and leave for an hour... You could find a big pot and boil the whole bottle for a few mins and then see what happens...
If your not sure about it, bin it.

I would do this with hot water. I use those tablets, they rock so much easier.

There is a bleach for this kind of job, it is used in the Drinks/vending world. Not sure what it is made up of, but if you can find it, use gloves. Really nasty stuff, but it is made to clean the pipes (Think the Tea one) etc on vending machines.

 

[palace]

I used to be a waiter, when a glass decanter or carafe got the staining inside we used to put some coarse gravel in, hand over the top & shake obviously this did not scratch the glass...
or leave a chemical taste

 

[johnboy]

I bought some metal army canteens from a carboot sale last week and just got round to cleaning them today.

I decided because they were a bit grubby i would put a weak bleach/boiling water solution in them to kill any nastiness off then wash them in washing up liquid and water.

when I poured the bleach water out the insides had become stained brown.
Never seen this happen before. I think the canteens are aluminium, they were nice and metal coloured inside before the bleach solution went in.

???Is this just cosmetic and they will be ok to use???

The brown staining is caused by a chemical reaction between the Aluminium the bottle is made from and the bleach..

Presumably you have washed the bottles out now with fresh clean water??

 

[Mike8472]

yep all washed out, I was just taken by surprise as I had never seen that happen before.

Is there a particular brand or type of sterilizing tablet anyone would recommended?

 

[bonzodog]

i tend to use sigg tablets

 

[John Fenna]

yep all washed out, I was just taken by surprise as I had never seen that happen before.

Is there a particular brand or type of sterilizing tablet anyone would recommended?

Campden tablets from your local home brew supplier!

 

[ged]

Bleach is basically chlorine and it's pretty aggressive, especially if it's concentrated. Chlorine is a bit like oxygen in the ways it reacts with things. Aluminium is a rather reactive metal. When you think you're looking at aluminium metal what you're probably really looking at is thin a layer of oxide on the surface, which forms instantly when aluminium metal makes contact with air. The oxide is not a nice even thin film like on chromium (stainless steels) but somewhat porous which is why it isn't very good protection for the metal in moist environments -- especially salty moist environments. What's in salt? Chlorine! Even the layer of aluminium oxide will react quite quickly with many acids and alkalis. The moral of the story is don't use aggressive chemicals with aluminium utensils.

Don't use strong bleach nor chlorides on stainless steels either, most stainless steels used in kitchen cutlery will pit badly if you leave it in contact with strong bleach for any great length of time. Some stainless steels are much better than others in this respect.

You've probably made some complex hydrated aluminium chloride compounds. There is a risk that they might not be good for you, but since they're a component of most deodorants the risks are probably fairly small. I think I'd just rinse it out with boiling water a couple of times and forget about it.

Vinegar or lemon juice are pretty good for cleaning cookware, de-rusting old axe heads, etc. They're less aggresive than bleach and you can safely drink them.

 

[spiritwalker]

dishwater tablets work well (i use them in flasks) just add warm water and let it froth over rinse and they come out gleeming

 

[WeThePeoplexfbm]

well my old alum canteen sta next to a metal ammo box for 3 month and look in it and it like the alum was corroding



---
Skipp