How do you clean your waterbottles when on holiday?
- Thread starter Dave7
- Start date
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rualexander
Legendary Member
When you say 'a hot country', where exactly are you talking about?
If the tap water is safe to drink then just rinse bottles with that as you would at home.
If the tap water isn't safe to drink then you'll need something else, maybe take some chlorine purifying tablets and fill bottles at night with tap water and chuck a couple of puritabs in overnight.
If the tap water is safe to drink then just rinse bottles with that as you would at home.
If the tap water isn't safe to drink then you'll need something else, maybe take some chlorine purifying tablets and fill bottles at night with tap water and chuck a couple of puritabs in overnight.
- Location
- London
Must admit I very rarely clean bottles. Maybe every year or even 2.
I always use clear bottles for anything with powders though to keep an eye on the black stuff. All but this bottle only ever have water in them.
Not come to any harm yet.
I concentrate on keeping myself clean.
Only Spain. I will buy large(ish) bottles and fill from them.
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
Must admit I very rarely clean bottles. Maybe every year or even 2. ...….Not come to any harm yet.
I concentrate on keeping myself clean.
I don't have OTT bottle cleaning rituals either. Empty and rinse is as far as it goes, and I'm more bothered about the cap than the bottle itself. When I ride in warm weather, I'll usually refill the bottle at least once en-route anyway - normally from a tap in a churchyard or cemetery. Therefore the water rarely stays in the bottle for more than an hour or two at the most. When I get home after a ride I'll drink any remaining water then rinse out the bottle and leave the lid loose so it can dry out. I don't put anything other than water in my bottles anyway, so no nutrients for bacteria to feed on. A reasonable degree of hygiene is all that is needed. I believe going OTT and trying to sterilise things just makes the immune system weak as the body is then not accustomed to germs. I frequently get filthy dirty at work and I very rarely ever get ill through stomach upsets etc. A degree of exposure to germs in everyday life makes you more resilient in my opinion. Kids weren't wrapped in cotton wool when I was a youngster either. We got covered in dirt, ate things picked off bushes with grubby hands, and it never seemed to have any adverse effect on us.
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Globalti
Legendary Member
Spain? They have EU standards. Just fill with tap water, rinse once with tap water and leave open overnight to dry. Why waste money on bottled water at something like £1-2 a litre when tap water is free and just as clean. If you're the one paying, tap water costs about 16p a ton or £0.00016 a litre.
T4tomo
Legendary Member
Make sure you sterilise your coffee cup as well, whilst your at it, you can't be too careful
.FTAOD, just give it a rinse out when your back.
vickster
Legendary Member
And doesn’t produce yet more plastic waste
Globalti
Legendary Member
Where did this fear of bacteria come from? People don't understand that they are ingesting all kinds of bacteria in their food and drink at every meal and the stomach acid deals with 99.99% of them. It's only when you get a big dose of a nasty like E Coli that the bacterium makes it through to the gut, if the stomach doesn't reject it first.
lazybloke
Considering a new username
- Location
- Leafy Surrey
There's two occasions when I'll reach for the sterilising tablets:
1) if bottles have been left half-full for a few days and develop a funky bacterial film on the inside. Can't see it, but you can feel it (slippery)
2) if I cycle through some foul-smelling run-off from a drain or farm yard ; then I worry about 'spatter' on bottle nozzles
Agree- the human immune system is incredible at dealing with these attacks.
But since you mention E-Coli specifically, the fear is about the bad strains which have only been identified since the 1980s; they're incredibly infectious, sometimes fatal (particularly in children and the elderly), and there's still no antibiotic; you just have to let the infection run it's course.
Thankfully outbreaks are still pretty rare, and there's no way it should ever be present in treated water.
1) if bottles have been left half-full for a few days and develop a funky bacterial film on the inside. Can't see it, but you can feel it (slippery)
2) if I cycle through some foul-smelling run-off from a drain or farm yard ; then I worry about 'spatter' on bottle nozzles
Agree- the human immune system is incredible at dealing with these attacks.
But since you mention E-Coli specifically, the fear is about the bad strains which have only been identified since the 1980s; they're incredibly infectious, sometimes fatal (particularly in children and the elderly), and there's still no antibiotic; you just have to let the infection run it's course.
Thankfully outbreaks are still pretty rare, and there's no way it should ever be present in treated water.
Roger
Veteran
- Location
- Near Milton Keynes
After a soak in Milton I just rinse in cold water, no after taste.
GuyBoden
Guru
- Location
- Warrington
Rinse with water and then put in the microwave for about 15sec, until very hot. Leave to cool.
Basil.B
Guru
- Location
- Oxfordshire
I just use washing up liquid, been using the same bottle for over 6 years.
I only put water in it.
I only put water in it.
KneesUp
Guru
Our dishwasher is currently broken, but I've discovered that you can fill the stainless-steel "hole" that most kitchens seem to have with hot water and a special liquid that makes bubbles, then you sort of rinse dirty things and rub them with a cloth or sponge, and then they are clean again. I expect you could try something similar? :-)
