We all know someone in Saudi who bought a water bottle back in ’07 and here we are ten years later with it still going strong.

*Hiding monkey emoji*

While it’s great for the environment and all that, the bacteria build up over time can lead to sickness and diarrhea – not pretty…

Unless you wash your bottles thoroughly, bacteria from both tap or dispenser water (which seeps into the plastic) and saliva will reproduce inside the bottle, potentially leaving you with gastroenteritis, headaches and vomiting.

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And it’s leaving it at room temperature which can tempt the bacteria to reproduce and build up a culture that could give you a virus – similar risks to chewing a pen lid!

This is especially a risk, living in a country that’s hot all the time! (Regardless of your air-conditioning)

So should I reuse bottles at all?

If your bottle is washed, rinsed and stored in a fridge – it can be safe, but only for a few times and you certainly shouldn’t drink water that’s been left in the bottle untouched for days – especially at room temperature. 

At most, you could also just store them in jugs and keep it in the fridge. Bottles are handy and all but by making this change, you’ll also help reduce plastic waste.