Care & Use

It Can Last a Lifetime

Your Klean Kanteen is made from durable, 18/8 (#304) stainless steel and is designed to be lightweight yet extremely strong. If you take care of it, it may very well last your lifetime. Here are a few tips to help keep your bottle fresh and clean over the long haul.

Washing Your Bottles, Cups, Canisters and Caps

  • Our Classic and Wide-mouth bottles (in Brushed Stainless finish) are dishwasher safe. As are our pint cup and single-wall food canisters.
  • We recommend handwashing painted and all vacuum insulated bottles, vacuum insulated tumblers and vacuum-insulated canisters.
  • For thorough cleaning, you can use warm, soapy water and a bottle brush. We also recommend an old-fashioned cleaner: mixing water and baking soda making a nice thick paste.
  • If your bottle or cap seems to be retaining flavors or smells, use diluted vinegar and soak them in it overnight. NOTE: the Stainless Unibody Bamboo Cap should not be soaked or immersed.
  • All Kid Kanteen and Classic caps (except the Stainless Unibody Bamboo Caps) and all Wide caps are dishwasher safe. The Café Cap is dishwasher safe and the rotating piece on the top also pops out for thorough cleaning.
  • The original Stainless Loop and Flat Caps must be handwashed because they were constructed with two materials: stainless steel (threads) and polypropylene (top), because of such they must be handwashed to ensure that water doesn’t work itself into the stainless cavity.

Protecting the Paint on Painted Bottles

When we debuted our painted bottles, the most important thing to us at Klean Kanteen® was to find a safe and durable paint that also looked dynamite. We reviewed and tested dozens of different paints and selected an acrylic paint that contains no toxins or lead. Just like anything that's painted, it is possible to chip or scratch the paint on your Klean Kanteen. To prolong the life of your paint, handwash your bottle and don't use abrasive agents to clean it.

Painted Kanteens with Kids or Toddlers

We've also heard from some parents that their child has chewed on a painted bottle and ingested some of the paint. If this happens, don't worry, the paint is perfectly safe. Though our paint is safe, we recommend our stainless steel finish bottles for small children who like to chew on things.

Unibody Bamboo Cap Care and Use

Handwash only! Not dishwasher safe. DO NOT submerge in water, expose to high temperatures or harsh detergents. Scrub with warm soapy water, rinse and dry immediately. To prolong the life of the bamboo, treat periodically with mineral oil (standard cutting block oil) or bees wax (w/mineral oil).