Bottle cleaning on tour

[HobbesOnTour]

I'll beg, borrow but not steal a little bit of bleach at a campsite etc. and soak the bottles before giving them a good rinse. I'll do that as often as I can as in this case a little prevention is worth a lot more than the cure!

 

[HelenD123]

I toured for over 6 months and don't remember really cleaning my bottles apart from a quick wipe of the tops. I must have got lucky...

 

[alicat]

I toured for over 6 months and don't remember really cleaning my bottles apart from a quick wipe of the tops. I must have got lucky...

I agree, you got lucky. Pace the immortal phrase, 'Just because you didn't get pregnant, it doesn't mean it's not a good idea to use contraception.'

 

[Tom B]

Babies bottle sterilising tablets. Weigh next to nothing and will pack down well. I keep a few in my locker at work for that very purpose. Also good for throwing in the dishwasher sump or the washing machine in summer. Even toss them in the screenwash bottle to stop that gunge that can build up.

 

[andrew_s]

If you're camping, you've got a stove.
Dunk the top in the pan whilst you bringing some water to the boil, then put the water in the bottle, put the top back on, shake it about, and let it cool to hand hot.
By that time it will have been hot enough for long enough to kill anything nasty.

Personally, I put only plain water in, and don't bother about cleaning whilst away.

 

[Blue Hills]

You could always get a little dropper bottle, anyone who vapes could give them to you for free, then put a bit of bleach in it. A couple of drops in the bottle, fill with water and leave for 10 mins, should kill pretty much anything in there.

Not being too hot on domestic science have always worried a bit about bleach since folks kill themselves with it. What"s the limit for using it on stuff you are going to drink from?

 

[Blue Hills]

I toured for over 6 months and don't remember really cleaning my bottles apart from a quick wipe of the tops. I must have got lucky...

That yorkshire tea kills anything.

 

[Tom B]

Not being too hot on domestic science have always worried a bit about bleach since folks kill themselves with it. What"s the limit for using it on stuff you are going to drink from?

Plenty of folk drink a bottle of bleach (sodium hyperchlorate) and live with the assistance of hospital treatment. Unfortunately I've met a few in the day job and they seem remarkably well certainly initially. I think the issue is tissue damage and swelling and the sooner you can dilute or remove it the better.

I wash allsorts in Tesco's 30p bleach including bottles and food containers, I swill the yard down after rover has desecrated it and frequently get relatively dilute bleach over my skin with no ill effects. It has however marked my trousers.

I don't think that using a bottle cleaned with a capful of bleach will do you any harm especially if you give it a couple of swills first.

Anyway my preferred bottle cleaning is steri tabs (I accidentally took a swig from one of them this week and despite tasting foul I'm still alive)

10g for 8 tabs in a pack

 

[Globalti]

My biggest worry is drinking from a bottle that's had its nozzle contaminated by something like cow poo thrown up from the road. Also it's not unknown for pro riders to get a tummy bug on wet tours after swallowing dirty water thrown up by the wheel in front.

 

[SafetyThird]

Not being too hot on domestic science have always worried a bit about bleach since folks kill themselves with it. What"s the limit for using it on stuff you are going to drink from?

Bleach is used for sterilising water so any left after rinsing shouldn't be an issue at all. There's a handy chart on the linked page to show how much to add to a given amount of water for this purpose. I generally have a water filter with me when travelling but on a bike tour I'd take a small dropper bottle of bleach for emergency use and bottle cleaning

https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/emergency-disinfection-drinking-water

 

[mjr]

My biggest worry is drinking from a bottle that's had its nozzle contaminated by something like cow poo thrown up from the road. Also it's not unknown for pro riders to get a tummy bug on wet tours after swallowing dirty water thrown up by the wheel in front.

1. Bottle with flip tops over the drinking spout.
2. Bottle cage on the bar front, not in the firing line of the front wheel: if you're not racing then health before aero.

 

[Simon_m]

i use denture cleaning tablets, been told they are good, so have used them since 2012

 

[Tom B]

i use denture cleaning tablets, been told they are good, so have used them since 2012

But what do you use for the bottles?


This thread has made me a bit paranoid about bottle cleaning..


The kettle is on.

 

[Gravity Aided]

My biggest worry is drinking from a bottle that's had its nozzle contaminated by something like cow poo thrown up from the road. Also it's not unknown for pro riders to get a tummy bug on wet tours after swallowing dirty water thrown up by the wheel in front.

I use that water bottle cage for the fuel bottle. Fenders with flaps are a good thing as well. Like my dad always said, fenders are good for any trip of length, because it is not just water that is on the road.

 

[Simon_m]

use boiling water as well as the tablets. At home they just go in the dishwasher. Replace my bottles every spring with new ones. As for cow poo or dirt flicking up, yeah that could be a problem. I've seen Le Tour riders, take a suck and spit out it out before drinking from the bottle.