Water bottles and reusable bottles are dirtier than the toilet seat. Specifically, the volume of bacteria present is 40,000 times higher. This is supported by a recent study carried out on behalf of the site waterfilterguru.com e reported by New York Post, who pointed the finger at the poor hygiene of the bottles in question, defined as real “portable Petri dishes” (that is, the flat and rounded containers where the culture media are inserted to make the bacteria grow). To reach this conclusion, the researchers carried out three different samples on some parts of these reusable bottles – including the spout, the straw and the pressure lid – and thus detected the presence of two types of bacteria: the Gram-negative (which can cause antibiotic resistant infections) and bacilli (which cause gastrointestinal problems).
I study
“The human mouth is home to a huge range of different bacteria, so it’s no surprise that drinking vessels are covered in microbes,” said Dr Andrew Edwards, a molecular microbiologist at Imperial College London. Apart from the toilet seat, even the comparison with other everyday objects hasn’t painted an exactly clean picture: in fact, water bottles contain double the germs present on the kitchen sink, four times those on a computer mouse and fourteen times those in a pet’s water bowl. Yet according to Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at the University of Reading, there’s nothing to worry about. “I’ve never heard of anyone getting sick from a bottle of water, and taps aren’t a problem either: when have you ever heard of someone getting sick from pouring a glass of water from a tap?” underlined the expert, reiterating that the contaminating bacteria may already be present in the mouth.
How to wash bottles
The solution? Wash bottles once a day with soap and water (and even more if you fill the bottle with a liquid other than water) and disinfect them at least once a week, bearing in mind that the analysis carried out has found that the models with the push cap were the cleanest, with one-tenth the amount of bacteria than those with a screw cap or straw lid. How to disinfect water bottles? On the net, there are many tips on how to do it correctly: one of the most effective is that of use vinegar or baking soda (half a bottle is filled with a solution of white vinegar and water or, alternatively, bicarbonate and water and left to rest for one night, before rinsing the bottle very well). The second method is washing in the dishwasher (for models that allow it) and if the bottle has a too narrow neck to clean the inside, you can use a brush or bottle brush. The last suggestion is that of effervescent tablets for cleaning dentures or dental appliances: after having carried out an initial washing of the bottle with soap and warm water, to remove most of the dirt, place a tablet inside the bottle filled with warm water and leave it to rest for twenty minutes to a whole night.