There’s a lot of good things about SodaStream, but what goes up must come down and inevitably there are a couple of negatives to pursuing the eco-route and making your own soda. Chief of these for me is a) having to wait for your bottles of SodaStream pop to chill once you’ve made up a nice batch of cola and b) having to clean the bottles before you can use them again.
Well, a) is partly solvable – if you have the foresight to pre-chill a bottle of still water either directly in your SodaStream bottles or in a bigger recepticle such as the eponymous Breville water filters (5 extra points to them for the slogan ‘it’s a brevillation’) or the common or garden jug. I do not have that foresight, but who knows maybe one day…
b) however, is a challenge. Washing up in general isn’t much fun and the flip-side is that no-one wants to drink from a bottle of SodaStream with sugar residue at the bottom. So here, are my top tips on how to reduce the pain of keeping those bottles spick and span.
- On finishing a bottle of SodaStream – clean it sooner rather than later. A near empty bottle has greater potential to dry out inside and then be harder to clean. – If you have time on your hands, clean that bottle straight away. If not, reduce your future burden by filling up your empty bottle with water to allow it to soak until you’re ready for the ordeal.
- Ok, the cleaning itself: First step: identify whether your bottle needs a full clean or a blitz clean. I go for a full clean about every 3 bottles or if the bottle has been left ‘dirty’ for more than one day. Depending on your level of fear of germs you may increase or decrease this ratio.
- Right, the blitz clean: Run the hot tap for a short while to start it warming up. 1) Fill the bottle with water up to 50%. 2) Tip it out. 3) Fill it with water again to 50%. 4) Tip it out. 5) Fill the bottle with water somewhere between 60 & 75% and put the lid on. 6) Shake the closed bottle vigorously ideally whilst listening to 80s rock music. 7) Tip out the bottle. 8) Fill the bottle a bit and tip it out. 9) Wash the cap under the by now scalding stream of water. 10) and you’re done. NB you can reduce water wastage throughout this process by pouring out the water into your washing bowl for subsequent use in other washing up activity.
- Onto the full clean: 1) Fill a washing up bowl with hot water and washing up liquid (I care little for your favourite brand). 2) I recommend cleaning your SodaStream bottle before cleaning other more dirty items. 3) Immerse the bottle in the bowl to it fills up. 3) Pour it out. 4) Fill it up again and put the cap on. 5) Shake the closed bottle vigorously ideally whilst listening to Faith No More. 6) Empty the bottle. 7) If you think the bottle needs a super-clean, unscrew the base and give it a decent scrub. 8) Your bottle and lid are now clean, but are covered in soap suds which may negate fizz power on your next batch of soda. Accordingly rinse carefully with hot water.
So there you go, your SodaStream bottles are now clean as the proverbial whistle and life in all its fizzy glory can continue.
At some future point I will consider how often it should become necessary to purchase a new bottle or perhaps the ratio between a full clean and super-clean. For the moment I need to finish the washing up and have a lie down.
SodaStream specifically says NOT to clean their bottles in hot water!!!
Sodastream’s official guidance states:
“Your carbonating bottles should be cleaned by hand in lukewarm water, a small amount of lemon juice can be used to remove stains & odour. Please avoid using abrasive cloths (as you might scratch your bottles) and NEVER place the bottles in the dishwasher.” (http://www.sodastream.co.uk/gbretail/FAQ.aspx)
Personally, I would defy anyone to clean a bottle thoroughly, particularly one which has say sat empty for a day or two, without hot water, unless of course they have magic at their disposal.
Well, in that case don’t go crying to Sodastream when you compromise the integrity of your bottle and it explodes on you.
Had the bottles year and a half and no explosions just yet fortunately. Still, this kind of thing is the closest I’m prepared to get to an adrenaline sport.
Old post, but:
It also says on the bottle that the max temperature is 120 F.
If your water heater gets to that unassisted you have other, much more major issues! Dishwashers have internal heaters to further up the temperature of their water. Not to mention that it’s a more prolonged exposure.
Sodastream’s updated guide also doesn’t mention ‘lukewarm’ water.
I wouldn’t wash my bottles “on hot” all the time, necessarily, but every once in awhile they need it. Even with rinsing them out after use they can still harbor a little gunk, and I even had one get a little fuzzy in a few spots when it was left for a while not fully rinsed (an accident, but one that certainly required a good attempt at sanitizing).
Magic? How about basic SCIENCE!
If your bottle has sat for a while with syrup in it….
Fill it >50% with water and shake (knocks out any liquid syrup).
Then fill it 100% with water, screw on the cap and let it sit for a day.
Now, the SCIENCE! *summon Bill Nye voice*
If you know basic chem (diffusion from high concentration to low), the syrup will diffuse throughout the water.
Occasional shaking will help.
Replacing the water and repeating will further dissolve the goo, but there’s little need for the HOT water and potentially damage/weaken the bottle (or in the least, shorten it’s lifespan).
(This will also be obvious to anyone who has had to wash pots/pans/dishes. It’s basic soaking. ;-p )
My Soda Stream says not to put the flavoring syrups in the carbonating bottles at all. Only water should go in the bottle they supply. You’re supposed to mix your sodas in a separate container, preferably one that CAN be washed in hot water/dishwasher. This would end a lot of the problems you guys are having.
