Don't Refill Water Bottles

[wilso]

I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV!

No, no...but I am studying Microbiology right now.

The diseases, third-world and here, I can deal with. It's the stuff in my little ol' world that disgusted me.

It is so very disgusting. For instance, number-wise, you have more creepy-crawlies on and in your body than you do body cells. Yuk!

Most of house dust is the dead skin that has flaked off of you and the fam. Yuk!

Those little antibacterial bottles like Purell do absolutely no good, and sometime make things worse. But people walk around spreading germs because they think their hands are cleansed. Yuk!

At the rate some of these creepy-crawlies multiply, it would make sense to me that you shouldn't just refill the bottles. Because they're growing in the few drops you left behind. Plus, I don't think bottled water contains the chemicals that tap water does to kill the buggers off.

But, you have to draw a line somewhere. It's not like bathing in Staph or EColi, you know?

But, I agree with the folks who say, "Ask your doctor." He's always the best one when it comes to medical matters.

 

[Horizons16]

I have seen people put there whole face on the water bubblers... thats just wrong. I would want to touch that with my lips.

 

[goofy4tink]

I wasn't concerned about reusing the bottles causing cancer. It was a 'germ' thing. Evidently people are lured into a false sense of security by reusing them. As someone else said, that little bit of water (or backwash, if you will) can get contaminated. Then you refill the bottle thinking that it is still clean. That's the reason we use them once or we use the big sport bottles and clean them in the dishwasher or the water/bleach solution weekly.

But, I do have to agree that sometimes I think that the whole 'don't reuse the bottle or you could get sick' thing is manufactured to get us to just keep buying more of the 'disposable' bottles. Besides, that gets to be pretty expensive after awhile. You're better off carefully cleaning those heavier sport bottles and reusing them.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Originally posted by wilso
Those little antibacterial bottles like Purell do absolutely no good, and sometime make things worse. But people walk around spreading germs because they think their hands are cleansed. Yuk!

Purell wipes are NOT antibacterial, not do they claim to be! Purell is ethyl alcohol and they do kill germs, just like the alcohol wipes a nurse wipes on a child's arm or leg before giving a shot. Purell is the only kids of wipe I use, and then only when soap and warm water is not available.

From what I have heard, the antibacterial wipes are not supposed to be good and our body developes a resistance to them. I try to stay away from antibacterial products in general.

My family gets the normal colds, viruses, etc, but not in excess. My son who will be 5yo in December has never had a sick child visit. I keep waiting and wondering when it will be, but he has been amazingly healthy (he gets those darn stomach viruses, but nothing that lingers). I wasn't this lucky with his 3 older siblings.

I will continue to reuse the water bottles, but I will make sure to wash them very well (and instruct my kids when they are on dish duty how to wash them). I usually wash the lids in the dishwasher. I will also avoid reusing them on vacations unless I'm able to wash them very well.

T&B

T&B

 

[sorchamac]

Originally posted by disney1990
I've been reusing water bottles for years and I've never gotten sick. .

Same here. We drink a ton of water in my house. Now if I don't get 8 hours a sleep a night, THEN I get sick. But by washing the caps and bottles out well, we don't get sick. I could see about being a little more vigilant about it in the winter though...

Sorcha

 

[FatCow]

I can't name names, but one of the well-known bottle supplier for a bottling company is an MD. In fact, his entire family are doctors, when I showed this thread, they started laughing.

"well I hope more gullible people will believe that so I can sell more bottles!" was the first comment that came out of him.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

Gee -- and to think in the "old" days everyone used the same ladle to dip from the community bucket to get a drink of water...how'd they ever survive?