Grove Co.’s New Wash Pods Make Cleaning My Tricky Water Bottles a Breeze

If you wash dishes by hand, I’ll bet you have a few select pieces that you dread cleaning. It might be a stainless steel frying pan that isn’t quite as nonstick as it claims to be, or perhaps it’s a baking dish that’s always covered in burnt cheese after meal prep. For me, the most annoying items to wash are — without a doubt — water bottles. I’m not talking about my extra-large Hydro Flask or my Stanley Quencher, which both have wide enough openings for easy scrubbing. Rather, there are a few bottles in my collection that are so narrow, it’s impossible to reach inside for a proper cleaning. Back in high school, for instance, S’well bottles were all the rage. I eventually had to stop using mine, not because I didn’t like it, but because its body was like a dark, confined cavern that I could never reach with a sponge. Over time, my water began to taste a little … funky … and I had no choice but to retire my beloved S’well bottle.

You might be thinking that there are easy ways around this problem, like sticking the bottle in the dishwasher or opting for a skinny scrub brush. And you’re not wrong, but I recently tried an even easier method. Earlier this month, Grove Co. launched their all-new bottle wash power packs, and they’ve totally changed the game when it comes to cleaning my trickier water bottles.

What are the Bottle Wash Power Packs?

The power packs arrive in a bag of 10, and they look like miniature dishwasher or laundry detergent pods. In other words, each pack is adorably small, making it all the more simple to use. You’ll also be happy to learn that the pods are made from 99% mineral-based ingredients, so they’re free of dyes, phosphates, chlorine bleach, and other harmful chemicals. To clean your bottle or other container of choice, simply drop in a pod (you might use two for larger containers) and fill the bottle with warm water. The instructions say not to replace the lid, as that could cause the contents to pressurize. From there, simply wait anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes while the pod does its job, then rinse out your bottle. It should look sparkling clean!

Why I Love the Bottle Wash Power Packs

I received my own bag of bottle pods almost as soon as I arrived at my parents’ house for the holidays. I prefer to keep a water bottle with me at all times instead of a glass, but my parents had placed all of my bottles on top of a cabinet by the stove. I pulled out an old favorite — a glass Contigo with a narrow mouthpiece. Because it hadn’t been used in almost a year, it was covered in dust inside and out. I also knew that its position near the stove (and, consequently, smelly food steam) would probably make any water I poured inside taste gross. I plopped a pod inside the bottle, followed it with warm water, and waited. Almost immediately, the contents fizzed up, so I knew it was working. When I rinsed the bottle, it was practically gleaming, and the water I poured inside tasted totally clean. The pod had worked!

In the following week, I also tried the pods out on my parents’ electric kettle, whose interior was covered in limescale. I’d previously tried to scrub off the calcified residue to no avail. After 30 minutes of sitting with two pods, however, the kettle was much easier to clean. I still wasn’t able to get all of the limescale completely off, but I’d say about 40% of it lifted after rinsing the kettle and scrubbing it for a few minutes. I can’t wait to keep using the pods on other items, including my pour-over coffee carafe, travel mugs, and bullet blender containers. If you, too, want an easy solution to cleaning difficult drinkware, look no further than this ingenious new release.

Buy: Bottle Wash Power Packs, $6.99