The bottles don’t screw on at the bottom
jdk – you’re right! After I read your comment I ran to my kitchen to try to unscrew the bottom of the bottle and I concluded after a bit of twisting that if I succeeded it would only be by breaking the bottle. I guess I was imagining this feature when I wrote the review, but I was wrong and I will edit the above instructions at some point. Thanks
Soda stream do definitely say the base of the bottles come off, but I’ll be stuffed if I can figure out how (I found this website by googling how to remove the base!). Looks like a suction cup if you look through the lid. Mine looks like a manky suction cup right now…..
I LIKE THE SODA STREAM IS GOOD TASTE LIKE COLA, AND ROOT BEER IS OKAY FOR DIET COLA. I.
TASTE GOOD LIKE ROOT BEER AND COLA .
NUMBER PICK IS 8 LIKE THE SODA STREAM .
GET FOR CHRISTMAS 12-25,2012 FOR SODA STEAM MACHINE.
Exactly. Couldn’t have put it better myself.
Hey SSG,
thanks for the tips!!
Listening to “Surprise, You’re Dead” by Faith No More really helped!!! But for best results, i suggest “The Gentle Art of Making Enemies” or “We Care a Lot.”
Want to keep your SodaStream bottles pristine?
Use them ONLY to make carbonated water, and use a clean recycled soda bottle (e.g., Crystal Geyser) to mix and store your flavo(u)red beverages
I only use soda stream to carbonate the water that goes through a filter. It still becomes cloudy after a while. I am looking for a bottle brush that will fit inside. Using a soft cloth with a long bread knife to wipe down the insides of the bottle.
Game changer: use an electric toothbrush (preferably unused, or whatever floats your boat) to get any mould out of the thread inside the cap. You’re welcome.
Thanks, you’re a genius!
*skipsintobathroom,thenontothekitchen*
I keep my bottles and caps in the freezer when they’re empty. No weird smells since I came up with this trick. Then again, there is a warning on the bottle to not freeze the bottle, so maybe you shouldn’t do this. yolo, tho.
When I fizz my (cold) water, there is often white stuff floating on the surface, like snow. It melts away right away. What is it? Is it dangerous??
Ice
The base of our sodastream bottles are covered in gross black mold. It’s not on the inside of the bottle, but rather in the base hard plastic that has 2 holes on the bottom.
I have not found away to clean it. It’s very visible on the white capped bottles. I am sure its moldy on the black ones but just not visible.
re: “The base of our sodastream bottles are covered in gross black mold. It’s not on the inside of the bottle, but rather in the base hard plastic that has 2 holes on the bottom.
I have not found away to clean it. It’s very visible on the white capped bottles. I am sure its moldy on the black ones but just not visible.”
If there is black between the bottle and the base, try wrapping a bit of damp cloth around a small paring knife and jamming it between the side of the bottle and the top edge of the base and sliding it around the entire bottle until you’ve wiped out the black. If the black is down inside the base, outside the bottle – well, mine hasn’t gotten that far yet.
For cleaning the INSIDE of the bottle, I found that just swishing water didn’t do enough. I DID find that I could take half a Bounty paper towel, rolled up into a 2″ x 1/2″ tight roll, with a wire twisty around the middle to hold it rolled, can be inserted in the water and will scrub the foggy film off the inside if you shake the bottle about 1/8th full of water hard enough to get it to hit both ends and also swirled around the sides until you get the foggy areas cleaned enough to suit you. That works for me. The soggy wad of beat-up paper towel can be shaken out of the bottle OK afterwards.
I found that just shaking/rinsing didn’t get some of the stuff that…grows…on the inside of any and every container–I realized this one day in bright sunlight when I saw “stuff” in the water, little tiny icky stuff.
So now, every week or so, I clean out the bottle with one of these. And I recommend that you keep one clean ONLY for your Sodastream bottle, so as to not introduce any foreign materials: https://www.amazon.com/Envision-Home-Microfiber-Quilted-Kitchen/dp/B007FDU05A
I use sponges at home, but these things are WONDERFUL, and you can get them back out of the bottle easily.
Thanks for the tip – these look effective and more importantly colourful!
Can I Mix Water And Beer In My Bottle Before I Carbonate
Only if your goal is to spray beer over your walls, floors and ceiling.
I think if ANYONE has a problem with having to clean bottles, chill water etc. etc……….they have NO business trying to go green or make their own ANYTHING. The whole point to buying processed, ready to go, things in the store is to prevent the complaints in this column……….and those of us that want something OTHER than the processed, ready to go from the store DON’T MIND the extra effort to get the product we want!
My favorite flavor is the regular lemon-lime. I also like the Dr P sometimes, but lemon-lime has the added advantage of not staining things if you spill it. Of course, if I’m drinking some while at my PC, I ALWAYS put the cap back on between sips. That saves so many spills… really!
My grandson has a horrible stomach virus and was drinking straight from the SodaStream bottle. None of the reviews say anything about germs…like norovirus. Wash then swish with isopropyl alcohol?
Your washing strategy seems to use a gross amount of water. I’m actually kind of appalled that you would use a whole bottle of water just to “tip it out”. This reads like it is written by someone who doesn’t critically analyze their own actions…
I think if you thoroughly read what I said above you’d find I said:
“NB you can reduce water wastage throughout this process by pouring out the water into your washing bowl for subsequent use in other washing up activity.”
Nonetheless I have taken your words to heart and will be critically analysing all of my actions from now on. This may lead to indecision and a 0.5s delay on every action, but I will reap the benefits in the subsequent cost benefit analysis.