Reusing the same water bottle over and over without washing might not seem harmful, but researchers say it can make you really sick.
In a study comissioned by TreadmillReviews.net, researchers tested 12 types of water bottles to see how many germs were on each lid and the results were shocking.
According to the researchers, the average bottle was covered in 300,000 colony-forming units per square centimetre (CFU/sq cm) — that's more than you would find on your dog's favourite chew toy! And the worst offender — slide top bottles — have a whopping 933,340 CFUs. Toilet seats, by comparison, have only 3,200 CFU per square inch.
While not all bacteria is bad, the researchers found 99 per cent of the bacteria found on squeeze top water bottles were the harmful kind, which could lead to conditions like pneumonia and blood infections.
Fortunately, you can reduce your risk of coming into contact with bad bacteria by switching to straw top bottles, stainless steel bottles or by simply washing your bottles on a more regular basis.
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