Does putting water bottles washed in the dishwasher leach toxins into the water if I refill them?

Question

We aren't supposed to re-use water bottles because of bacteria; a dishwasher would remedy that. However, if I re-fill the bottle with filtered water and store it in the refrigerator, is it unsafe? Do chemicals actually leach into the water from the plastic more than they would if the bottle were brand new? I have read that Nalgene is now considered unsafe as well, for the same leaching reason.

Answer 1

It is generally safe to put waterbottles in the dishwasher. What causes them to leach is the heat, so dont put hot anything into waterbottles. Nalgene leaches compounds when in contact with any liquid, hot or cold, so they are advised against, especially for pregnant women. Also DO NOT put bleach in your water bottle. Bleach is VERY TOXIC, just read the bottle and doesnt rinse clean. Some will remain after rinsing. Just beause the directions say to do it doesnt make it safe. With the Nalgene, its a personal choice. The toxins wont act immediately and if your willing to take the risk that your risk for cancer may be increased later in life, go ahead and use them. Keep in mind that most everything now days will raising your risk of cancer. but good on you for looking into it.

Answer 2

I just looked around on the internet. It seems that current thinking is that nalgenes are fine, although after a couple years, they may be more likely to leach, and putting any plastic bottles in a dishwasher probably makes them more likely to leach.

Answer 3

We re-fill at home but my wife also washes the empty bottles in the dishwasher so the heat will pretty much sterilize the bottle. Then we fill them and put them in the fridge. They are rarely there more than 3 days. Most city water also has a fair amount of chlorine in it so they will let it last a little longer. We also have a regular water cooler with 5 gal. jugs. I have had these large jugs in my garage for as much as 3 months with no ill affects, although they were still sealed.

Answer 4

That depends on the type of plastic used to make the bottles. The heat from the drying cycle of a dish washer can affect the plastic too. A teaspoon of bleach in a quart of water used to rinse the bottle will disinfect it too. Rinse the bottle with the bleach water then rinse with clean water.

Answer 5

The washing in the dish washer gets pretty hot,may not do so good. U can rinse the bottle with a table spoon of Clorox in a gallon of tap water that will kill almost anything. I lived in Ecuador and even used Clorox in the tap water.