Dish soap and bleach work quite well too. I use dish soap once a week or so ... and bleach whenever anything has gone moldy or my bottles have taken on an odd smell.

Do you generally carry dish soap and bleach on tour or backpacking, cause I don't.....
IF i carry soap it is usually the biodegradable camp soap that i use for my dishes, body, or anything else.

I carry shampoo topped up with the soap in gas station washroom. That's dish soap for me ... and laundry detergent, and shower soap, and shampoo, and soap for any other occasions I might run across ... including, of course, cleaning my bottles.

The bleach is for when my bottles develop mold, which they never have on tours because I'm using them, and rinsing/washing them every day (and I've got a huge bottle of bleach for when they mold up over the winter) ... or when they develop an odd smell, which they have done on tours. In cases like that, I've tried to score bleach or something strong at a hostel to take care of the problem. You might be able to get a bit from a laundromat too.

I use metal bottles exclusively. I used aluminum for years, and now I use stainless. I also use nylon cages -- no rattles. The plastic cages have held up remarkably well.

Here is an example:

http://www.sierraropeproducts.com/i/...ANTEEN-web.jpg

I use a stainless steel thermos sometimes, and it doesn't rattle at all when I put it in a Topeak Modula Cage EX. They're pretty cheap, so it might be worth a try.

i, too, have never washed my bidons. occasionally, when they get too dirty on the outside i rinse them off,
but most days?
They just get a refil.
I do have to say that I've never put anything other than water and a 'thin' solution of ORS in them.
After the holiday I do store them without tops so they can dry out thoroughly.
And, yes, incidentally I too believe that we (in the west anyhow) live too sterile lives.

novara makes plastic water bottles that don't leach bpa's, are insulated to keep your drank cooler, longer, and cost half of what a stainless steel bottler would. my two cents.

The mechanical action of a good rinsing will remove just about as much bacteria or more than soap will. So long as there are not residual particles of food or a film of sports drink in there rinsing and drying is usually all that is needed. After using sports drinks it is best to use a brush with running hot water to make sure all the stuff is dissolved and washed away.

Also, chlorine combines with organic materials to create cancer causing agents so you should be careful when using it to clean out bottles. Any particles left on the surface might be more dangerous than the bacteria. So use a very weak bleach solution and a very good rinsing when using bleach.

Ethanol is probably better than bleach for disinfecting.

I use efferdent tablets to clean my camelback, probably be great for those of you in the fuss camp. TBH, I rarely clean a water bottle, or the CB for that matter. Just rinse occasionally and always watch what I put in them. The CB sees nothing but bottled water and that's usually the case for the bottles, too. What's to go bad? It's water.

You could use Sterident (denture cleaning tablets) just break a small piece off and leave it to soak overnight, the give it a scrub with a bottle brush. Normal cycling bottles tend to deform if you put boiling water in the so don't. Nalgene and camelbak type bottles will take hot water, this will also get rid of some of the nasties. I don't clean my bottles very often but I only use water in them, I also believe you're more likely to become ill if debris/dirt/flies/road kill:thumb: land on the drinking spout when riding so buy a bottle with a cover over this to keep it clean. Also when touring don't neglect personal hygiene, wash your hands, clean your teeth etc etc

I keep meaning to buy those fizzing tablets for dentures to try on my camelbak bladder. Actually, mine's a Source bladder, which is supposedly less susceptible to gunge growth. I got a long flexible thing to scrub the tube, and a similar one for the bladder. It works quite well.

As for my bottles, I just rinse, shake and let air dry. I am averse to bleach.

Sounds like I'm the most hardcore here: I don't actually drink water on the bike very often, so I'm often drinking out of a bottle I filled up a few days or up to a week ago. I give it a sniff before I drink, and if it smells rank, I don't touch it.

It does seems logical to rinse it out when refilling though. Seriously, though, it's just bacteria, that came from you in the first place.

Steve

at the end of the day i still like to think my bidons as perfectly clean before i drink from them ,so lots of great advice given here .i think ill go with the tablets idea (denture cleaning) great idea and it onle takes but a second to do .better to be safe than sorry.

Perhaps a small flask of Jim Beam would suffice on tour. Much better than bleach.;)

Interesting idea. I'm sure you weren't being literal when you state "it should kill anything." In fact, toothpaste is not a very effective antibacterial agent. It may help the taste though.
I've used the same worn out faded water bottles for years, to the point where the thousands of gallons of well water swill picked up from God knows where, has actually created a pleasant yellow hue to the inside. From the list of issues to be cautious of while bike touring, I would put your water bottles near the bottom of the list. Every few weeks, just fill halfway with hot water and shake. And always store them open. Other than that, remember to not drink from them like a teat..;) Keep them out of the inside of your mouth and you'll be fine!

I think the key here is what was in your water bottle in the first place. If it was just water, than no worries, if it was some sweet, sugar based sport drink, then more attention is due.

As does Polar.

I used to worry about this. Did you ever notice how the inside of your automobile windows is always covered by a nasty gray haze? That's "outgassing" from the plastic upholstery materials, and I figured that plastic water bottles would do the same.

Then I thought about it.

The "outgassing" is always worse when the car is new. After a year or so the volatile components in the material have pretty much "gassed away", and the film becomes less of a problem.

Then I thought of all of the foodstuffs that are packaged in plastic: Milk, soda, peanut butter, etc. - not to mention water. Those bottles must discharge their volatile compounds into the product, too, while sitting on the shelves before you buy it or consume it. Nobody seeme to worry about that.

Some folks were always throwing their old bottles away and buying new ones! Heck, I figure they were just buying bottles that were freshly charged with bad stuff all ready to contaminate their water, you see? I figure the older the bottle, the less the danger.

My automobile windows aren't covered by a nasty gray haze. Perhaps you need to stop smoking in the car?

And I wouldn't worry about your plastic bottles. Evidently canned goods have a much higher rate of whatever chemical it is that everyone is all concerned about, and we all eat canned goods.

Mebbe I'm getting the wrong impression because we're focusing on this subject here, but the fuss and bother is a bit silly. I seriously think that there's more risk of getting sick from a poorly rinsed bottle cleaned with bleach or other substance than from anything that might actually befoul a bidon. Yep, some plastics are to be avoided. They introduce themselves by imparting a taste or smell.

Otherwise, I'm inclined to think that more water, more riding and less worries vastly outweighs other concerns. Yes, if you're getting water from the wild you've got different issues. But if you refill from bottled water or even the tap anywhere in the civilized world the stress of worrying about it is worse than the very slim chance of a problem. Of course I only drink sugared stuff from the crap container it comes in and then dispose of it. Your mileage will vary.

just on the subject of only drinking water,dont you all think it would be far better to take a high energy drink when cycling.another reason to clean your bidons.all the books you read on science in sport recommend high energy drinks they reckon water is useless for high active sports especally cycling..

What is a high energy drink?

"Useless"? That seems to be putting it a bit strong. Water hydrates. Gatorade restores electrolytes. There's only one way to hydrate, but other ways to restore electrolytes.

+1 I love those. They're 750ml, insulated, double-walled and light.