Thermos Needs Cleaning

36 Replies
Angrboda said

Boiling water and baking powder. Fill with boiling water, add a teaspoon baking powder. It goes all fizzy and when it stops being fizzy, pour out and wash up normally. It doesn’t magically remove all tea stains without a trace, but it lifts them from the surface of the vessel so that they’re easily washed off. If it’s really bad, repeat this process a few times.

Give it a treatment for limescale as well. I tend to go with boiling water and a mild acid there. Wash and rinse well before use.

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AllanK said

There is a solution that is easy and works perfectly. I had a well stained thermos too and needed to clean the interior. I bought Smart Soak from www.shopmandalatea.com and used that. It worked completely.
https://shopmandalatea.com/featured/mandala-exclusives/smart-soak-tea-stain-dissolver.html

AllanK said

Just noticed this is an old thread.

Garret said

Thank you, Allan! The stuff is a little bit of a miracle in a sometimes seemingly not-so-miracle-ridden life, isn’t it?

Sil select said

love this stuff as well!

mrmopar said

+1 agreed great stuff!

AllanK said

I am trying an experiment with smart soak. I have an empty tea tin that contained a reasonably aromatic flavored tea that left behind an odor. I am leaving it overnight in smart soak to see if it gets out the odor.

AllanK said

The experiment with Smart Soak did not work so well. I let it sit overnight in smart soak. In the morning I failed to rinse it completely and went to work. When I came home I noticed some of the liner had been stripped. It did take out the odor though. I don’t know if I had washed it completely it would have been ok.

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I agree with the Smart Soak, but OxiClean+boiling water also works really well to clean organic stains off stuff, including tea stains. (Credit to CleanMySpace)

For OxiClean+hot water, it does get things sparkling, I usually let it sit until the water gets cold (a long time in a thermos!) I then rinse it well or wash again with soap to get all the residue out and then let it drip dry. This has also worked on my ceramics and the tea stained sink. I haven’t tried it on plastic type thermoses though so I can’t vouch for that, but the plastic mouth pieces of the thermoses (I sit them in a bowl submerged in the same soln, haven’t come out any worse for it). The package directions say about a load’s worth on the cup per gallon or something, but I usually use about a quarter teaspoon per thermos and then fill it up with hot water then let them sit on the counter.

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Ubacat said

Mandala’s cleaning solution is the BEST! It will get rid of those stains.

https://shopmandalatea.com/tea-wares/tea-accessories/smart-soak-tea-stain-dissolver.html

Garret said

Grateful for your recommendation. Thank you so much.

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OMara said

I use denture tablets.

Yes! Team denture tablets!

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ashmanra said

Mine was stubborn and wouldn’t come clean. I added hot water and OxyClean and BAM! Sparkles!

Yay! I love that combo! I’m glad it worked for you.

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Skysamurai said

Have you ever seen those scrubbers used for baby bottles? Those work great!

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Fergy said

i know this is an old post, but for any type of metal (cannot vouch for glass) a product called barkeeps friend is amazing. it is formulated to completely clean industrial kitchen grills… and having been a grill cook at one point in my life, i can personally tell you those things get FILTHY.

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Wuyi-Wolf said

I just use Baking Soda on my teaware and its gets it clean for me.

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I have two DAVIDsTea timolinos that are pretty stained, so I’m giving the water and baking soda idea a try, also adding a touch of vinegar and just letting them fizz for a few minutes.
I don’t get an aftertaste when I’m brewing tea in them, I just want them cleaner.

ashmanra said

Hot water plus OxyClean plus thirty minutes got mine sparkling! I use Barkeepers Friend on my stainless steel sink and it works great but I have to scrub.

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