Common water bottle mistake could lead to diarrhoea and pneumonia
28.02.2024 - 07:17
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Reusable water bottles are beneficial in so many ways - helping keep you hydrated, they also cut down on single-use plastic, and save you money every time you refill instead of buying a new bottle of water. Plus, with all the chic stainless steel flasks and glass bottles on the market – not to mention sporty carrying straps – they’ve become something of a fashion accessory.
Trying to hit the NHS-recommended eight glasses of water a day for adults is an excellent idea, of course, but there’s one way your refillable bottle could potentially be detrimental to your health. According to a study from waterfilterguru.com, reusable water bottles contain an average of 20.8m colony-forming units (CFUs) of bacteria, which equates to 40,000 times more than the microbes on a toilet seat.
So what might be the consequences if you continuously sip and refill without washing your bottle properly between uses? Health experts talk through the risks…
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“A common misconception when it comes to reusable water bottle hygiene is that as you’re typically filling it with pure water and it’s only coming into contact with your own mouth, there’s little need to clean it often,” says Dr Donald Grant, senior clinician at The Independent Pharmacy.
However, every time you drink from the bottle, you’re transferring bacteria from your mouth, which can then multiply in the container. “Anything that is reusable can be prone to accumulating dirt, dust or debris and, as a result, bacteria,” says private GP Dr Suhail Hussain.
“This is exacerbated by the fact water bottles are the ideal environment for harbouring bacteria due to being moist.”
Hard to reach crevices – for example, inside a screw