SIGG bottle cleaning

My SIGG 1l bottle has recently been smelling a little like mildew. I have cleaned it profusely, but it won't go away! Has anyone had this problem? What did you do to fix it? Should I try the ole' camelbak trick of a couple drops of bleach and some water? thanks.

All I ever use nowadays are my trusty Sigg liters and recently I got one of their long bottle brushes which fits inside the things and is made to scrub them out. Works like a charm.

I have tried that, but the stinch remains....

Toss in a bit of bleach and let it soak for a couple of days. Then wash well with soap and water. Or try the same idea with baking soda.

I typically just handwash and use one of SIGG's extra long brushes.

I was also thinking about recommending a little bleach, though I have never tried it and wasn't sure if it would have any effect on the bottle's lining. Since there aren't any warnings about it, it's probably fine.

I saw the following on mysigg.com's FAQ:

What's the best way to clean my SIGG?

Rinsing your SIGG thoroughly under the faucet with warm, soapy water at the end of every day and letting it air dry with the top off provides sufficient cleaning in most cases. When more thorough cleaning is required, you can use baking soda and vinegar. For tough jobs, pick up some SIGG cleaning tablets and a SIGG brush. Do not use a hard bristled brush to clean the interior of your SIGG bottle as this may damage the liner.

The tablets contain the following:

What are your cleaning tablets made of?

Our SIGG cleaning tablets contain the following ingredients:
Sodium Bicarbonate 25 � 50 %
Citric Acid 10 � 25 %
Potassium Caroate 10 � 25 %
Sodium Carbonate 5 � 10 %
Sodium Percarbonate 5 � 10 %
Taed 1 � 5 %
Sodium Benzoate 1 � 5 %
PEG-180 1 � 5 %
Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate 1 � 5 %
Subtilisin 1 � 5 %
PVP/VA Copolymer 1 � 5 %
Aroma 0,1 � 1 %
Limonane 0,01 � 0,1 %
CI 42090 0,01 � 0,1 %
CI 73015 0,01 � 0,1 %

The first two ingredients are baking soda and citric acid.

At $9/20 tablets, I'd do the baking soda and vinegar trick on my own first.

I'm not sure if this is a method that could damage a SIGG, which I've never owned, but it works like this:

fill bottle with boiling water. Let it sit a few minutes. Put it in the freezer until the water is solid. Thaw. This can be augmented with whatever other odor neutralizing product (baking soda, vinegar, etc.).

[b]goyo -[/b]

The freezer could definitely end up cracking a SIGG bottle. You could put boiling water in though, but the very thin aluminum conducts he so well you will burn yourself if you touch it.

Thanks for all the ideas. I do clean my bottle on a regular basis, so I'm not sure how this came about. I'll try the bleach method and let you guys know how it turns out. I was worried about damaging the lining Alicia, but as you say they do not warn against it, ha. SIGG also always talks about how great their lining is so we'll see.

FWIW--

Again, from the mysigg.com website, linked to in Alicia's post above:

Can I place my SIGG in the freezer?

NO, this may cause the bottle to crack. For chilling, we recommend placing your SIGG in the refrigerator but NOT in the freezer – no matter how full the bottle.