Brilio.net - Many people now have at least one bottle of drinking water that they use frequently. This tool can always be relied on to keep the body hydrated. Its practical shape means that drinking water bottles are often carried everywhere, especially when traveling outside the house.
Not only practical, drinking bottles can also be an environmentally friendly and economical alternative. Instead of buying bottled water all the time, carrying water in a drinking bottle could certainly be the right choice so that not a lot of bottle waste is generated.
However, there is one problem that many people often experience when using drinking water bottles, namely their hygiene. Drinking water bottles that are used continuously, especially every day, can become a nest for germs. Even though it looks clean because it is only used as a container for mineral water, the potential for bacteria and germs to grow still exists.
This was experienced by a netizen named Stanley. In one of the videos uploaded on TikTok @skysayingthings, this woman looked shocked after seeing the inside of a drinking bottle that she usually uses. After removing the lid, it appeared that there were many mold spots covering the area.
photo: TikTok/@skysayingthings
The presence of mold in drinking bottles can indeed occur due to humidity. A senior food safety education program specialist at Penn State University, Martin Bucknavage, confirmed this. Reporting from lama unilad.com, Martin Bucknavage admitted that bottles that are not clean and damp tend to increase the potential for the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi.
"Bacteria are in your mouth and the environment, so they are going to make their way into your bottle (bacteria in your mouth and environment can get into the bottle)," he explained, quoted by BrilioFood from unilad.com on Wednesday (19/ 6).
In order to avoid this, the drinking water bottles used must be washed regularly. However, the question that often arises is how often should this drinking water bottle be washed even if it looks clean? The reason is, many people often ignore the cleanliness of bottles if they are only used as mineral water containers. However, mineral water also has the potential to cause bottles to become dirty and moldy.
photo: pexels.com
For this reason, a professor of food science at Rutgers University, Donald Schaffner, PhD, also emphasizes washing bottles regularly. Via the unilad.com page, he suggests washing bottles every week or every few days. This time period is sufficient to prevent the growth of bacteria or fungus in drinking water bottles.
However, please note that this duration can also be adjusted to the material and how the bottle is stored. More precisely, how high is the risk of the bottle being exposed to dust and stains.
"If the bottle is in a backpack or purse and the part you put your mouth on is bumping into things, it will probably get dirtier faster than if it just sits next to you all day (if the bottle is in a backpack or bag and part the mouth you use is often exposed to objects, maybe the bottle will get dirty faster than if it just sits next to you all day)," said Donald Schaffner.
Apart from considering how to use it, the contents or liquid in the bottle must also be considered. According to Bucknavage, bottles used for coffee, tea and sweet drinks should be washed more often. This is due to the residue that is often left in the bottle, so that fungi and bacteria can grow more quickly.
photo: YouTube/Rahma Herlina
On the other hand, you also need to pay attention to how to wash bottles. It's best to use soap and a brush that can reach all parts of the bottle. Then, if the bottle hasn't been cleaned for a long time, don't forget to do deep cleaning or thorough cleaning by soaking the bottle in hot water to kill the bacteria and fungus that are still left in it.