How to Keep Your Plastic Bottles in Good Condition

Staying hydrated throughout the day means drinking from water coolers and personal bottles on a regular basis. All of these containers allow you to drink high-quality water, but there’s a safety trade-off. You need to take care of these plastic bottles so that they’re germ-free as you reuse them. Take a look at some of the ways you can keep your plastic bottles in good condition.

Wash and Dry Thoroughly

Your mouth carries a lot of bacteria on any given day. This bacteria is easily transferred to any water bottle as you sip on it. After drinking from the same bottle all day long, the entire container is full of these germs. Ideally, wash your bottle each day with detergent and water. Use a bottle cleaner to reach all of those difficult interior areas. After the bottle thoroughly dries, it’s in prime condition for another use.

Use Bleach

Although soap and water are effective on most germs, you’ll want to disinfect your plastic bottles on a regular basis too. Add one tablespoon of bleach to a quart of water. Use this treated water to wash your water cooler and handheld bottles. The bleach destroys almost every germ within the container, including viruses. However, thoroughly rinse your bottles out after the treatment. The bleach smell should be entirely removed from the container before you use it again.

Clean the Cooler Well

An alternative to bleach is using vinegar. Because this liquid isn’t a chemical, it tends to be safer for cleaning cooler wells than other products. You won’t have any residual bleach leftover in the spigots or hoses. Mix one teaspoon of vinegar to a gallon of water. Allow this treatment to sit within the cooler well so that it can soak into all of the components. You won’t kill every germ with this strategy, but you’ll keep your cooler well and bottles in good condition as a result.

Know When to Throw Them Out

Your water cooler bottles can last for several years when they’re cleaned on a regular basis. However, water bottles sold in bulk and then reused will only last for a few uses. Recycle your plastic bottles when they become visibly worn or broken. You help the environment significantly by reusing the bottle even one time.

Consider Stainless Steel or White Plastic Bottles

In general, a polypropylene bottle is a good choice for regular hydration. You can keep these bottles in good condition with washing and disinfecting. Alternatively, look for stainless steel bottles. These containers don’t leach any chemicals into your water, and they’re incredibly strong. Reusing materials as much as possible helps the environment when everyone participates.

Regardless of how clean you keep your plastic bottles, you should also be aware of their location too. Placing your bottle in direct sunlight, for example, can cause some plastic elements to leach into the water. It’s possible to drink these molecules after the bottle sits in the sun for too long. Simply keep your bottles out of direct sunlight, and they should remain reusable for many months.

Evan Shaner