Cure for nasty canteen taste?

[twobirds]

For what it's worth...I, too, have gagged from the taste of water from my gourd canteens. :shocked2: Have used both parrafin and beeswax. Both melted in Texas heat. But, I tried filling my current canteen with water, letting it soak overnight, then changing the water. After about a week of repeating this procedure, the water became much less bitter. Can't taste the gourd at all now. Might or might not work with yours, but it's costs nothing to give it a try! :hmm:

 

[dlemaster]

Blackhand
Hot buttered rum is my drink of choice at the end of a long winter day in the woods. Another one you might like is a hit of it in "Constant Comment" tea or something similar, makes a good toddy even the wife loves it.

Seriously though I was told by the old timer that really got me started in black powder that "Black powder (or any gun powder) and alcohol don't mix" even in minute quantities. One of the reasons that although I love them I don't carry a rum horn with me in the woods.
So I save it for the end of the day after the guns are all cleaned and put away. Everyone please be safe.

Regards, Dave

 

[Owenbrau]

I use a half-moon canteen; I figure, up until a few years ago, I was a British subject, and in the militia, so who else would I get equipment from? I cheated, and got a stainless-steel one; it's covered in blue wool.

 

[paulvallandigham]

With gourds, you can have molds growing on the inside. Use a good antibacterial soap to clean the insides out, and then rinse it many times. Leave fresh water in over night, then pour it out in the morning. Replace with fresh water, and leave it sit all day, and night, and pour it out in the morning. Test the flavor of water before pouring it out on the third day, and keep up the process until it tastes okay. Leave water in the gourd so it doesn't grow new mold. If you do empty the gourd, dry it complete before replacing the stopper, and then store in a cool dry place. They can last for years, and once you get that bad taste out, it should not return, unless you let new mold grow in it. Do that often enough, and the mold will eat a hole in the side of the gourd and render it useless as a canteen.

 

[cheapeats]

I am not sure how well it will work for the old timey canteens but when our new age polycarbonate canteens or bladders get yucky we fill them with water and add a couple of the denture cleaning tablets. Efferdent is antibacterial and leaves a slight mouthwashy taste for the first couple uses.

 

[Homesteader]

Thank you very much for the info, gentlemen. I believe you may be right about the mold growing inside. My home state (SC) is very humid, and I've already cleaned off a substantial amount of white fur on the outside of my gourd canteen. I intend to try your tips right away.

For what it's worth, though, I silver soldered the spout back on my broken half-moon Brit's canteen, sewed some red wool into a covering bag for it, and now enjoy decent tasting water. Of course, the sips I take of good ole dark rum from time to time helps a bit! :grin:

 

[Stumpkiller]

I've used Musketman's suggestion of baking soda in water allowed to sit overnight. Adding a shot of burbon also perks the taste up (and serves as anti-freeze - for the water, not you).