Refilling a Water Bottle

[LordSnailz]

What about the myth about not drinking water from a bottle that have left in the car under the sun for hours. It's along the same lines as the plastic decomposing and leaking into the water with the heat.

 

[aceO07]

I thought in some cities they're trying to promote less use of bottled water. I hope that goes through. There's a lot of waste due to all the wrappers/bottles for items that we don't necessarily need on a daily basis. Buying bottled water is more of a luxury that we've all gotten used to.

LuckyTaxi, I reuse my Pom glass too. It's great if you open it without bending the cap too much because you have a free glass with a lid.

There's so much crap in everything that is out there that avoiding just 1 thing is probably not going to help you that much anyways. Unfortunately it's almost impossible to avoid most things. Chemicals, preservatives, HFCS..etc. It's just not possible. I'm looking forward to Passover so I can have kosher coke again.

 

[ahurtt]

Originally posted by: PottedMeat

Originally posted by: Deeko
haha, I've had the same empty gatorade bottle on my desk at work for about 2 years now. I refill it every day from the water cooler here, I never wash it, and I haven't died yet.

I used to do the same thing with my bottles, until I saw black mold growing under the cap ( usually I just check the bottle and the rim ). Just rinse out the thing with a water/bleach solution every once in a while.

I wouldn't use bleach. Depending on the specific type of plastic the bottle is made of, bleach *MAY* act as a solvent and hasten the decomposition of the bottle. Plus I would imagine that drinking microscopic amounts of bleach is probably worse for you than drinking microscopic amounts of plastic or even benign bacteria. Just use dish soap and hot water.
Bleach is corrosive.

I just find it funny people will worry about reusing a plastic water bottle but they will probably drink a steamy hot Starbucks coffee from a paper cup that's covered in WAX. I wonder how long until the people who sell reusable coffee mugs latch onto that one and start that urban myth?

 

[Chunkee]

you guys are friggin scary...beating this thread to a pulp....

and those afraid of reusing one and obsessively cleaning it... you have some real issues.

jC

 

[zinfamous]

lol how could it possibly be bad?

extremely wasteful not to refill them.

bottled water in itself is a pretty bad thing, but if you absolutely must go that route, you really should be re-using the bottles.

 

[stevovee]

Ya i think the bottle safety issue stems from washing them in the dish washer which causes the plastic to break down, probably from the heat etc...but i think if you just rinse them out with soap and water they should be ok

 

[50cent1228]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Just wash it out occasionally. You have an immune system for a reason.

:thumbsup: best answer

 

[dainthomas]

Originally posted by: zinfamous
lol how could it possibly be bad?

extremely wasteful not to refill them.

bottled water in itself is a pretty bad thing, but if you absolutely must go that route, you really should be re-using the bottles.

This is why you buy a high quality bottle at REI or something for ~$10. I used the same one for about four years, at which point I lost it and had to get a new one. A nice Camelbak in this case. I fill it from the tap and wash it every couple weeks.

Don't think I'd reuse one of the cheapo water bottles as they generally suck and I don't like messing with taking the lid on and off.

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: Nitemare
wash it out with bleach every now and then to kill the bad stuff and you should be good to go

Verily.

I fill my own plastic bottle with boiled and cooled water. If the quality is dodgy then a drop of bleach is a good thing too but municipal water is generally okay with just boiling. But, I like the glass bottle idea and posit that a protective foam thingy would overcome the short-term durabilty factor, if not the weight.

 

[LtPage1]

If you do it too much, the plastic eventually starts to leach into the water (especially if you leave it in the sun). Consuming plastic=bad. Turns out there's a reason for those aluminum water bottles besides spending money and looking trendy.

I tend to use plastic bottles only a couple of times before I lose 'em, anyway.

 

[KLin]

Originally posted by: LtPage1
If you do it too much, the plastic eventually starts to leach into the water (especially if you leave it in the sun). Consuming plastic=bad. Turns out there's a reason for those aluminum water bottles besides spending money and looking trendy.

I tend to use plastic bottles only a couple of times before I lose 'em, anyway.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/petbottles.asp

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: LtPage1
If you do it too much, the plastic eventually starts to leach into the water (especially if you leave it in the sun). Consuming plastic=bad. Turns out there's a reason for those aluminum water bottles besides spending money and looking trendy.

