All I do is unscrew the top, fill it half way with water, put my finger over the opening and shake vigorously . Dump and repeat a couple of times. If I had a strong flavor (like coffee) I do a dry burn. I have several of them, but only use two in rotation. I use one for desert flavors and one for fruit flavors. Doing this, I have never noticed across over in flavors other that maybe the first hit or two. The shorter you wicks, the easier it is to clean