Help! My silicone tea infuser tastes of soap!

You will probably have to buy a new infuser but you could try smart soak from Mandala Tea.

Try using denture tablets

Leaving it in the sun for a few days might also help. I’d also try the Mandala tea smart soak like what AllanK suggested, that product does wonders!

The last ditch effort would be a soak in hydrogen peroxide. I’ve used it to soak silicone items to remove staining (not tea related) and it works well for that application (but couldn’t tell you if you could drink out of it afterward).

All fails, I’d invest in a stainless steel tea basket like this – https://www.davidstea.com/tea-perfect-infuser?&TF=384C2498270F&DEID=
My guess is mana-tea might not all be silicone if nothing works.

Thanks for all the replies. I’m in the UK so I’m not sure I can get the smart soak without paying through the nose for delivery… I’m leaving Dave in the sun for a few days until I can get to my grandmother and pinch a denture tablet from her!

try baking soda

try vinegar and leave it overnight. Rinse well the next morning, and it’s probably as good as new.
And denture tabs is a good option too.

I’ve already done vinegar overnight. The smell was much improved, but the tea tasted the same.

My recent theory with silicone is that the absorbed flavour needs to be replaced… so leaving it in boiling/very hot water as long as possible to leach out the flavours may work. At the very least, that’s what I’m trying with my Timolinos – it’s the silicone gaskets that can get smelly, but I usually notice that after a few uses, flavours are back to normal (this is when they pick up a non-gross flavour like mint… soap is really gross, as is that rotting flavour). So I’m filling them with boiling water and leaving them for a bit in the hopes that it works. Haha.

Some people have mentioned hydrogen peroxide and others baking soda but you could try the two together. I use a combo of hydrogen peroxide (a cup or half a cup), a tablespoon of baking soda and a drop or two of dish detergent for pet odors that sink into things. That stuff always works for any odour. But in this case you might not want to use more soap since you are trying to get rid of the soap smell. You could try the baking soda and hydrogen peroxide together. Leave in an open container. Never put a lid on it.

Kittenna has a good idea too but you might want to just have some tea simmering in a pot and add the silicone infuser so that it will absorb the tea flavour. That works for yixing tea pots that absorb flavour. Don’t know if it will work for silicone.

Well I’ve given up on poor Dave. :( I’ve tried everything I can to no avail, so he’s been retired to my wardrobe and filled with lavender to keep the moths away. Since his dishwasher incident, I’ve had the same thing happen with another silicone tea infuser and a bread pan. I’m starting to think it must be something to do with having a new dishwasher and using a different brand of washing tablets, as both of those items have been in the old dishwasher many times. Anyone ever had any problems with Fairy All-in-One tablets?