Hi there, how do you guys clean your shaker bottles? I’m in the habit of sniffing most dishes before I pick them up and use them and I’ve discovered there is a horrendous smell from my Huel shaker. It’s like a real rotten decaying plant matter sort of a smell… It’s always washed using fairy liquid and left to sit overnight in the open air. I think the smell is stuck in the plastic.
Any solutions to sort this or is it just an unfortunate part of such a regularly used piece of plastic ware with natural ingredients?
That’s odd! This shouldn’t be an issue with our new shakers and as someone who is very sensitive to smells when eating, I can’t say I have experienced this issue yet.
Do you have Huel sit in your shaker for longer than a day usually?
there are many ‘old wives tales’ out there for odour removal on plastic perhaps the easiest one if its sunny out is wash it out as normal and leave it outside in the sun to dry. *Thanks radiation
*just dont do it often - UV radiation breaks the bonds within the plastic.
As I live in Glastonbury, I am quite aware of the liquid that the fairies ooze; and I certainly wouldn’t use it to clean my shaker, so maybe where you are going wrong. [Nor would I use Viking Vom, Wizard Wazz, odour toilette publique, nor PIxi Pus - all commonly found in town].
Mine gets whiffy too, tho’ not from the plastic - seems it’s from bits of goodness that get stuck in the groove in the top bit - the groove at the top of the screw.
Also in the nooks of the cap. I use an old toothbrush to give it a scrub out from time to time.
Also keep it disassembled so air can get at it, and keep it in the fridge even when empty, when it’s hot weather.
I have never had that problem with any of my shakers, old or new. I always give the shaker a good rinse as soon as I have finished, then leave it full of water until it gets hand-washed more thoroughly later. After washing, always make sure it’s completely dry before reassembling.
An old tip regarding smelly thermos flasks was to fill with hot water and add a teaspoon of salt before storing. Used to work a treat. Might well work for stinky shakers too.
No dishwasher machine here either. I’m the dishwasher. I still use the old shakers and if I leave the lid off after washing it doesn’t smell. But if I’m out and rinse a shaker out, then put the lid on until I get home it smells then. But after proper clean it doesn’t smell then.
Bizarrely - I absolutely love the taste of Huel but cannot stand the smell! - so maybe you’re like me? I have to turn my head when I rinse out my shaker to put in the washing up bowl or dishwasher as the smell makes me gag.
I use unscented washing-up liquid with a little bit of bicarbonate of soda to wash my plastic water and Huel bottles, sometimes leaving them to soak for about half an hour every few washes then giving them a good scrub with a bottle brush. I’m quite sensitive to smells and this works well for me.
Unfortunately though the same doesn’t work for the H&S pot that the smell of bolognese is apparently just going to cling to eternally.
I’ve taken a look at the replies on here. Thanks everybody.
It seems no matter what I do, my original Huel bottle just plain stinks. I think the cinnamon flavouring being strong (and tasty) as it is, has missed with something like the banana flavouring.
Another thing I’m totally to blame is that at times I’ve not rinsed it out right after finishing my Huel. That is maybe why I’m having such a bad experience with the smell.
My solution now has just been to order some new spare bottles (of the old type because they’re cheap) and label them for each flavour. So, cinnamon, berry and caramel coffee for now.
I’d be interested to see if these end up working better for me in terms of no cross-contamination between flavours and the smells they may leave. It’s either that, or me leaving it too long for it to decay and go nasty which has sadly happened on a few occasions.
The old bottles are now £2 each, cheap enough to have one for every flavour you frequent. I’d definitely recommend it.
Howdy, everyone. I’m kinda new member on the forum so still a lot of content to look through but I’ve bumped upon this thread just recently and thought about sharing methods of my battle with unpleasant smell inside shakers. Maybe it’ll help someone, it definitely worked for me every time with any shaker I’ve had.
Assuming that the shaker doesn’t contain BPA (bisphenol A) and DEHP (phthalate compounds), I’ve been told that it’s been safe to treat it with boiling water (it’s better to remove the shaker strainer so that it doesn’t deform due to influence of the increased temperature). Before scalding, wash the inner side thoroughly with cold water with the addition of dishwashing liquid and then rinse.
Next step is to fill shaker with boiling water along with one of ingredients (baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, citric acid, vanilla extract - 1 tablespoon is usually enough and they all work great as I tested them personally - or 1 capsule of activated carbon). Leave it to sit for a few hours (preferably overnight), then rinse shaker with cold water first and with warm water afterwards, you do the same with strainer (excluding scalding process) and bad smell should vanish. If it’s still not pleasant enough, you can try leaving it open at terrace / balcony for a while (just not too often due to UV radiation like @Phil_C mentioned).
If shakers contain BPA or DEHP, you can’t use boiling water since toxic substances are released during the scalding process so you can only work with warm and cold water. Try not to leave the shaker closed for a long time, smell will not be so unpleasant.
Kind regards!
Never had an issue with mine. The only time I did was when I didn’t clean it out overnight after use and the next day it really stank! thankfully it went away once I cleaned it which other bottles have taken multiple washes.
perhaps the easiest one if its sunny out is wash it out as normal and leave it outside in the sun to dry. *Thanks radiation 