It’s a good idea to clean out your camping water container both when you first purchase it and at the start of each season, to ensure that no unwanted smells, mildew, or bacteria make their way into your drinking water. Per the Center for Disease Control, you should following the following steps to clean a camping water container: 1) wash the storage container and then rinse with water, 2) mix one teaspoon of unscented liquid household chlorine bleach in one quart of water and add add to your camping water container, 3) screw the lid back onto the open cap and shake the camping water container until the bleach solution has coated the inside of the container, 4) wait 30 seconds before pouring the bleach solution out of the camping water container, and 5) rinse the empty water container with tap water.