You may be surprised to know what exactly is going on inside your favourite resuable water bottle
While it's great for the environment and our health that so many of are using reusable water bottles, just how often do you wash it? And do you give it a fast rinse under the tap or a serious scrub and super wash? Dr. Primrose Freestone is Senior Lecturer in clinical microbiology at the University of Leicester and she joined the Today with Claire Byrne show on RTÉ Radio 1 with some advice and tips. (This piece includes excerpts from the conversation which have been edited for length and clarity - you can hear the discussion in full below).
"The problem with reusable water bottles is what goes into the water bottle when you've drunk it", explains Freestone. "What's in your mouth and on your hands on the outside of the bottle will end up on the inside of the bottle. Those bacteria and fungi will start to attach to the interior and start growing. Before you know it, you've got a biofilm, a slimy layer of bacteria, and they're going to contaminate your water and potentially make you unwell."
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Today with Claire Byrne, how clean is your water bottle?
Then, there's the fact that so many people are drinking something other than water from the bottle. "If you have fruit juices or a milkshake or protein shake, what nourishes you is actually going to nourish the bacteria that inevitably end up inside your bottle. Water bottles should really be for just plain water. If you keep the water cold, you are also going to slow down the growth of the bacteria. But the thing is, you can't stop bacteria getting into your water bottle and so therefore you really do need to keep it clean."
Freestone recommends a super clean and not just washing-up liquid. "If you've left your bottle for a long time or you've not washed it for a long time, you need to give it a super clean and that's where that bottle of vinegar you've got in the cupboard could be quite helpful. The acetic acid in the vinegar will kill off the bacteria growing on the inside. Ideally, leave it overnight or a couple of days, then rinse it out and then do the hot water detergent scrub. Let the bottle dry overnight, because drying also is quite sanitising. And then you're fine, but really, you've got to wash your bottle."
Many of us have growing collections of old water bottles so at what stage is it time to say goodbye to your old favourites? Freestone says this depends on how often you use it, how often you drop it and where it's been left. "Any water bottle is going to deteriorate over time. it depends on the quality of the bottle and what it's basically made of. Plastic ones tend to last shorter times than glass or metal ones If you're going to wash it regularly, you're going to get scratches inside and that's going to promote bacteria catching. If it's been left in the sunlight, that damages things like plastics or metal, though glass is less effected."
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The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
