How to Clean a Water Bottle Correctly?

Getting clean drinking water is important for everyone, from office workers to students, because its benefits are long known. You know that many health-related diseases are an outcome of unclean drinking bottles. Since office workers and students carry reusable water bottles to work, school, and other places, it is vital to learn how to clean water bottles.

Ever since the use of reusable water bottles has increased, the issues related to their cleaning are also quite common. No one has the time to clean their water bottles while they are rushing to work, so they think the common traditional ways are enough. Do you think that only swirling some water in your bottle, shaking it, and rinsing it is enough to keep it clean?

If you think like that, you’re wrong because there are specific ways of cleaning a water bottle to ensure you have removed all sorts of contamination. Since you have shifted to reusable bottles like the popular DYLN 40 oz insulated water bottle, it is important to learn how to clean them.

We know that you must be curious to learn more about the best way to clean water bottles; that's why we have shared this detailed guide here today. This article has the details of all the right ways to a deep clean water bottle. We have shared multiple tried and tested ways here to give you a holistic idea.

We suggest you go through this article to know all the right ways of cleaning your water bottle and ensuring you stay fit and healthy. So, let’s begin with our tips and methods of doing so. Let’s start to learn how to clean water bottles and how to wash water bottles!

Washing a Bottle with Dish Soap and Warm Water

One of the best ways to keep your water bottle clean is to wash it with warm water and dish soap every other night. This will help you keep your bottle clean from bacteria contaminants and ensure it doesn't get smelly.

What you are supposed to do is disassemble your bottle and rinse out the water that is still there. Next, wash the bottle with dish soap and warm water. You may use a brush, or clean cloth dipped in dish soap to clean the bottle’s rim and cap.

Once you have done that, you should rinse it thoroughly with warm water and leave it for drying. If you feel like there is no space to dry out the bottle naturally, you can use a clean, dry cotton cloth to do so. 

Washing a Bottle with a Nylon Bottle Brush

One of the best ways to clean water bottles is to use a nylon bottle brush. People often use nylon brushes when they have bottles with narrow mouth openings because it is difficult to put your hand inside otherwise. The best part is that these brushes are available in multiple sizes, so you can pick the best fit.

There are bottles that come with a narrow rubber bite valve. Some even have straw-type tops or buttoned tops. All these bottles have a greater instance of developing mold and becoming smelly. The long thin wire brush is ideal for cleaning such water bottles. You can easily clean these narrow corners with such a brush to avoid any mold formation there. 

Self-Cleaning Water Bottles

If you don’t have the time to deep clean a water bottle daily, you can think of buying a sanitizing water bottle like the CleanLight water bottle that sanitizes itself and keeps itself clean. All such water bottles usually use UV-C LED technology to keep the water free of bacteria accumulation. Some of them even come with a filter to effectively clean the drinking water. A good example is that of CRAZYCAP 2 Filtered Water Bottle.

These bottles have their own cleaning cycles; however, you can also clean them on-demand. Although they let you save time and help you stay active throughout the day, not everyone can afford these bottles because these bottles usually come with a big price tag. 

Investing in an Effective Water Bottle Cleaner

There are multiple bottle cleaning liquids that you can think of going for. Most of them are natural remedies that are tried and tested for cleaning water bottles. We have listed the most popular ones below. 

Vinegar

You can easily find distilled vinegar lying around the kitchen. Although it is usually used in the kitchen, it has amazing cleaning capabilities when it is mixed with water. Since vinegar is acidic, its nature helps it break the molds and bacteria build-up from your bottles. So, washing a bottle with vinegar solution can be an effective thing to do (only if you can bear its smell). 

Baking Soda

One another common technique for cleaning bottles is using baking soda. If you hate the smell of vinegar, baking soda should be your go-to option because it is odorless. The good thing about baking soda is that it can absorb bad odors. So, if your bottle is smelling lately, the baking soda solution has got your back. All you need to do is pour some warm water into your bottle and mix it with baking soda. Close the cap and shake it well to have a clean water bottle. 

Other Cleaning Solutions

People think of going for other cleaning solutions as well. These include bleach, water bottle cleaning tablets, and hydrogen peroxide spray. You must be wondering how effective bleach would be in comparison with vinegar. Although people often think of going for bleach, vinegar is more effective in killing bacteria and mold. However, you can go for bleach as an alternative.

As far as the tablets are concerned, many companies have designed specific water bottle cleaning tablets that are good for cleaning water bottles. All you are supposed to do is drop a tablet in your water-filled bottle, and the rest is the tablet's job. Water bottle cleaning tablets are a good alternative to bleach and vinegar if you can’t bear their unavoidable smell.

Lastly, hydrogen peroxide spray is a nice option to go for as well. What you can do is use it after you have cleaned your bottle with dish soap and warm water the way we instructed above. Spray the washed bottle with hydrogen peroxide spray and leave it for around ten minutes. Next, rinse it with warm water and leave it for drying. If you will have a glass bottle like the pBellabeat spring bottle, these cleaning options would work ideally.