Water Bottle Hygiene

PeakRider91

I have x2 zefal 750ml water bottles and like my previous ones after awhile they go weird. Like the water taste plasticy and smell funny?

What's the best way and how often clean them?

Also was thinking about just getting a bottom tube 2L bottle holder, have seen these on touring bikes. Does anyone know where to buy, ones that fit tesco ashbeck and sainsburys caledonia 2L bottles.


Cheers

Bozman

Dishwasher

adm1

If you use sugary drinks, they go mouldy really quickly unless you clean them religiously. I solved this problem by only putting zero calorie isotonic drinks in them and eating food for calories.

I did see some good ones the other day where the entire bottom of the bottle also screwed off so it was really easy to clean properly (like in the dishwasher).

However.....I have had cheapo bottles that have come out in funny shapes after going through the dishwasher.

PeakRider91

I do dishwasher still come out funny with bits in bottom , sorry I'm just a germ a fobe.

Can someone please find a universal 2L bottle cage can't find any? Do you have to DIY them?

TheEnglishman

PeakRider91 wrote:

I do dishwasher still come out funny with bits in bottom

You put them in upside down

prawny

Bozman wrote:

Dishwasher

+ infinity

Top rack, one of mine I thought was stained but after a few goes in the dishwasher it's come up really shiny

s@intsteve

Boling water from the kettle and a scrub with a brush seems to work for me...

jibberjim

Do people really have both bottles that are happy at 80+degree dishwasher washes that are hot enough to sterilise and dishwashers that actually have 80 degree washes - most modern ones don't because that hurts their Energy Rating.

Any sort of chlorine based sterilising solution (baby/dentures etc.) work well, much cheaper than a boil wash in the dishwasher and actually kills bugs unlike a lower temp dishwasher wash.

redvee

s@intsteve wrote:

Boling water from the kettle and a scrub with a brush seems to work for me...

Ditto for me, though I only use squash in my bottles. Hot water in 1/8 full and shake and squirt out through nozzle and empty.

raymondo60

Don't all real cyclists just throw them away on the roadside and get new ones?

Paul 8v

Milton is what you need, my missus is a nurse so evething in the bloomin house is miltonned. It does work though!

winton

^^^ What Paul said. Milton sterilising fluid. No need for super hot washes in the dishwasher and your bottles don't get defromed by the heat either. Minty.

sungod

^^ this

rinse as soon as you're home, soak in milton every now and then

hodge68

I have half dozen bottles on the go and scratch the date i got them on the base, then after about 6 to 8 months throw them away. They are cheap enough and quite often free.
+1 for the dish washer.

B.M.R.

As I can't get my hand inside the bottles when I want to scrub them out, like most people I suppose, I tend to fill them about quarter full with boiling water, put in something mildly abrasive like a dishcloth and then use a long wooden spoon to move the cloth around inside "scrubbing" away any spots that appear and giving the insides a good clean. It works for me.

plowmar

I must be a dirty B. but all I do -if bottle empty- after a ride is cold water bottle half full and give it a good shake , top on of course.

Any bottles 50% + full just go in the fridge for next time or stay on the bike.

Never had any upsets. (oops is this like the p**ct**e fairy and I'll now go down with the lurgy or can us oldsters combat the germs better?

rolf_f

Just stick them in the freezer. No need to worry about putting chemicals on them or anything. They last for years like that. As for throwing them away after six months - that's the sort of thing that people who don't repair inner tubes do - shame on you

dw300

sungod wrote:

^^ this

rinse as soon as you're home, soak in milton every now and then

This ^

You can also buy own brand sterilising fluids for peanuts. Just let the bottles soak in them for a while.

cougie

I mainly use water in mine and the bottles last years.
No funny tastes or growths.

When you finish a ride - wash the bottle. Simples.

mkviken

i washmine then put them in the baby bottle steriliser and no problems

alihisgreat

Rolf F wrote:

Just stick them in the freezer. No need to worry about putting chemicals on them or anything. They last for years like that. As for throwing them away after six months - that's the sort of thing that people who don't repair inner tubes do - shame on you

That doesn't work unless you've already sterilized them..

eg if you eat raw chicken after its been in the freezer.. its still going to destroy you!

Why should water bottles be any different?

rolf_f

I believe it kills a good chunk of the wildlife if not all.

Anyway, all I can say is that I've never had any bother with my drinking water bottles either in terms of taste or dying and I keep them till they break! But then I tend to think that maybe people are so obsessed with hygiene that they just end up vulnerable to anything so maybe they do need to be paranoid.

ricklilley

I also rinse as soon as i get home, including squirting clean water through the valve. And soak in Milton (other brands of sterilising fluid are available) occasionally.

liquor box

once a week I soak mine in hot water (tap) and a splash of bleach. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes and then scrub under the water hole and then rinse off weel.

I read a magazine in the US that listed the most dangerous things for a cyclist, and it claimed more people died from infections from water bottles than from cars! I dont know how accurate this was but it made me look closely at my bottles and I realised how easy it is for them to become dirty/mouldy

dw300

Rolf F wrote:

I believe it kills a good chunk of the wildlife if not all.

Anyway, all I can say is that I've never had any bother with my drinking water bottles either in terms of taste or dying and I keep them till they break! But then I tend to think that maybe people are so obsessed with hygiene that they just end up vulnerable to anything so maybe they do need to be paranoid.

Cold doesn't kill any bacteria. Basic food hygiene fail. It only slows down the rate it multiplies. That's why things in the freezer still only have a 1/3/6 month lifespan.

Only heat or sterilising fluids can kill bacteria.

upperoilcan

plowmar wrote:

I must be a dirty B. but all I do -if bottle empty- after a ride is cold water bottle half full and give it a good shake , top on of course.

Any bottles 50% + full just go in the fridge for next time or stay on the bike.

Never had any upsets. (oops is this like the p**ct**e fairy and I'll now go down with the lurgy or can us oldsters combat the germs better?

LOL +1 but in my defence i only put Mineral water in my bottles and never tap water.

Mark Elvin

Simply give mine a good soak in warm, clean water straight after use with the tiniest amount of Fairy in (other dish soaps are available), then rinse out with clean water.

rolf_f

dw300 wrote:

Cold doesn't kill any bacteria. Basic food hygiene fail. It only slows down the rate it multiplies. That's why things in the freezer still only have a 1/3/6 month lifespan.

Only heat or sterilising fluids can kill bacteria.

I just went on the basis of Google research and the fact that I can have a bottle of energy drink on the bike for a few days, bung it in the freezer, get it out again, put it on the bike for a few days, bung it in the freezer again etc etc and it always tastes exactly the same and there is no visible or odourous nastiness.

Maybe what works for me doesn't work for all......

PS what's all this 'food hygiene fail' thing? You aren't American are you?

Cleat Eastwood

someone on here recommended those tablets you clean false teeth with - they work brilliantly - and cheap too.

kayo74

Half tablet of Milton works wonders.

Gizmo_

dw300 wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

I believe it kills a good chunk of the wildlife if not all.

Anyway, all I can say is that I've never had any bother with my drinking water bottles either in terms of taste or dying and I keep them till they break! But then I tend to think that maybe people are so obsessed with hygiene that they just end up vulnerable to anything so maybe they do need to be paranoid.

Cold doesn't kill any bacteria. Basic food hygiene fail. It only slows down the rate it multiplies. That's why things in the freezer still only have a 1/3/6 month lifespan.

Only heat or sterilising fluids can kill bacteria.

^ This.