How to clean containers

John AdamaStaff - December 21, 2020

[See the full post at: How to clean containers]

3  

Is there ever a concern with using sand/soil for field cleaning because it can contain sporulating bacterial species that often aren’t susceptible to dying of UV exposure from the sun? I know some species can cause food poisoning in humans. Or is the assumption that any container you field clean in this manner needs to be boiled afterwards because the field cleaning is just to remove the major gunk? Thanks!

 

Sand/soil for field cleaning (as shown at 9:19) is better for breaking up the major gunk, acting as an exfoliant. But because there’s untold microorganisms in the dirt, not even considering the sporulating bacterial species you mentioned, you’d err on the side of caution and assume that the container is still contaminated after scrubbing with dirt.

If you need to make that container clean enough to drink from but you’re still in the field, try using SODIS (UV) or boiling (if single-walled metal). If you had some soap, that would break down the bacteria and virus cells and make it safe to drink out of after waiting at least 20+ seconds for that process to happen. Or 30 minutes if using bleach.

 

Should brand-new, unused containers be cleaned the same way?  Thanks!

 

I have always erred on the side of caution and washed out my brand-new unused containers before filling. They are not made in a sterile environment, some employee might have stuck their hand down in there during the assembly or quality control phase of production and introduced bacteria, you don’t know where the container has been, and many of the products might have oils or other material from the production still on or in the container. By cleaning the brand-new container at home, I know that my water is safe.

Great question by the way!