KFI: Reusable water bottles are a good way to save money and cut back on the trash, but a new study shows that they’re home to huge levels of disgusting bacteria.
The results showed that drinking from the average bottle “can be many times worse than licking your dog’s toy.”
Researchers tested four different types of reusable bottles after they were used by athletes for a week. They found that the average athlete’s bottle had 313,499 CFU (colony-forming units of bacteria).
The average dog toy has 2,937 CFU.
Duh, nobody thinks to wash them?
Are these washed or unwashed bottles? Of course they would be nasty if they aren’t washed after every use. You can’t tell from the article.
Soap. Water. Rinse.
Bleach or isopropyl alcohol will also do the job.
“And if you do have a reusable bottle, just wash it more.”
Duh, thank God we have “researchers” to keep the morons with no “common sense” abreast of the latest “the sky is falling”. NOT!
Pro Tip: Don’t use your water bottle cap to scrape your shoe off after stepping in dog crap.
Was this study done by the bottled water people?
I use a disposable water bottle and fill it 5 or 6 times then pitch it. Seems to work well. Mrs Frank uses a camlebak all the time and washes it in the dishwasher but I am not real sure how the spout gets clean or the fat straw. The spout seems to be a place where bacteria can escape the cleaning of a dishwasher.
Another Helpful Tip: don’t grab your charging cellphone to google “Bottle Bacteria” while sitting in the bathtub.
Get yourself an RO system, use a real glass without a straw, and stop walking around like a toddler with a sippy cup.
You could also drink vodka instead of water. In a glass like an adult.
I have a large plastic water bottle with a flip-up lid that I take on my bicycle rides (in which I’m always on the lookout for BFH just so I can piss him off). I ride 60+ miles per week, and this keeps my legs and cardiovascular system in good tune. I wash the water bottle once or twice a year, and this keeps my immune system challenged and in good tune.
It’s been a long time since my last cold or flu hit. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
OMG. The neighbor 3 doors down is a professor so he’s not very smart. Gonna send him this article and tell him it does not mean that whenever he gets thirsty he should lick his dog’s balls instead. He’s gonna be pissed. Be right back.
In related news, those bathroom blow dryers have been proven to spread disease more than the paper towels they replace. And the high-power Dyson ones are the worst!
In other related news, those reusable grocery bags I am forced to purchase have more bacteria than the disposable paper and plastic ones they replaced.
Liberals: “We mean well, so it doesn’t matter the actual outcome.”
Frank- Some people wash out Camelbacks with denture cleaning tablets.
So, it’s just like todays tap water?
Why am I not surprised? I get all my water from a non-reusable vodka bottle. The vodka therein is just a plus.
I like shine better than vodka.
I’m one of those people who gets totally grossed-out at the merest suspicion of “bacteria colonies” — just the word “colonies” makes my skin crawl. It’s probably my only genuine phobia. I don’t use reusable anything unless it’s been thoroughly scrubbed and about boiled. And then I wonder why things wear out so quickly. It’s hard to square a phobia like that with the equal need to not throw away a “perfectly good _____”.
I’m with Uncle Al on this. When I need a water bottle, I buy a bottle of Gator Ade and use that until it gets pretty nasty and then throw it away. That might not be a really good idea. I’ve already been to the doctor four times in just the last forty-five years.
As for licking my dog’s toy, when some body says he wishes he could do that I tell him to be nice to my dog and he’ll let you.
I buy three good plastic disposable water bottles of the type that usually hold flavoured water with vitamins. I wash it with hot water after each use and once a month with hot, soapy water that I let soak for an hour before shaking and rinsing out with clean, filtered water from the tap (brita tap filter). They last a year. Not rocket science.
Sounds like those researchers need to stop filling their bottles from the toilet bowl.
I rinse all my drink containers with Evan Williams.
Then, you have the save the planet people who bring their canvas bags to the grocery store because the paper or plastic question is too ugh for them to handle.
They use these bags over and over, probably putting their organic raw produce in the same bag in which they formerly carried raw chick n👅
Hospitals, which are the pinnacle of sanitation and observance of disease prevention, is the best place to catch a loathsome disease, so go figure.
They said the same silly thing about my backside….
@OpenTheDoor:
It’s good to see another Evan Williams fan. I’ve long thought it was the best reasonably priced bourbon available. I wish they made a straight rye.
Left Coast Dan,
Thanks for the reminder. I have a couple canvas bags that are printed with “Thank Me For Your EBT” The check-out girls really like them. The other day one of them said she processed an EBT with a $2200 balance.
Once again, I am amazed by Uncle Al. Biking is the Great exercise. I ride 25 miles a week or less but in the woods, on decently hard trails. Uncle Al, you are the master of many talents.
But I prefer Bombay Sapphire on the rocks. Such a clean, tasty lift after work. No after affects within reason.
anyone who’s ever wiped off a baby bottle nipple full of carpet lint, dog hair, diaper residue & 6 yards of grit knows this
…. next!
@jpm – thank you for your kind words!
Have you tried Boodles? I think it’s right up there with Sapphire.
@jpm – BTW, I bike in flat, flat, flat Florida. The only hills I have are highway overpasses and one bike path bridge over US 41. I get my cardio workout by going fast on a heavy cruiser style bicycle (Townie 8i), and this is immensely enhanced by the fact that I generate a lot, I mean A LOT, of wind resistance. All by myself.
You takes your can, rub the top clean with the hem of your cargo shorts and then open the beer.
Works fine for me.