When cotton says it is sterile, all that means that there is no life on the cotton. Nothing can live on that cotton. That does not man it was not treated or bleached or whatever. For many, there is no off taste to it. For me an many others, there are. I use the CVS Sterile Cotton. I boil my cotton 3 times.
1. Boil the cotton in a pot for 10 mins.
2. Take it off the heat, and fill with water so that it runs over. I do this for about 30 seconds to get any floating substances out.
3. Take out cotton and rinse with cold water.
4. Repeat this process 2 more times.
5. Use a hair dryer to dry the cotton.
6. When dry, wick away.
I do notice the flavor is much better (for me) this way. Some have told me that this process is a hassle. Sure, but it only takes an hour of my day, and after I boil and dry, it is going to be a long time, possibly years before I have to boil cotton again.