A study compared the number of microbes present inside a reusable bottle to that on toilet bowls.
- Gourds contain an average of 20.8 million CFU of microbes.
- Gram-negative bacteria and bacilli, causing infections and gastrointestinal disorders, are the most found in reusable bottles.
- You should clean your water bottle once a day and disinfect it at least once a week.
We know it: bacteria abound in the toilets. But according to a study, conducted by the American company WaterFilterGuru, the gourd in which you drink water would be filled with microorganisms dangerous to health. As part of this research, the researchers took a swab from the inside of four reusable bottles and looked at colony-forming units (CFUs), which are used to assess the number of germs viable in a sample.
Gram negative bacteria and bacilli in gourds
According to the results, an average of 20.8 million CFU of bacteria were found in the gourds. In details, “spout and screw tops had the most germs, with 30 million CFU”. The authors detected two types of bacteria: Gram-negative and bacilli. They point out that gram-negative bacteria can cause infections that are increasingly resistant to antibiotics and that certain types of bacilli can lead to gastrointestinal problems.
“Bacteria are biological contaminants in drinking water. They are just one of four types of pollutants that can be present in the water that comes out of your taps and ends up in your reusable bottles. (…) A water quality test can help you determine what’s in your water and what you need to do to make sure it’s healthy and clean.” explained the team.
Water bottles are dirtier than toilet bowls and kitchen sinks
Next, the researchers compared the gourds to certain places in the home. According to them, a reusable bottle contained 6,000 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. “Kitchen sinks are known to be one of the most germ-infested places in a home, and we found water bottles were about twice as dirty. They were even dirtier than a pet’s bowl. company on which he drools every day and the tactile surface of a computer mouse”, can we read in the study.
Frequent cleaning is essential
“Moist environments are breeding grounds for germs.” Thus, the authors point out that it is important to wash regularly, more precisely once a day, and to disinfect your water bottle at least once a week, or even more often if you are sick, if you have drunk while eating. or if the bottle has been filled with something other than water.
