​I had this problem with my 20oz Coffee bottle, and I wanted to put the stainless back in stainless-steel.  Hydro Flask has these recommendations and best practices listed on their website.  But instead, I wanted to try something that I remembered seeing on Shark Tank to see if it was the real deal.

​I ordered a pack of Bottle Bright tablets to see how they work to get the stains out.   They aren’t that expensive, and they seemed easier than using a homemade concoction.  They’re made with ingredients like hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and citric acid and are marketed as being completely safe and without any residual tastes or smells.  

​Here is the inside of my Hydro Flask before the test, and you can clearly see the coffee and tea stains.  I followed the instructions on the package, which state you should fill your bottle with warm water and then add one tablet for each liter.

One liter is just over 32 ounces, so given that I was testing this on a 20-ounce bottle, adding one full tablet was more than enough.

​I dropped the tablet in, and it immediately started fizzing.  After letting it sit for 30 minutes, I poured out the water and used my brush with some clean water to rinse the bottle to make sure I got all of the tablet residue out.

The tablet honestly worked better than I expected.  Most of the stains were cleaned out, and it almost looks like a brand-new bottle as you can see from the images below.  I didn't use any other cleaners for this test, so I know the tablet was responsible for removing the stain.

I took a quick sample taste of some water, and I didn’t notice anything that seemed off.  Glad to know that my bottle won't have a weird aftertaste.

​It's a pretty resounding YES on this one.  Overall, it was a very good first impression of the Bottle Bright tablets.  They simplified the cleaning process and took the guess-work out of the equation.

You could save a little money trying a different brand, and there are plenty of knockoffs available.  But in our opinion, it might be a good idea to stick to reputable brands instead of buying from an unknown company on Amazon.

​We hope this post and video has helped.  We’ve included links to the products, and if you purchase after clicking the link, we earn a small commission.  Every little bit helps our business, and we really appreciate the support!

When you’re buying a reusable bottle, one of the first decisions you’ll have to make is whether to get a narrow mouth or wide mouth bottle.  Virtually all bottle brands have narrow mouth and wide mouth options, so this is something you’ll need to think about whether you’re looking to buy a Hydro Flask, Nalgene, or any of the countless other bottle brands on the market today.  We’re going to review the main factors you should be thinking about when making your decision.  And spoiler alert, we have a pretty strong opinion on this one.

Please note that some bottle brands have different terminologies.  For example, Hydro Flask has a “standard mouth,” and that’s what we would classify as a narrow mouth design. 
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Links are given to the Amazon listings for each product.  Thanks for your support!

One of the most common reasons that someone might prefer a narrow mouth is that it’s easier to take sips of your drink, and this is certainly true with the base bottle.  With wide mouth bottles it’s not uncommon to take a sip of water and accidentally splash yourself in the face.  Then don’t be surprised when your friends and family make an Airplane reference about having a drinking problem.  Narrow mouth bottles help prevent this issue.

But if you have a wide mouth bottle, you can easily avoid this problem by purchasing a different style lid, like a straw, sip, or chug style.  For Hydro Flasks, see our videos reviewing their Flex Straw and Flex Sip lids to take a closer look.  Or get a splash guard, like a SplashPro for Hydro Flasks, or Guyot or Watergate for Nalgenes.
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So all-in-all, there’s not much of a difference here between narrow and wide mouth bottles, other than the small cost you might run into if you’re buying a different lid or splash guard.

First off, regardless of which bottle you use, we highly recommend getting a bottle brush to help make cleaning your big bottle more easy.  But in general, you’ll find narrow mouth bottles more difficult to clean than wide mouth bottles.

Narrow mouth bottles limit the size of a bottle brush you can fit, and with smaller brushes, the bristles usually aren’t long enough to easily reach the spot where the bottle widens just under the neck.  Wide mouth bottles can fit bigger brushes with longer bristles, so it’s easier to clean this area.
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So when it comes to ease of cleaning, wide mouth bottles are the clear winners.

