Expert reveals 'correct' way to clean your water bottles
Kelly Rose Bradford
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It's fair to say everything around water bottles can sometimes be a bit of a saga – when you've finally found one that doesn't leak, and that your offspring finds socially and aesthetically acceptable, it then always seems to be a daily dash to rescue them from the bottom of school or work bags, or under car seats, and give them a cursory rinse and re-fill before rushing out of the door.
Right?
And while we all know we should probably be scrubbing them within an inch of their lives each day, it doesn't always happen...
So hurrah for people like bottle cleaning guru Leslie Reichert, AKA The Green Cleaning Coach.
She's reminded us why good hygiene is so important when it comes to reusable drinks containers – and it's a welcome reminder, frankly.
Leslie recently told online home and decor magazine Apartment Therapy exactly what we should be doing to keep our bottles hygienically safe – and her advice makes perfect sense.
The cleaning expert said we need to pay attention to the water that's in our bottles, and if it starts to taste less fresh, or smell a bit funny, it's a strong indicator we need to be washing our bottles much more often.
Reusable bottles are a breeding ground for germs, mould, and mildew thanks to their dark, moist nature, and so they really do need to be properly cleaned after every use.
Yep, that's every use.
Fortunately, bottles are actually pretty easy to clean – it's the remembering to do so that's the issue.
Here's how Leslie we should be doing it:
- Screw-top bottles: separate the two pieces and clean them in the dishwasher, as long as they have the dishwasher-proof logo on.
- Flip and twist tops: Use a bottle brush (like what you use for baby bottles) to really scrub the inside length of the bottle, and if necessary, use a smaller brush to ensure all the nooks and crannies around the lip and spout are clean.
- As well as daily cleaning, do a regular deep clean using fizzy cleaning tablets (like the sterilising tablets you use for feeding bottles) - simply pop the tablet into the bottle, top up with water, and let it soak overnight, before rinsing thoroughly the next day.
Perfectly do-able, right?
You can buy sterilising tabs here – see more details here at Amazon.
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