WaterFilter.com

Drinking Water Bottle "bugs"

Drinking water bottles are ubiquitous in the U.S. ? and in many other developed countries as well. Children carry drinking water bottles to school. Parents carry drinking water bottles as they commute to work, children's soccer games, etc. Some people have begun carrying drinking water bottles to church with them. Athletes always seem to have a drinking water bottle with them.

Convenience

A major reason for using drinking water bottles is the convenience they offer. Water can be taken almost anywhere. Drinking water bottles involve little cost, and their loss is not a problem. When they are empty, they need not be carried home. They can simply be placed in a recycle bin or other waste disposal.

What happens, though, when drinking water bottles are not recycled?

The Danger

Disposing of drinking water bottles is the best idea, but many people refill them. If they empty the bottle while jogging, they stop and refill it at a water fountain. If they have a filter at home, they refill drinking water bottles from the filter. At work, they may refill a drinking water bottle from the water cooler. Each time, they may be putting healthy drinking water into the bottle, but is this a safe practice? Or is there danger in refilling disposable drinking water bottles?

The danger is not, as claimed by an old internet urban legend, that the bottles will break down into carcinogenic compounds. That plastic scare originated with the master's thesis of an undergraduate student who did not conduct sufficient scientific study before publishing his thesis. USFDA standards control the type of plastic used for bottled water.

Can plastic drinking water bottles break down? Can plastic leach into the water when you refill them? Possibly. It is said that some bottles, even those approved by the USFDA, do indeed leach into water ? even before you open the bottle.

Bacteria

Although your plastic drinking water bottles may not break down into cancer-causing compounds, and may not leach plastic into your water, they do contain bacteria. Bacteria can grow and reproduce rapidly in an empty plastic drinking water bottle.

Consider this. Each time you take a drink from that drinking water bottle, you deposit bacteria from your mouth on the rim of the bottle. If you refill the bottle without washing it, you simply flush the bacteria into your water. The problem is compounded if the bottle is empty for a while, and allowed to get warm. Bacteria then have an ideal environment for reproduction.

But They Are MY Bugs

Many (not all) of the bacteria are indeed from your mouth. However, in your system, your body regulates them at reasonable levels. Bacteria in the drinking water bottle are no longer regulated. They can reproduce rapidly. In addition, other germs will enter the bottle from the air, mingling with those from your mouth.

Washing Helps

Washing the bottle thoroughly will destroy most of the bacteria. The bottle must be washed after each use, before refilling. You must wash the neck of the bottle and the entire inside. This means you cannot stop for a refill at the drinking fountain in the park. You cannot refill it at the water cooler and take it back to your desk. The only way to have healthy drinking water is to use drinking water bottles only once, or wash them thoroughly before refilling.

Since very hot water is the best way to get the bottle clean, a dishwasher is recommended. You will have to place the bottle on the top rack, since the plastic is not designed for high temperature. When the wash cycle ends, remove your drinking water bottle immediately before the dry cycle can begin.

FREEZE OUT

Finally, when you take the clean drinking water bottle from your dishwasher, place it into the freezer immediately. This will keep germs from getting into the bottle. It will also keep mold from forming. When you are ready to use it, take the clean drinking water bottle from the freezer, fill, and cap.

Disposable plastic drinking water bottles are convenient, but don't sacrifice your health.

?2007, Anna Hart. Anna Hart invites you to read more of her articles about healthy drinking water at http://www.healthydrinkingwaterblog.com. Anna has also posted information on that site about water for babies. To learn more about what's really in your drinking water bottle, visit Anna now.

MORE ARTICLES:

Legacy Grand East Gate, Kissimmee, FL Plans Two New Kid Oriented Water Parks
Scott McCoy, VP Marketing, Legacy Marketing International Inc., announced today that the Legacy Grand East Gate condo hotel, will be adding two water parks. One is for young children, ages 4 to 12 and another will be for teenagers. Part of the plan is a new adult pool for parents.

