How often you should clean your water bottle?

How often do you clean your water bottle? If you don't remember, this article is for you. The use of reusable water bottles has increased drastically. According to the BBC, it is worth around $10bn in 2024. But do you know, every time you take a sip from your water bottle, you are depositing some bacteria inside it and over the course of day these bacteria can multiply by the millions? According to a study our water bottle multiplies 75,000 to over 1-2 million bacteria per millilitre in 24 hours. This article explores the crux of scientists investigation on what really lives inside our bottle and how you can stay safe.


Have you felt slippery inside your water bottle? This is not material, it's bacterial buildup. But how come bacteria enter our bottle? Mostly through our mouths, hands and surrounding environment. We don't wash our hands each time while using water bottle, but our hands contain E. coli bacteria which can transfer to our bottle providing it a breeding ground. Apart from that, we carry our bottle with us to multiple places such as the gym, workplace or even just keep it in the house but our surroundings are filled with microbes that enter the bottle unknowingly.

When these bottles are kept at room temperature, the bacteria multiply. Now you might think to put it inside refrigerator, it can slow the multiplication but does not stop them. Most bacteria do not hurt us but those who have a low immune system can get affected by infections. E. Coli can cause diarrhoea and vomiting.


15% of reusable water bottle useres never clean their bottles. So if you want clean your bottle, the best way to clean your water bottle is to flush the bottle with hot water (above 60°C). But if you can wash your bottle with tools like a brush or dishwasher, it can have the lowest counts of bacteria.

Bottles that are used for storing tea, coffee or juice can be more contaminated than those only storing water.

Studies show that plastic bottles contain more bacteria than those of steel bottles and the cleaning strategy also tends to make a far difference. So make sure to purchase bottles that are easy to clean.


Drinking water from reusable water bottles are safe only when it properly cleaned. Bottle of glass or stainless steel are better than plastic bottles and at the end the most hygienic bottles are the easiest to clean. Development of good hygiene habit is the key it might kick off from regular washig of bottles.

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