How to Clean Your Protein Shaker Bottle – No Chemicals Needed

The wrath of a dirty shaker bottle is unlike that of any other dirty dish. Prevention is the best policy – always rinse your shaker bottle as soon as possible after drinking from it, even if you can’t fit in a full wash – but sometimes the errant shaker bottle gets left in the trunk, forgotten on the counter, or otherwise abandoned to a certain and stinky fate.

Regular dish soap and water don’t always remove the protein residue, no matter how hard you scrub. Here are my steps for cleaning your dirty protein shaker bottle with natural items you probably already have in your house:

1. Scrub the bottle and lid with soap and hot water.

2. Make a paste with baking soda and water. Apply the paste to the inside of the bottle and lid and let it dry.

3. Dump out the baking soda residue and rinse the bottle and well. This may be all your shaker needs to be clean.

If not…

4. Scrub the inside of the bottle and lid with more baking soda and hot water. Rinse well.

If the bottle still smells dirty…

5. Fill the bottle with white vinegar and screw on the (closed) lid. Allow the bottle to sit for at least an hour and up to a full day. Pour out the vinegar and rinse the bottle and lid well.

I’ve never had to go beyond that step, so hopefully by now your bottle will be fresh and clean again. The baking soda scrub can remove logos and labels, so try not to scrub the outside if you don’t want to lose your logo!

Another good shortcut after step 1 is to leave your washed bottle and lid (separately) in the hot sun. I try not to overheat plastics (hence the lack of boiling water in this post), but sunlight heats it just enough to help kill off whatever may still be lurking in your shaker.

If it’s time to upgrade your protein shaker, check out some of these bad boys: