Think You Don’t Have Germs? Think Again

Those reusable water bottles you use on the daily is a cesspool of germs. A new study by Treadmill Reviews reveals that reusable plastic water bottles have more bacteria per square centimeter than toilet seats and pet toys. The average water bottle has 313,000 colony forming units of bacteria per square centimeter compared to a pet toy, which has 2,937 colony forming units of bacteria per square centimeter. 60% of these germs may make you sick

A pet water bowl has 47,383 colony forming units of bacteria per square centimeter

So how do you clean your water bottle to get rid of those germs?

You can wash some bottles in the dishwasher, but even a dishwasher can’t reach the insides of a built-in straw or the far depths of a narrow-mouthed bottle. If you use a bottlebrush, you can scrub some of those recesses. For easier cleaning, use a wide-mouth bottle. Fizzy cleaning tablets, such as Bottle Bright by Clean Ethics, can clean hard-to-reach spots. Air-dry both the cap and bottle completely to prevent bacterial growth.