I tend to use plastic bottles only a couple of times before I lose 'em, anyway.

Aagh, not teh Alzheimer's inducing aluminum! The real drawback is it can not be seen if they are clean and 'tis usually impossible to do so anyway (they can be sterilized but not cleaned). Unless the aperture is large enough to fist, or at least diddle with a pipe cleaner.

 

[tasmanian]

Originally posted by: Sukhoi

Originally posted by: AnitaPeterson

Originally posted by: paulxcook

Originally posted by: Zoblefu
I've heard (possibly BS) that the plastic used for those bottles can slowly "come off" into the water as it is filled, refilled, washed, refilled, etc, since they were not made specifically for that purpose the plastic can be of lower quality to make the bottles cheaper.

No idea if it's true or not, but that's the reason I had heard about not re-using water bottles.

I have a feeling that if this was true and it was harmful, someone would've sued someone else by now. There are no warnings on the bottles to not reuse them. At least none that I've noticed.

Actually, there's SOME truth in that statement, although it's terribly distorted...

Let me clarify the issue.

The various plastics used for different containers may have a different shelf life. They DO, indeed, start to break down and decompose, in very microscopic quantities - and they may end up in your system.

Have you ever seen an old plastic bottle, left untouched in a garage or an attic, become opaque, taking a "matted" appearance, as if it was sanded with a very fine abrasive sponge? that's exactly it - those bottles are starting to slowly decay.

Take a peek at any plastic bottle (usually at the bottom). You will see a triangle with a number inside it. Most of the times, that number is 1 or 2... sometimes it's 4 or 5.

That particular number DOES indicate the longevity of the material - as you can imagine, 1, being the lowest. AFAIK, the safest bottles to use in the long run are marked 5... you can find them in various sports/outdoors stores. I don't remember ever seeing a "6".

And yes, it helps to also periodically wash the damned thing...

Rule of thumb: if you fill the bottle with water, and you see bubbles on the surface that last for more than 1 or 2 seconds, that water is probably not clean. And if you see foam, instead of bubbles, it's DEFINITELY not clean

And there's SOME truth to your statement, but most of it is wrong.

http://www.packaginggraphics.n...ogo-identification.htm

AFAIK recycling codes have nothing at all to do with how long it takes the materials to breakdown. Explain #7.

Yep.

 

[erikistired]

Originally posted by: tasmanian

Originally posted by: Sukhoi

Originally posted by: AnitaPeterson

Originally posted by: paulxcook

Originally posted by: Zoblefu
I've heard (possibly BS) that the plastic used for those bottles can slowly "come off" into the water as it is filled, refilled, washed, refilled, etc, since they were not made specifically for that purpose the plastic can be of lower quality to make the bottles cheaper.

No idea if it's true or not, but that's the reason I had heard about not re-using water bottles.

I have a feeling that if this was true and it was harmful, someone would've sued someone else by now. There are no warnings on the bottles to not reuse them. At least none that I've noticed.

Actually, there's SOME truth in that statement, although it's terribly distorted...

Let me clarify the issue.

The various plastics used for different containers may have a different shelf life. They DO, indeed, start to break down and decompose, in very microscopic quantities - and they may end up in your system.

Have you ever seen an old plastic bottle, left untouched in a garage or an attic, become opaque, taking a "matted" appearance, as if it was sanded with a very fine abrasive sponge? that's exactly it - those bottles are starting to slowly decay.

Take a peek at any plastic bottle (usually at the bottom). You will see a triangle with a number inside it. Most of the times, that number is 1 or 2... sometimes it's 4 or 5.

That particular number DOES indicate the longevity of the material - as you can imagine, 1, being the lowest. AFAIK, the safest bottles to use in the long run are marked 5... you can find them in various sports/outdoors stores. I don't remember ever seeing a "6".

And yes, it helps to also periodically wash the damned thing...

Rule of thumb: if you fill the bottle with water, and you see bubbles on the surface that last for more than 1 or 2 seconds, that water is probably not clean. And if you see foam, instead of bubbles, it's DEFINITELY not clean

And there's SOME truth to your statement, but most of it is wrong.

http://www.packaginggraphics.n...ogo-identification.htm

AFAIK recycling codes have nothing at all to do with how long it takes the materials to breakdown. Explain #7.