Many people like to add ice or flavorings to their water to change things up, but if you get a narrow mouth bottle, you’re really limiting what you can do.  Adding ice is more tedious, and that’s if your ice cubes even fit.  Some bottles, like narrow mouth Nalgenes, have really small openings that don’t even fit most standard ice cubes.  And odds are you won’t have an easy time adding fruit or tea leaves since most infusers won’t fit.  You can add liquid flavorings and flexible tea bags to narrow mouth bottles, but that’s about it.

Wide mouth bottles are much more versatile than narrow mouth bottles.  Its easier to add ice, fruit and tea infusers, and other natural flavorings.  Our FlavorFuze Pod fruit infuser fits great in most wide mouth bottles, and you can fit many common tea infusers as well.  So when it comes to adding ice or other flavorings, wide mouth bottles are better than narrow mouth bottles.

Be sure to check your bottle's mouth diameter before buying an infuser.  But in general, most popular wide mouth bottles tend to have mouth openings that are at least 2.0 inches diameter.  So get infusers that are less than 2" around and you should be good.

​You might be asking if narrow mouth or wide mouth bottles are more expensive, but the opening style really is not much of a factor.  The variables that make the most impact on the bottle cost are the brand and bottle size, not the opening style.

So when it comes to deciding whether narrow or wide mouth bottles are better, our opinion is that wide mouths are the clear winners.  They’re easier to clean, they’re more versatile when it comes to adding ice and flavorings, and you can make it just as easy to take sips as a narrow mouth bottle by getting the right lid or splash guard.

Do you agree with our recommendation?  Let us know!

Congrats, you have a Hydro Flask (or are thinking about getting one soon)!  It's hard enough deciding which Hydro Flask bottle to get, but have you also thought about which lid you'll use?

Hydro Flask has four (4) lids available right now on Amazon: Flex Cap, Flex Sip, Flex Straw, and Straw Lid.

In this video, we go over how each one works, what we like and don't like about each design, and how we use them.

If you'd rather read through the review than watch the video, see the written summary below.

​Hydro Flask has four lid options, and you might be asking which lid is best for you. We've reviewed and tested each lid extensively, and here's what we think.  Links are in the description.

Which one is best for you?  Well, it depends on how you want to use it, but we can tell you how we like to use them.

• We like using a Flex Cap with a SplashPro in our largest bottles when we're doing something active. We find it easier to get smooth pours and bigger gulps of water while also keeping water out of your face.
• For sipping at work or in the car, we like using Flex Straw with a FlavorFuze Straw infuser to add some flavor.
• And for coffee and tea in the morning, we prefer to use the Flex Sip lid with a smaller Hydro Flask like a 16oz.
• The only lid we recommend against using is the original straw lid. If you want a straw lid, just get the Flex Straw.

​Also works with a ​FlavorFuze Straw Infuser

Many people search Google for things like:

• How to make loose leaf tea in a Hydro Flask?
• Can you make hot tea in a Hydro Flask?
• Tea infuser for Hydro Flask
• Tea strainer for Hydro Flask
• Tea steeper for Hydro Flask
• Making tea in Hydro Flask
• Hot tea in Hydro Flask
• Loose leaf tea Hydro Flask
• Brewing tea in a Hydro Flask

We get a lot of questions about this too.  Hydro Flasks are primarily used for water, but plenty of people would love it if they could have different flavors, like fruit infused water, coffee, or tea.  In particular, tea is what we're focusing on today.

And unlike some concerns with plastic and even aluminum, from what we have found, stainless steel won't leach chemicals or pollutants into your beverage.  Flaske has a great article covering more details about the question of "Are Stainless Steel Water Bottles Safe to Drink From."  So does Elemental Bottles, where they recommend looking for bottles that are either made from #304 or 18/8 stainless steel (Hydro Flasks are made from 18/8).  We highly recommend checking these articles out if you have any other questions or concerns.

You should also consider what type of Hydro Flask you want to use, since that can have an effect on which type of tea infuser will work best.

Now that we know putting hot tea in stainless steel bottles like Hydro Flasks is safe, let's look at the best ways to do it!