How do you clean your water bottles?
02-18-14, 12:59 PM
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How do you clean your water bottles?
I'm going to start out with a disclaimer: I'm in college and cleaning anything isn't high up on my list of skills, so the answer to this is probably pretty simple.
I have been cleaning my water bottles with just dawn and warm water, but some of them are building up a greyish funk on and in the tops. I'm pretty skeptical about putting my bottles in the dishwasher to get heated up and what not. What am I missing? Or is the funk inevitable?
I have been cleaning my water bottles with just dawn and warm water, but some of them are building up a greyish funk on and in the tops. I'm pretty skeptical about putting my bottles in the dishwasher to get heated up and what not. What am I missing? Or is the funk inevitable?
02-18-14, 01:02 PM
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Shouldn't be funk. Don't post pics. Use a nylon brush to remove it maybe? I wash mine like you would any other glass/plate/dish.
02-18-14, 01:12 PM
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Wash them right after using. Don't let them sit around for a week.
I use the dishwasher, but not the "dry" cycle as that can melt plastic.
I use the dishwasher, but not the "dry" cycle as that can melt plastic.
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02-18-14, 01:16 PM
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Add to this, make sure they are set in a way that they can air dry quickly and/or hand dry as much as possible. Even clean bottles or tops can funk up if put away damp.
02-18-14, 01:19 PM
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Mine always go in the dishwasher, never had a problem. Over time some of the print may wear off, but that's not a big deal.
02-18-14, 01:25 PM
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I'm going to start out with a disclaimer: I'm in college and cleaning anything isn't high up on my list of skills, so the answer to this is probably pretty simple.
I have been cleaning my water bottles with just dawn and warm water, but some of them are building up a greyish funk on and in the tops. I'm pretty skeptical about putting my bottles in the dishwasher to get heated up and what not. What am I missing? Or is the funk inevitable?
I have been cleaning my water bottles with just dawn and warm water, but some of them are building up a greyish funk on and in the tops. I'm pretty skeptical about putting my bottles in the dishwasher to get heated up and what not. What am I missing? Or is the funk inevitable?
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coasting, few quotes are worthy of him, and of those, even fewer printable in a family forum......quote 3alarmer
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02-18-14, 01:27 PM
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OP, if you are in college and have no access to a dishwasher, I have read denture tablets are cheap, effective and good to drop in a water-filled bottle. Just make sure you do not buy the "mint" type. I have not tried it myself.
02-18-14, 01:57 PM
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True; few squirts of Rock n' Roll, a rag, and you're good.
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You could get lost and die.
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02-18-14, 02:03 PM
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You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
02-18-14, 02:04 PM
#16
You gonna eat that?
You're supposed to clean them?
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02-18-14, 02:06 PM
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FFS!!! Clean your bottles with soap, HOT water and a bottle brush!!! Even if you only put water in them, and even if only you drink from them, bacteria and all kinds of bad germies grow and multiply in the moist places around the spouts and in whatever water is left in the bottle- even if you put a half-empty bottle in the fridge, it just happens a t a slower rate there. Plus, who knows what manner of filth is getting kicked up onto them while you are out riding- that multiplies and mutates too.
02-18-14, 02:24 PM
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FFS!!! Clean your bottles with soap, HOT water and a bottle brush!!! Even if you only put water in them, and even if only you drink from them, bacteria and all kinds of bad germies grow and multiply in the moist places around the spouts and in whatever water is left in the bottle- even if you put a half-empty bottle in the fridge, it just happens a t a slower rate there. Plus, who knows what manner of filth is getting kicked up onto them while you are out riding- that multiplies and mutates too.
You've probably done it."Refill it all the time."
Or know someone who has.
"Everyday."
"Weeks, I don't think I have ever gone over a month."
Refilling your water bottle.
"I say I get a new bottle every week."
It's pretty common, especially when you're trying to get your eight glasses of water a day. But could refilling your bottles be making you sick? I asked a dozen people at Woodcreek Athletic Club to use a water bottle for a whole week and then give it to me for testing. None of them washed their bottles out. They just filled them up and drank. Then I took the bottles to UT Health Center for analysis.
"We actually cultured around the neck and just on the inside, the part that would go in your mouth," said Dr. Richard Wallace. "All of those grew lots and lots of bacteria that could make you very sick almost like having food poisoning. That can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. Basically the worst vomiting you have ever had in your life."