Yep.

In addition to PVC (polyvinyl chloride), also avoid using the following plastics with food, as a precaution: #6 PS (polystyrene) and polycarbonate (often indicated by the #7). These plastics have also exhibited the ability to leach questionable chemicals into foods they come into contact with, especially fatty foods and particularly at higher temperatures.

maybe that's where the rumors got started? #6 and #7 plastics.

 

[MrBond]

Originally posted by: ahurtt

I wouldn't use bleach. Depending on the specific type of plastic the bottle is made of, bleach *MAY* act as a solvent and hasten the decomposition of the bottle. Plus I would imagine that drinking microscopic amounts of bleach is probably worse for you than drinking microscopic amounts of plastic or even benign bacteria. Just use dish soap and hot water.
Bleach is corrosive.

I just find it funny people will worry about reusing a plastic water bottle but they will probably drink a steamy hot Starbucks coffee from a paper cup that's covered in WAX. I wonder how long until the people who sell reusable coffee mugs latch onto that one and start that urban myth?

Bleach isn't a suitable solvent for most plastics, especially plastics that they use to make water bottles out of. Bleach may attack the surface and cause stress cracking, but it's not going to dissolve the plastic and allow it to go into the water.

As far as the wax used to line paper cups, it is food grade and safe to eat. If you buy apples and eat them without a significant scrubbing first, you're eating wax. There's even wax in some chocolate candy.

 

[compman25]

yeah right, like refilling a water bottle can kill you. As a matter of fact I've refilled this bottle many times and am taking a big dri

 

[bigal40]

Originally posted by: Spooner
something about bacteria of standing water once oxygen is exposed

Oh definitely never drink water after it has bee exposed to oxygen, hence the vacuum that forms above the water in the water cooler dispensers which makes that water safe.

 

[zerocool1]

carlkillermiller was telling me something about residues for high density plastics reducing sperm count. but the exposure was high over a short period. i'd be curious to see what long term exposure with a low intensity would do.

 

[TheTony]

Originally posted by: zerocool1
carlkillermiller was telling me something about residues for high density plastics reducing sperm count. but the exposure was high over a short period. i'd be curious to see what long term exposure with a low intensity would do.

It's plausible, considering that bisphenol A, which is present in some polycarbonates (aka platic #7), is a low-level estrogen.

 

[SampSon]

I have a thermos that I've been using for about 10 years now. I've filled it thousands of times.
Why would anyone think there is anything wrong with refilling a container?

None of this bullshit psuedo-science has come around until the bottled water fad hit bigtime.
Do any of you actually believe the shit that is posted in this thread?

We have been drinking all kinds of water from any number of containers for quite a long time.
Why would having water in a plastic bottle make any measurable difference?
There are too many gullible, paranoid schmucks who buy into anything.

 

[Eeezee]

It's not a problem.

Guess what? Drinking those little microbes growing in the water is actually GOOD for you. Those things are weak as hell and will boost your immune system. Studies show (on lab rats in particular) that exposure to mildly "harmful" microbes keeps the immune system on its toes. In fact, they injected mice with tumors while exposing them to various microbes and the tumors were significantly reduced by the immune system of each mouse. The control group (in cages that were squeaky clean) showed no tumor reduction.

It's for a similar reason that farmers who work with cows are statistically less likely to develop lung cancer, even if they're smokers. Biologists claim that these farmers are healthier because they breathe in cow shit all day, thus keeping the immune system at peak efficiency. It's when you aren't ever exposed to anything that your immune system stops responding as well.

 

[Howard]

Doesn't matter if you wash it.

If you don't wash it, it's more a problem of funkiness than illness.

 

[Goosemaster]

I bet you those aliens in WotheW fuel these myths so they can come and eat us...

 

[EGGO]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/9798/

There ya go. Should be ok now.

 

[TheTony]

Plastic #1 bottles (PET) like those that bottled water come in, pose no known health risk.

Plastic #7 bottles (Polycarbonate) like those that are made for reuse, such as Nalgene, some baby bottles and "sippy" cups, pose a potential health risk, but generally only when said products are heated or scratched.

/thread