SHOCKING REVELATION: Your Favorite Reusable Water Bottle Is Not What You Think It Is

plastic bottles

Ever since you were a kid, you’ve always heard that consuming right amounts of clean drinking water is very essential to the human body. You’ve been growing, and still, that hasn’t changed. It’s helpful that wherever you go, you get a hold of a drinking water bottle, and it’s better if you have your very own.


You (and many others like me) might have one favorite reusable water bottle – that bottle you’ve gotten used to and your classmates or your officemates have gotten used to seeing too. It’s that bottle that is identified by them as yours. It’s that bottle you bring with you as you jog or bike in the morning. It’s that bottle you carry to the gym or to the park. It’s that bottle you bring wherever you go just because you’re so used to it, and you can’t just peacefully live a day without it. Truly, once you start bringing your own reusable water bottle as you go on for just one day, you’ll find yourself bringing it again on another. Why? It’s because you see how beneficial it is for you!

  • One, it’s safe to the environment. Since you can use it again, you don’t have to throw away numerous water bottles over and over again.  Another good thing is that it lessens the tendency of people to improperly dispose their trash.
  • Two, it’s a gentle reminder that it’s necessary for you to drink enough water throughout the day. Sometimes, because of busyness, you forget to drink water; sometimes, because of laziness, you don’t want to stand and buy. If you have your water bottle beside you in the office or clinging onto your hand while your walking, then you’ll be reminded from time to time that you must hydrate yourself.
  • Three, it will prevent the chances of bottle switching among you and your peers. If you all bought the same water brand, there’s a chance that you might forget whose is which. If you have your personal bottle, then you and everyone else won’t get confused and won’t pick up the wrong bottle.
  • Four and last, it can help you save money because relating to number one, you don’t have to buy repeatedly. You can refill it from a water dispenser, a drinking fountain, a refrigerator or a fast food chain; in places where necessary or available, drinking water is usually free for all.

Your reusable water bottle always comes handy and helpful! BUT WAIT! Have you heard that having a reusable water bottle daily requires much attention which you might not be aware of?

Admit it or not, most people use the same bottle they had yesterday after leaving it unwashed overnight just because “it’s water.” Most of the time, you think that it’s just water so you worry not. You think that it’s only yours and that it’s nothing but clean, clear and vital drinking liquid! While those things are actually true, you’ve been sort of doing it wrong all this time. Don’t panic too much after knowing that; needless to say, there’s a lot of us doing the wrong thing.

Revealing the truth, experts say that reusable water bottles MUST be cleaned thoroughly AT THE END OF EACH DAY OF USE.

WHAT?! Your mind was probably blown away realizing that you clean your water bottle just once a week. The number of days in a week isn’t enough unless it’s seven. You just hold and bring it everyday without knowing how it can actually affect you in bigger ways. Indeed, you need to clean it at the end of every day.

WHY?! Experts found out that bacteria can actually develop on the part where the hands and the mouth get in contact with–and that is the opening of the bottle.  You don’t have to completely worry because most of the microorganisms that may form are harmless, but you still have to be extra careful because some are threatening to human’s health which may lead to diseases like Streptococcal pharyngitis also known as strep throat. Not cleaning doesn’t totally mean that germs are automatically formed, but it makes their growth possible. Research says that 60 percent of the microbes can cause people to get ill. Contaminants and fecal matter may be present in your water and eventually, in your water bottle so rinsing well is necessary to avoid sickness and infections.

plastic bottle

WHAT SHOULD I DO?!

1 You have to wash your water bottle regardless of its material. It doesn’t matter if it’s metal, plastic or glass because germs aren’t choosy at all. All bottle types become dirty and dangerous if not cleansed correctly.

2 Properly and thoroughly clean it with clean water (again) and soap. Warm or hot water can be used if you want to “disinfect” it. The warm water allows the surface or some microscopic compositions of the bottle to expand, making the dirt removal easier.

3 Meticulously wash the bottle’s mouth and cap. Clean the straw, clean the screw, clean the squeeze, and clean the slide. They’re the parts which your lips touch so make sure they’re safe for you.

4 Use a bottle brush to reach the bottom insides of the bottle. Usually, you’d just clean what you can see or what is exposed, but you disregard the unseen. Those parts which you don’t reach when you clean the bottle become slippery, slimy and gross eventually. It’s called biofilm and is caused by ineffective cleaning; biofilm is self-reproducing, regrowing and may lead to infections.

5 Let your water bottle dry after cleaning so that germs won’t form further. In wet areas and moist surroundings, germs form, and they replicate rapidly.

6 Sharing your water bottle with someone, meaning directly using the same opening of bottle, is risky too, regardless of generosity and concern. Contact through saliva is one way to transmit illnesses, isn’t it? If you share the same bottle mouth with someone, it doubles the chances of germ growth which was originally there due to not cleaning your bottle daily. It will make you think twice because you don’t want to increase germ presence on and in your favorite water bottle.

It may seem unbelievable that your favorite and friendly, reusable water bottle can backstab you like that! All this time, you thought you were the best of pals then you discover that even it can be harmful for your health. Awww, man.

You have no one to blame however since most people didn’t and don’t actually know about this revelation. It’s just somehow awkward if you realize that you’re still using that water bottle while reading this, isn’t it? Who would have thought that you’ve been improperly or insufficiently cleaning your bottle? All you know is that it’s clean since you put water only, but now you know that water isn’t just any simple thing and germs like to interact with you, you must do it right!

If it’s your favorite water bottle, I’m sure you love it. I’m sure you don’t want to throw it away just because you discovered this revelation. And if you love it, you’ll do every proper thing not to lose it and to make it a whole lot better.

Your reusable water bottle is advantageous both for the environment and for you. That’s actually something everyone wants because many of the things that people consume and use are only helpful for humans but not for Mother Earth. Hopefully, this piece has widen your awareness and helped you realize that reusable water bottles are certainly ideal, but neither you nor anyone else must overlook the harm disguising behind environmental advocacies and personal convenience.

AUTHOR BIO: Nicole Ann Pore is a daytime writer for ASP Healthcare, a products supplier and distributor to the health and harm reduction industry in Australia. Writing about healthcare may not be a piece of cake, but Nicole finds it interesting because she is able to gain new and relevant knowledge―enabling her to share it to others because everyone deserves to be informed of proper healthcare systems. She believes that healthy individuals form a healthy community, and a healthy community is more attainable if there is discipline and unity.

Nicole is a graduate of Bachelor of Arts Major in Communication Arts from De La Salle University Manila, Philippines. “To God be the glory”

 

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