water bottle on my desk

m1ldslide1

Platinum Member
Feb 20, 2006
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I've had my current job for over 5 years. I think I've gone through 3 waterbottles in that time, maybe 2. The current one is a 1 liter dasani bottle from maybe 2.5 years back. I drink out of it every day. Every month or so I pour the scalding hot water from our water dispenser thing into it to sanitize. I've never used soap or put anything other than filtered water into it. It tastes fine, well except for this week it tastes kinda metallic, which led me to post. Anybody else reuse the same water bottle for extended periods like this, or am I just a ticking time bomb for hepatitis?
 

loup garou

Lifer
Feb 17, 2000
35,132
1
81
You're probably drinking more bacteria than water... :p

I get a glass out of our kitchen, refill it throughout the day, then put it in the dishwasher at the end of the day.
 

MegaVovaN

Diamond Member
May 20, 2005
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Drink from glass. Plastic probably "dis structured" and you are basically drinking chemicals. Oh, and bacteria are not killed by boiling hot water - this water only contributes to "destruction" of plastic structure, ensuring you get more chemicals in your water.
Bacteria stay alive because some of them are in "hibernated" form (forgot the term) and are resistant to very high/low temps, drought, etc
 

nova2

Senior member
Feb 3, 2006
982
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i generally keep the same plastic water bottle for many months unless something happens to it.
Its 99% of the time only used for water.
It is rarely cleaned with soap.
I generally don't ever backwash into the bottle, especially when I'm eating .. say, meat.
Sometimes I rinse it out with cold or warm water, but always will rinse it out if there is somehow food in it.

After reading some here:
http://www.google.com/search?&q=plastic%20water%20bottles

I feel like (and probably will be) using a glass or something else non-plastic instead, for when I'm not on the go, to use as a water cup.
 

Alone

Diamond Member
Nov 19, 2006
7,490
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Plastic bottles are not meant to be re-used. The bottle tends to...leave behind certain unwanted chemicals.
 

jagec

Lifer
Apr 30, 2004
24,442
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Originally posted by: MegaVovaN
Drink from glass. Plastic probably "dis structured" and you are basically drinking chemicals. Oh, and bacteria are not killed by boiling hot water - this water only contributes to "destruction" of plastic structure, ensuring you get more chemicals in your water.
Bacteria stay alive because some of them are in "hibernated" form (forgot the term) and are resistant to very high/low temps, drought, etc

Some bacteria do form spores, and are thus resistant to boiling, but the vast majority of stuff in water that gets you sick is, indeed, killed by boiling.

Second the glass suggestion, though. Plus it tastes better!
 

MrBond

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2000
9,911
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Originally posted by: MegaVovaN
Drink from glass. Plastic probably "dis structured" and you are basically drinking chemicals. Oh, and bacteria are not killed by boiling hot water - this water only contributes to "destruction" of plastic structure, ensuring you get more chemicals in your water.
Bacteria stay alive because some of them are in "hibernated" form (forgot the term) and are resistant to very high/low temps, drought, etc
Hot water doesn't increase the rate of degradation in PET. Degradation only occurs at a meaningful rate at a temperature hotter than any water you'd put in there.

Other things in the environment can degrade PET, like UV light, but if it's indoors, chances are it's not going to degrade from the office lamps.

There ARE traces of heavy metal in your plastic water bottle. Zinc, Titanium, Antimony, and some other metals are used to make PET. They exist in very, very small amounts and are trapped by the plastic, so you don't need to worry about them leeching out.

There's only one thing you'd need to worry about leeching out of the bottle. It's a gas at room temperature and it's a degradation product that forms during the bottle making. It can diffuse into your water and make it taste "fruity". It's naturally occurring in fruits and vegetables. Water bottles typically have very strict requirements for this degradation product, so chances are you'll never even notice it.

The biggest thing to worry about is bacteria and mold. PET bottles are your friend, don't be afraid of them. Continue to drink bottled water by the truckload, because it helps keep me employed. :D
 

oboeguy

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 1999
3,907
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I have a cycling water bottle on my desk. Probably rotates fairly often as I like to bike commute.
 

Imported

Lifer
Sep 2, 2000
14,679
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I just get a new bottle of water out of the refridgerator when I run out of water from the current bottle.. so thats like 5-7 times a day I change it?
 

m1ldslide1

Platinum Member
Feb 20, 2006
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I wonder if my water bottle habits contributed to me having swollen tonsils and cold-like symptoms for several months until I had a tonsillectomy (at age 26) last year. I was still drinking out of the same bottle too when I created the post today, and after reading the replies it has gone in the garbage.

Funny... I even moved out of my apartment at that time due to mold suspicions, but never even considered the water bottle.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
51,101
6,955
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Water bottle + daily hot water rinse + refill with slim Brita filter for better-tasting water
 

redgtxdi

Diamond Member
Jun 23, 2004
5,464
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Crystal Geyser 1 gallon bottle.

Buy about 1 per month.

Fill w/ tap (that is heavily chlorinated here in So Cal) and shake vigorously every morning, followed by a refill from my GE refrigerator every morning.

The plastic bottle propaganda is bullsh!t. Why the hell do you think there are millions of plastic bottles full of water sitting on store shelves all over the world???


1 month is good enough for me.
 

TheGizmo

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2000
3,627
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every 2 - 3 days i'll open a new bottle of water, after finishing the contents, i'll rise it with warm/hot tap water and refil it with my brita filter.

my mom told me not to drink water from a bottle thats more than 3 days old. always listen to your momma.
 

nova2

Senior member
Feb 3, 2006
982
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thats ridiculous man.

unless you backwash in your bottle after eating, say, meat -- but what kind of newbie does that?
 

krotchy

Golden Member
Mar 29, 2006
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I use a nalgene on my desk and drink from it fairly often. However I definitely dont clean it that much.