Some tests even showed the water was undrinkable.
"You've got to remember that bottles like this are not sterile and the water in them is not sterile. As soon as you drink out of them they are contaminated bottles," Dr. Wallace explains.
And beware, Dr. Wallace says the pop top water bottles pose an even bigger health danger.
"For the bottles that don't have the nice screw on caps, you can constantly touch the top that goes in your mouth. Whatever is on your hands goes on top. Then anything like stool if you didn't wash your hands after using the bathroom, can be passed. That can cause things like Hepatitis A and all types of viruses," he says.
So what do our brave volunteer as think about this.
"I think that is disgusting."
"I'm grossed out."
They all said from now on they'll think twice before they fill 'er up.
And if you thought you were safe by washing your bottle, think again. The International Water Bottle Association says the bottles are not made to be reused and can not be washed in a dishwasher because the neck is so small, soap and water can not thoroughly clean it.
Michelle Mortensen, reporting.
Or know someone who has.
"Everyday."
"Weeks, I don't think I have ever gone over a month."
Refilling your water bottle.
"I say I get a new bottle every week."
It's pretty common, especially when you're trying to get your eight glasses of water a day. But could refilling your bottles be making you sick? I asked a dozen people at Woodcreek Athletic Club to use a water bottle for a whole week and then give it to me for testing. None of them washed their bottles out. They just filled them up and drank. Then I took the bottles to UT Health Center for analysis.
"We actually cultured around the neck and just on the inside, the part that would go in your mouth," said Dr. Richard Wallace. "All of those grew lots and lots of bacteria that could make you very sick almost like having food poisoning. That can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. Basically the worst vomiting you have ever had in your life."
Some tests even showed the water was undrinkable.
"You've got to remember that bottles like this are not sterile and the water in them is not sterile. As soon as you drink out of them they are contaminated bottles," Dr. Wallace explains.
And beware, Dr. Wallace says the pop top water bottles pose an even bigger health danger.
"For the bottles that don't have the nice screw on caps, you can constantly touch the top that goes in your mouth. Whatever is on your hands goes on top. Then anything like stool if you didn't wash your hands after using the bathroom, can be passed. That can cause things like Hepatitis A and all types of viruses," he says.
So what do our brave volunteer as think about this.
"I think that is disgusting."
"I'm grossed out."
They all said from now on they'll think twice before they fill 'er up.
And if you thought you were safe by washing your bottle, think again. The International Water Bottle Association says the bottles are not made to be reused and can not be washed in a dishwasher because the neck is so small, soap and water can not thoroughly clean it.
Michelle Mortensen, reporting.
02-18-14, 02:32 PM
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i knew a guy in university who aired his clothes rather than washed them.
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coasting, few quotes are worthy of him, and of those, even fewer printable in a family forum......quote 3alarmer
No @coasting, you should stay 100% as you are right now, don't change a thing....quote Heathpack
02-18-14, 02:34 PM
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I have Polar and HydraPak bottles- all wider mouth than back in the day. They go in the dishwasher every week, and get washed with soap and scalding hot water if I need them between dishwasher cycles. The Polar have spouts that pop out for more thorough cleaning as well.
02-18-14, 02:37 PM
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I've got the clean bottle, camelback bottles an regular bottles. They all go in the dishwasher. Top shelf, don't want to melt them.
02-18-14, 02:42 PM
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If it's just water why would I clean it? To wash off the water?
Water: Top off when low. Works fine.
Mix: Rinse, shake with water and squirt out twice. Rinse again. Also works fine. Must be done the same day.
Water: Top off when low. Works fine.
Mix: Rinse, shake with water and squirt out twice. Rinse again. Also works fine. Must be done the same day.
02-18-14, 03:02 PM
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I use a bit of dish washing liquid, fill about half way add some ice, crushed or cubed, shake vigorously. Rinse, repeat as neccesary.
02-18-14, 03:08 PM
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Washing water bottles is one of those things that cyclists tend to overthink. The dishwasher does the best job possible. Clean, sanitary and convenient. If you use heated drying, you may sacrifice one every now and then. What happens is the thread or sealing surface of the bottle or top can get deformed by pressure on it while hot. The you have a leaker. The bottle is seldom damaged any way other than that. The material melts far higher than dishwasher temperature. For the price, what $5.00, the risk is worth it. I don't lose more than one more often than every couple of years. And I use the bottom level due to the height of the bottles.