Cool surplus canteen.

[scavind]

I have this cool military surplus canteen I bought about 5 days ago. Forgot it was in my locker so I left it at school for the whole weekend and two days. Ill have pics up soon but I wanna use this to drink out of and I'm not sure how you clean these things if there is any special procedure. It's not dirty on the inside as far as I can see. So would a good boil and dish soap wash scrub down be sufficient? I will oil the latch so it wont squeak anymore.

 

[Rolex]

There's probably scale and oxidation on the inside. The old Army method of cleaning them was to fill them half way with soapy water and add a handful of sand. Shake it senseless, pour off some water and do it again. Pour out all the soapy water, do it with clear water several times, then empty it completely, including the sand, by rinsing it out thoroughly.
Next, fill it half and half with liquid bleach and clear water, seal it and let it sit overnight.
Drain it and rinse thoroughly, and it will be like brand new on the inside, as well as hospital sterile.
When you're NOT using it, store it open so the water left will evaporate rather than create a stagnant swamp in there.

 

[scavind]

Great! Would clorox work? I'm not really sure what bleach exactly is but clorox says bleach on it that it is bleach. So is that fine?

 

[hamz9561]

Yes, Clorox is fine. We used to use it to sanitize pans in the army.

 

[Rolex]

Yup, that's exactly what it's for.

 

[scavind]

Awsomes...Now if my mom will let me clean it...thx guys.