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Like many people, Carl Behnke regularly totes a water bottle around throughout his day to make sure he stays hydrated<\/a>. From the office to the gym and back home again, Behnke is rarely without it. But Behnke is also an associate professor in the school of hospitality and tourism management at Purdue University, and when he discovered a \u201cbiofilm\u201d on the inside of his water bottle while cleaning it, it got his wheels turning. \u201cI realized I probably wasn\u2019t as diligent about cleaning my water bottle as I should be,\u201d he explains. \u201cAnd that made me curious: If someone who knows about food safety isn\u2019t diligent, what about everyone else?\u201d<\/p>\n That question led to a study,<\/a> conducted by Behnke and a cohort of academics and scientists, into how reusable bottle contamination levels are affected by usage and cleaning behaviors. If you\u2019re regularly drinking water<\/a> from a reusable bottle, their findings might prompt you to reconsider your own water bottle handling practices.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n While carrying around a reusable water bottle all day is healthy for you\u2014and good for the environment<\/a>\u2014neglecting its care could lead to some negative consequences. \u201cDo you wash your dishes after dinner?\u201d asks Behnke. \u201cYes. But with water bottles, we often take them all over the place and don\u2019t properly clean them.\u201d<\/p>\n You might rinse your bottle out, but if you don\u2019t wash it properly as often as you should, you\u2019d be surprised at what might be growing on the surface and on the inside. The study consisted of two sections of surveys filled out by water bottle users. The first set of questions centered on the type and age of bottle they used, what they put inside it (water<\/a>, energy drinks<\/a>, etc.), and frequency of use. The second section focused on cleaning behaviors, from the method to the frequency.<\/p>\n Essentially, said Behnke, typical water bottle use has all the ingredients to foster bacterial growth: moisture, contamination, and, often, warm temperatures. Dr. Yuriko Fukuta, assistant professor of medicine\u2013infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine, agrees. \u201cWe\u2019re constantly touching our water bottles with our mouths and hands, so it\u2019s easy to transmit bacteria to them, and then it just grows,\u201d she says. \u201cIn some cases this can make you sick, especially if you have a weaker immune system.\u201d<\/p>\n Fukuta suggested that bacteria might include staph or strep. And there\u2019s this, from the cohort study: \u201cMore than 20% of our samples had coliform bacteria, which is fecal matter,\u201d says Behnke.<\/p>\n If all that bacteria has you wanting to do right by your water bottle, there are a few dos and don\u2019ts to follow:<\/p>\n According to Fukuta, your best bets are bottles with a wide mouth, which make them easy to clean and dry, as well as those with a built-in straw that keeps your hands away if possible.<\/p>\n If your goal is to keep your water bottle from turning into a germy breeding ground, the simplest approach is Behnke\u2019s, which he changed after conducting the research. \u201cI rinse my bottle once a day,\u201d he says, \u201cand wash it once a week, using good detergent, a bottle brush, and a spray of Clorox<\/a> bleach.\u201d<\/p>\n More food and nutrition tips:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nChange your habits<\/h2>\n
Proper care and cleaning for water bottles<\/h2>\n
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The best type of water bottle for mitigating bacterial growth<\/h2>\n
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