Kind of a rant — I drink water and flavored-water beverages, and I don’t wanna buy 24-packs of water and trust my local municipality to recycle. Maybe they do, maybe they don’t. Either way, it’s not recycle, it’s “reduce, reuse, recycle.” I’ll drink a Gatorade (Zero) and reuse it a few times and then toss it.
But if I want a reusable bottle — there’s one by Aladdin (Thermos) I like, and one by Zojirushi, I’ve bought two of each over the years. Just tossed the Zojirushi. Zojirushi is a Japanese brand, very high quality, but a bit over-engineered. It’s got this rubber gasket and plug that, you can clean them daily, they get black spots. Not sure if it’s mould or what, but it’s kinda gross and I don’t like it. The Aladdin/Thermos one is a bit better, didn’t think there was any mould anywhere until I dropped it, the cap flew out, mould farm inside! Nowhere that touched the beverage so that was nice. But I’m kinda done with both of them. I would rather just waste plastic than risk drinking from a mouldy reusable cup.
Are there reusable bottles that aren’t mould farms?
get a non-plastic bottle. plastic is notorious for harboring bacteria, and mold, because they are prone to microscope crevices from forming. probably a metal one. you might want to use soap and hot water for metal containers.
Hard agree. My water bottle is stainless steel. The lid screws off, there’s no complicated nozzle to get clean, you drink from it like a normal bottle. I don’t have a dishwasher, just wash it in hot soapy water, rinse and refill. A bonus is that it takes a lot of punishment - I dropped an expensive plastic one once and it exploded. Also it’s a thermal bottle, so cold drinks stay cold.
Just learn how to clean them and clean them. There is no magic bottle that doesn’t.
I wish I knew. Scouring a metal bottle by using a bottle brush with a little water and rock salt or baking soda can help de-scum the films that lead to mold.
Historically, these are the consensus fave in reusable bottles:
Unflavored dental appliance cleaning tablets work great as well to help further clean them
I really like my owala water bottle. I don’t think there’s any hidey-mouldy places, and it’s water-tight. I also appreciate the dual straw&chug mouthpiece. Pretty clever imo.
you can clean them daily, they get black spots
Daily?! I clean mine weekly and I put coffee and milk in them. I drink my coffee by lunch and rinse them out 3x. I turn them upside down and air dry the 2nd half of the day. They’re dried by end of day. Do that 5x a week. Wash on the weekends.
The only thing that ever comes in contact with my water bottle is water. It is always spotless.
You are contaminating it with your mouth when you drink from it. If you put sugary stuff in there, you are basically carrying a petri around with you and asking why its growing stuff.
Youtuber “Miranda Goes Outside” just came out with a bottle that’s supposed to resemble a Smart Water bottle in form-factor but have the entire top unscrew ( in addition to the narrow standard bottle cap) for easy cleaning.
I have a stainless steel Nalgene bottle that I only use for water. It does have a plastic cap that is a bit unsatisfying. But, I haven’t noticed any mould issues and it’s perfectly ok to clean the metal part with boiling water or with bleach.
I have a Bubba water “bottle” I’ve been using daily since 2019. No mold, no issues. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079B962YQ Non-affiliate link.
I use a stainless steel insulated bottle and I clean it with Polydent tablets, like for cleaning dentures. It works incredibly well.
You’re probably going to have the easiest time just cleaning them periodically.
If you want to have something that’s intrinsically antifungal, instead of stainless steel, you could get a copper-alloy water bottle, like bronze or brass.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimicrobial_copper-alloy_touch_surfaces
Antimicrobial copper-alloy touch surfaces can prevent frequently touched surfaces from serving as reservoirs for the spread of pathogenic microbes. This is especially true in healthcare facilities, where harmful viruses, bacteria, and fungi colonize and persist on doorknobs, push plates, handrails, tray tables, tap (faucet) handles, IV poles, HVAC systems, and other equipment.[1] These microbes can sometimes survive on surfaces for more than 30 days.
I wouldn’t bet on it stopping growth on the gasket, though.
It looks like this claims to be copper (which if correct, I would think would be really prone to denting):
https://www.amazon.com/Adonai-Hardware-Hammered-Copper-Bottle/dp/B09MZ9VYJS
This vacuum flask says that it has a copper internal lining:
https://www.amazon.com/OUTSIDER-Stainless-Vacuum-Insulated-Bottle-Thermos/dp/B0BX7C1MDK
I suddenly understand why every handle, kick plate, knob and hinge were made of brass on the infantry bases I saw it was at.
I would just not care about the biofilm and wash it regularly. If you fill the bottle from a clean source and it doesnt smell or taste strange, the water should be fine for consumption.
You know your fresh water pipes also have biofilms in them? If it isnt contaminated, the microorganisms there are harmless. So if you get clean water from the pipes and your mouth has a healthy microbiome, where should potentially harmful microorganisms come from?
Only in rare amounts from the environment when you open the bottle. For that to create a buildup will take time. If you properly wash your bottle like once a week you should be fine.
No bottle will stay clean if you dont wash it from time to time.
I’ve had good luck with kleen kanteen. Stainless steel with a steel screw in top. No gaskets.
I know what you mean about the moldy gaskets, I’ve had that problem with insulated coffee mugs.
Use(d) their thermos for tea.
My snaller bottle gad a big opening and easy to clean.
Sadly it went KIA during my commute and jumped out of my biking bag and onto the road.
On which it was later crushed by a car. It was a present :(
Anything that’s wet all the time is going to grow mold or algae or whatever.
Whether you rinse or scrub, if you just shake off the drips or even towel it off before you fill it up again it’s going to get gross.
It needs to spend a significant amount of time completely dry.
The solution is to have 2 bottles and switch them every few days.
Using 2 bottles atm. Both from LTT (youtuber merch).
After use I clean them witg fresh water and dry them over night in a reverse position.
So far it was sufficient to not develop any smell. On ocassion I’ll clean it with dish soap.
