Don't Refill Water Bottles

[webmomom]

i just heard this on TV the morning. With the problem we are having in this country of not enough virus vaccine, please do not refill your water bottles. Actually they said to buy the smaller version of the water bottles so you can drink it down usually in one of two drinks. When the bottles are filled they are sterilzed and once they are opend of course that is gone.

the moderator was really funny. He said I know you people are going to say, but I am going to spend more money this way buying more water. He explained, even if it does cost a little more look at it this way. If you get the virus, you are going to have to go to a doctor $.
Then get the Medicine$. And of course you will lost work $. They were saying you will probably be sick about 5 to 10 days. So in the long run you will not spending more money you will be saving.

I just thought I would let you all know as I have seen many,many people doing this as well as myself.

 

[KCMiller]

OK, and I can understand not sharing, but what's the harm in refilling your own water bottle, that day? I don't mean recycle the thing without washing it out for days on end , but if I'm drinking out of the same bottle all day, wouldn't I just be getting my own germs?

I try not to overthink these things - it's just too ucky to contemplate . . . .


KC

 

[loriandmatt]

i don't get this one either. if the point is to not fill them at a public fountain - i can sort of see that one. But if i am refilling the water bottle at my home or from a large gallon jug of spring water, how can that add to my chances of getting the flu (or any other type of illness.)

i am sure the OP means well, but there must be more to this warning that we are missing.

- lori

 

[LIFERBABE]

Basically they said that water bottles are breeding grounds for bacteria. They said with the narrow opening, they cannot be cleaned properly.

After seeing this, I still reuse them in the same day, but not for days at a time like I used to. I do keep the sport caps and wash those in hot soapy water and buy the cheaper bottles of water on my next shopping trip.

 

[ErinInCT]

Would the Brita Fill & Go still be okay to use? I am guessing it is not the water that is the problem? It is the mouthpiece?
We only use one bottle a day & then start fresh the next morning & we refill the Brita at a fountain & then pour it into our empty water bottles (we only have one Brita for 4 of us).

 

[ruttie]

I saw a report like this also yesterday may have been teh same show.. anyway the reason they said to not reuse was that the flu grems are airborne in small quarters so if you leave your bottle open and people sneeze arond you teh opening can become contaminated... That is the case anywhere you go with sodas/straws etc.. bascially if you practice good hygene and if people who get sick stay home so as not to expose anyone teh risks are lowered... Hope everyone has a safe healthy day! my son reuses his water bottle daily that he takes to school but i do put it in the dishwasher everynight to make sure it gets good and clean...

 

[wdwobsessed]

I think the buying the smaller bottles so you can finish it in one or two drinks thing is a little paranoid. However ... I have seen a similair type of report and what they were against was people reusing the bottles without washing them. For example ... some people keep the same water bottle in thier car and fill it up each day when they work out ... without washing it.

That ... when you think about it ... it gross. Though in the past I had refilled one from the previous day I no longer do.

I will buy a fresh bottle of water and refill it at the cooler throught the day (cooler / not fountain) ... then discard the bottle.

On a side note: If people would just wash thier darn hands we'd cut down on this flu stuff ... I work with kids and have to wash my hands all the time.

WDWO

 

[goofy4tink]

Another issue is those who reuse the, say..Dasani or Poland Springs water bottles. Evidently the plastic used to make these bottles starts to degrade and if you keep using it, it becomes unhealthy. We actually wash our 'sport' bottles out daily and then soak them, and the mouthpiece, in a water/bleach solution. We do the bleach water thing once a week.

 

[ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

besides all this...the water from the fountains are disgusting. I tried to refill it and after a taste I just threw it out. I don't mind paying for clean chilled water.

 

[DisneyHoneyMoon]

Originally posted by goofy4tink
Another issue is those who reuse the, say..Dasani or Poland Springs water bottles. Evidently the plastic used to make these bottles starts to degrade and if you keep using it, it becomes unhealthy. We actually wash our 'sport' bottles out daily and then soak them, and the mouthpiece, in a water/bleach solution. We do the bleach water thing once a week.