Waterfront Website Covers All the Water in the World
VacationWaterfront.com is a newly designed site that caters to waterfront properties. The site's simple to use navigation can put visitors in touch with waterfront owners who are renting and/or selling their properties with the water enthusiast in mind.

Registry Edit Clean
Free Full Version Registry Cleaner: Is your computer slowing down without your knowledge? Are you having errors that are not distinguished by your anti-virus program? Your PC might be affected by applications that are running without your knowledge Now that you have done all of the above click "Find Next". A little window that says searching the registry should come up. It may take a little while to find what you are looking for so don't get impatient and close everything down. Just give it a little bit and it should bring you to the place it found an entry at. The entry should be highlighted. If you see that it refers to a place on your hard drive (C:/windows/ or something like that.) it just may be your problem. But don't delete it yet. I...

Home Energy Efficiency Dependent on Replacement Window Technology
Home owners planning to maximize the resale value or efficiency of a property diminish their potential when failing to take the importance of modern replacement windows into consideration.

Most Expensive Bottled Water
If you thought water would be the cheapest drink in the world, think again. Some celebrities don't mind paying $40-$60 for just 750ml of Bling water when they are thirsty. No doubt it helps that the bottles it comes in have hand-applied Swarovski crystals, and are frosted and corked rather like wine, but one wonders just how many empty bottles can be stored before the space runs out. Or maybe they get a good return on the empties?

Is Your Water Dead Or Alive?
We could life for several weeks without food but without water you could dehydrate within days Imagine a 2% loss of the water surrounding your body cells could cause a 20% decrease in your energy levels

Vinyl Tile Flooring Is The Easy Clean Option
There used to be a time when if you mentioned the word vinyl flooring to most people they would turn up their noses, believing it to be a really cheap flooring option and one which was only used by people who could not afford proper carpet. It may have been true then, but it is certainly not true now, because there is now a wide range of vinyl flooring options which can match some of the best carpets or other types of flooring covering for that matter.

Domino?s Pizza: The ?Healthy? Meal Choice?
In the January issue of Glamour magazine, in an article titled "What to eat to stay slim," two slices of Domino's 12" classic hand-tossed Vegi Pizza Feast and a side salad were named as a healthy meal choice. Women?s Health magazine and Men?s Health magazine also recognized Domino's pizza as an option for a healthy diet. Even Weight Watcher?s okays some Domino?s Pizzas.

Despatch Industries Supplies Custom Clean Room Ovens to European Customer
Despatch Industries, a world leader in thermal processing and environmental simulation, announced today that the company has partnered with a domestic manufacturer of barrier systems to supply highly custom clean room equipment to a European company.

LifeFoods Presents Wellness Coffee? - Coffee that Brings Consumers Health Plus the Opportunity to Earn Residual Income
April, 2008, LifeFoods showcases Wellness Coffee?, this healthy coffee is the foundation of a hot new direct sales opportunity with money making incentive.

Cooking With Luhr Jensen Smokers
Have you ever wanted to provide your family with that perfectly cooked meal, but just aren?t sure how to go about it? Have you tried Luhr Jensen Smokers?

Chinese Cooking Technique: Deep Fry
There are usually 2 ways of deep frying in Chinese cooking:Deep frying the ingredients directly Deep frying the ingredients with batterThe latter is the most commonly used method. Here are some pointer in how to deep fry Chinese food most effectively.

How Healthy Is The Food You're Giving Your Dog
Most people are completely aware of what commercially prepared dog food is actually comprised of, and you would be shocked to know the truth about some of the foods that are commercially available today Your dog's health can suffer if you are feeding them the wrong food, and many commercially prepared dog food brands are simply not designed to keep a dog healthy, happy and active

Maintaining Healthy Vision Naturally
The training of our eye doctors in this country is very comprehensive there have been major advances in treatment of eye disease and even laser surgery to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism is available today. But it doesn't really correct the underlying problem of why it is there to begin with.