I either drink it all or I dump it and put fresh water in. What are the risks if I don’t wash it? It’s just me drinking out of it. I’m talking days and days like why ever wash it if it’s just me?
Edit: Clarified the amount of time without washing
In: 3181
There are minimal risks to that. A few days has very low risk of anything bad happening to you by doing that.
If you’re constantly rinsing and cycling through the bottle then it really is not a problem because there isn’t really a chance for a dangerous amount of bacteria to grow in it when it’s just water.
Now if you were drinking sugary drinks where the walls of the bottle end up coated in sugar, then you gotta clean it more
a couple reasons – the water itself, and you sipping on said water.
for the water, fresh water isnt entirely 100% clean. it is typically going to have at least some bacteria, minerals, etc in it. not enough to hurt you of course, but it is still there. over the course of days and days, the bacterial colonies will eventually grow, expel whatever toxins depending on the type, etc
in terms of you sipping on the water, your mouth if full of bacteria. even if you just brushed your teeth, its there. every time you sip your bottle, some of that bacteria is transferring to your bottle. as previously stated, that bacteria will reproduce and do some other not so fun stuff
There is bacteria in your saliva and it could hang out in your water and reproduce. Also your bottle might get residue stuck on the inside.
There’s not much risk if you wash your water bottle every 3 days. Or 7 days, tbh. But simply not ever washing it could potentially eventually get you sick.
Like everyone else says just wash it every few days or so with hot soapy water. Don’t be like u/yoinksboy
I got water bottle cleaning tablets. I use that every 2 months or so after weekly washings with dump and rinse in between. I have a couple different bottles that require certain maintenance, ex I have a stainless steel Bubba. Stays a bit cleaner longer, I also have a Gatorade bottle and I am constantly cleaning that one, those caps are mold traps. But I can’t get away from the satisfaction of misting my face. So situational for every kind of bottle. I know instantly after a sip, if I can taste, smell or even feel the churn in my stomach from mold.
Who said it was bad? I had a camelbak that I used for like 5 years and never washed. I just let it dry after each use.
I scrolled a few comments deep and didn’t see any mention of the fact that you may be filling it with tap water which has a trace amount of chlorine in it. Water in your municipal water system not only has to treat the water from the source, but it also has to keep it treated until it reaches its destination through all the pipes it travels. Refilling your bottle introduces clean chlorinated water to your bottle and helps to keep the growth of algae and mildew at bay.
I didn’t wash my water bottle for months and one day a huge blob of mold formed inside and I almost drank it.
Your saliva has bacteria and the dust around you have bacteria. They can get into your water bottle at any time and once there, they will incubate and grow. The proper way to prevent this is not just rinsing it, but to let it fully dry after you wash it.
I drink out of the same water bottle at work for weeks. I fill and empty it 3-4 a day so the water doesn’t sit any longer than overnight. No problems.
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