I have read the same paper on this degradation of the plastic. It appeared in my University's newspaper in 1999. Unfortunately it was based on someone's masters thesis and had not been peer reviewed. It turns out that you cannot get cancer from reusing plastic water bottles. Here's a link from the American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MED/content/MED_6_1x_Reusing_Plastic_Water_Bottles.asp?sitearea=MED

Hope this helps.

 

[don8life]

Oh Disneyhoneymoon, thanks so much for posting that.
It is very important for my daughter to flush her kidneys after her liver transplant. She loooves water. I can only find one place that sells perfect bottles for her since she is just 2. Little bottles with the sports cap so it doens't spill on her. I stopped reusing when I heard the cancer thing. Now I can reuse! Awesome!!

 

[ptrbryant]

I wonder, as ErininCT did earlier, if this applies to the Brita Fill n Go as well. We've always used them on our WDW trips....wash the tops and rinse out the bottles with hot, soapy water each night and refill them each morning. It would seem the report would also veto this plan. Any opinions?
Karla B.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Originally posted by goofy4tink
Another issue is those who reuse the, say..Dasani or Poland Springs water bottles. Evidently the plastic used to make these bottles starts to degrade and if you keep using it, it becomes unhealthy. We actually wash our 'sport' bottles out daily and then soak them, and the mouthpiece, in a water/bleach solution. We do the bleach water thing once a week.

This is an urban legend that has been floating around. Not true!

T&B

 

[ruttie]

with regards to finding a little bottle that is easy for little ones DANNON for kids has a water bottle that has floride in the water that is AWESOME it is teh perfect size for the park soccer etc fit in back packs purses and little hands can hold it plus it has a sports bottle top so those little ones who need a little help an still like to suck mor ethan sip can do it!!

 

[dizagain]

Well, what I ws told by a friend who got ill and hospitalized from drinking from a contaminated water bottle was that the dr. said DON"T REUSE THE SPORT CAP BOTTLES...

Bacteria grows inside the nooks and crannies of the sport cap and is not always killed by dishwasher or soap/water. So actually it is safer to re-use the plain ones if you must...we've stopped doing that altogether in our house, though.

Yuck!

 

[Leota]

This is an interesting thread. I reuse water bottles all the time - I wash them thouroughly & have never had a problem. I have a weak immune system & use the bottles to carry filtered water from my house (we have a special <.5 micron filter for drinking water)

I think I better talk to my doctor to sort out fact from sensationalism...........

 

[NotUrsula]

Jeez, this is only common sense. If you can reuse baby bottles, then you can reuse water bottles; you just have to properly clean them between uses. If you are using small-necked water bottles, cleaning them properly requires a bottle brush, dish soap, and boiling-temp water, and I'm betting that most of the people who have gotten ill that way didn't use those.

Brita's bottle have wide necks, which means that washing them out properly is very easy. Like ANY empty drinking vessel, they should be stored with the top open to the air so that mold doesn't grow inside them, and then washed out again to remove any dust right before they are refilled. I find that the best way to store them is to dissassemble the top entirely, drop the filter and spout inside, and screw the ring back on.

 

[phamton]

http://www.snopes.com/toxins/bottles.asp

"Some organizations (including the IBWA) do recommend that plastic water bottles be used only once before recycling, but not because re-use is likely to cause carcinogenic compounds to leach from the plastic bottles into the liquids they hold. The concern is that people (particularly children) can too easily spread and ingest bacteria from their hands and mouths by re-using bottles without properly washing them or allowing them sufficient time to dry."

So wash them as well as you would a baby's bottle.

 

[disney1990]

I've been reusing water bottles for years and I've never gotten sick. You would think that with all those people out there reusing their water bottles, that there would be lots and lots of people walking around sick. I can't tell you the last time I was sick. Ever wonder where all those empty water bottles go. Don't we have enough problems with our overfilled landfills. I think this is just another scare to make us buy more water bottles.

 

[Chuck S]

We don't reuse ours on vacation (I'm not gonna carry empty bottles around a park to save a buck), but at home, we do. We clean them well between uses, and rinse them in a mild bleach solution. We don't use the sport top, just the regular screw on tops. We refill them with filtered water.