Are you cleaning your water bottle enough?

IMO the best way to go is a borosilicate glass bottle (handles frequent scrubbing and cleaning agents without problems) with a simple cap (no straw or sippy, mold/bacteria grows in there and it is impossible to clean out fully) a wide mouth (for easily getting a normal sized bottle brush inside) and with a fabric or rubber sleeve to avoid cracking when it inevitably gets bumped. Even then you'll need to occasionally check under the O-ring gasket in the cap for any bacterial growth; there's nothing like prying the gasket out and finding a couple of colonies of black mold staring back at you (ick) to ruin your day. Yes, it's heavy but most of us aren't using them in a situation where saving every gram counts.

I didn’t know there were still bottles using BPA, is that true?<p>We are a big Nalgene bottle family, as the wide mouths are easy to drink and clean from, and the caps are attached since our children would lose them instantly.<p>I’ve always had side eye to narrow mouths bottles, even Nalgene because it’s hard to clean without a brush.<p>I like the idea of stainless steel bottles a great deal, but a few detriments. The greatest is since they are have a steel to plastic&#x2F;silicone interface they are harder to seal tight — always seem to leak. They also all tend to be made in China, and I’m unclear if they are coated inside or if the plastic cap is BPA free — Nalgene are US made by a scientific supply company which makes plastics for labs, so content is very controlled. Even though microplastics probably still issue with Titan polyester bottles.<p>Plastic bottles are also much cheaper and lighter, as for kids to carry around and frequently lose.<p>I’m not sure if sanitizing plastic is good or not — I remember dishwashing trigger BPA release from the polycarbonate Nalgenes.<p>So soapy hot water and let it sit for ten minutes, rinse, and air dry. Will give it a try!