Is your bottle clean? I wouldn't bidon it...

[eileithyia]

Milton and removable pop up bit.

[simonhill]

Love your germs.

I dread to think what will be the repercussions of the super sanitised nation we have been for the last 1½ years. How many more kids are going to be allergic to all sorts of common things. Be careful, yes, but I think many have gone way too far.

Obviously a personal choice, but for me I like to get a bit of dirt. I rarely wash fruit or veg and don't go overboard about too much food hygiene. Careful, yes; sensible, within reason; paranoid, no.

I travel a lot in less developed countries and very rarely get ill. If I do, it is usually for a very short period (clear out and gone). I'm certain that my food/hygiene regime helps this.

..................and that's not to mention the whole gut biome thing.

[freiston]

On the bike I use Ion8 leak-proof bottles and they are easily washed in the sink with the other washing up: their design makes them easy to clean and not so susceptible to mould growth. If my bottles or my camelbak bladder/tube need a proper debugging, I use either baby bottle steriliser or VWP (which I use for home-brewing), whatever is to hand - so usually VWP.

This next bit sounds like a sales pitch but I am a big fan of the Ion8 bottles. They don't have valves but a drinking/pouring hole and a small air hole to allow pouring. The lid, with spring-loaded hinge and locking latch mechanism, has seals for both holes that press against the holes when the lid is shut. The lid also means that you're not going to get crap off the road onto the "nozzle". They come in different sizes and have volume markings on the side (can be handy for mixing up dehydrated food when camping). The bottles are rigid not squeezy and you pour rather than suck to drink the liquid. They are very tough and have withstood being dropped from the bike at speed without spilling a drop. They don't work well with all bottle cages though - that's how I came to drop one off the bike but I replaced my cages with Zefal Pulse Full Aluminium Bottle Cages and have no problems now.

[Barks]

Once clean store bottles in the freezer to keep them that way.

[Hellhound]

Love your germs.
I dread to think what will be the repercussions of the super sanitised nation we have been for the last 1½ years. How many more kids are going to be allergic to all sorts of common things. Be careful, yes, but I think many have gone way too far.

I think kids today are more allergic in general than when I was younger.Asthma and Eczema where quite rare when I was a kid for instance.Mechanics wearing gloves is another thing?When I was training we didn't bother washing our hands to eat our sandwiches as it was often done on the job!Different times and we know more now but I'm with simonhill on this,we have gone way too far!

My bottles get a quick rinse then in the cupboard.I'm not dead yet so....

[geomannie]

Or look at it another way. Bacteria & fungal spores are normal. We live in a sea of them. I get the grossness factor of a dirty bottle but in reallity what do you think you might catch from using one? Have you ever heard of water bottles as a cause of infection?

Use it, wash it, dry it.

[Mick F]

Use it, wash it, dry it.

Yes, that's what I do.

Milton was my first thought if you're worried ........... but I'm not at all.

[nirakaro]

Love your germs...
... I rarely wash fruit or veg ...

I'd always imagined the purpose of washing them was to remove nasty pesticide residues rather than dirt.

[mjr]

Love your germs.
I dread to think what will be the repercussions of the super sanitised nation we have been for the last 1½ years. How many more kids are going to be allergic to all sorts of common things. Be careful, yes, but I think many have gone way too far.

I think kids today are more allergic in general than when I was younger.Asthma and Eczema where quite rare when I was a kid for instance. [...]

I suspect that is more to do with pollution than cleanliness. All the extra motor traffic doesn't only rob children of playing in the street, but of playing in fresh air in parks and gardens.

Rants against cleanliness are often either excuses for slovenliness or someone having been fooled by such.

Or look at it another way. Bacteria & fungal spores are normal. We live in a sea of them. I get the grossness factor of a dirty bottle but in reallity what do you think you might catch from using one? Have you ever heard of water bottles as a cause of infection?

Excellent way to get a stomach upset at best and yes, I've heard of dirty bottles causing infection, and not only from sellers of things like Klean Canteen.

[Darkman]

Have you ever heard of water bottles as a cause of infection?

Bottles? I can't say that I have.
Water? Most certainly. Granted, the worst case was in Egypt, but suffice to say I daren't even fart for a fortnight.

[Jdsk]

Love your germs...
... I rarely wash fruit or veg ...

I'd always imagined the purpose of washing them was to remove nasty pesticide residues rather than dirt.

Both pesticides and pathogens transmitted through the faecal-oral route.

Jonathan

[Hellhound]

Love your germs.
I dread to think what will be the repercussions of the super sanitised nation we have been for the last 1½ years. How many more kids are going to be allergic to all sorts of common things. Be careful, yes, but I think many have gone way too far.

I think kids today are more allergic in general than when I was younger.Asthma and Eczema where quite rare when I was a kid for instance. [...]

I suspect that is more to do with pollution than cleanliness. All the extra motor traffic doesn't only rob children of playing in the street, but of playing in fresh air in parks and gardens.

There was just as much air pollution back then,possibly more? The pits and steel foundries were abundant,everyone had coal fires,diesel vehicles were really dirty etc,etc.
With Eczema I think modern fabric conditioners and washing gels have more to do with it than air pollution.Our mums used twin-tub washers and the same water would be used for all the washing on wash day,no fancy conditioners etc.Now we chuck all sorts of chemicals into the machines.
Air pollution gets blamed for most things and other stuff is often overlooked.I'm not denying air pollution causes a multitude of things but there are other modern practices that could also be part of the problem.

[Jdsk]

During the course of this outbreak we know:

* The changes in air pollution, but TTBOMK not their effect on health.
* The effects on seasonal 'flu... it's down, and that's what would be expected from its mode of transmission.
* The seasonal shift in what are usually winter respiratory diseases in children such as bronchiolitis. Ditto.

Jonathan

[Mick F]

........the worst case was in Egypt, but suffice to say I daren't even fart for a fortnight.

Sea Story Alert!

We in HMS Sirius went out to the Far East in 1988. Transited the Suez Canal on the way there ................. and back.
Stopped at the northern end Port Said, and some of the crew went on a trip to see the pyramids and stayed at a hotel overnight and then took a coach(?) down to the southern end to Port Suez to rejoin us as we exited into the Red Sea.

Some of the crew became quite ill.
I won't bore or horrify with the symptoms, but suffice it to say, some were very ill even though they never went ashore.
I must add, that I was fine, but many of my staff certainly were NOT.

A few of the officers were poorly and that was eventually traced to the Officer's Chef as the carrier. No doubt he was involved in the main galley serving up food for the crew too. He was isolated, and was still very poorly weeks later when we arrived in Singapore and had to go into hospital.

On the way back home, no-one went ashore at all.

[philvantwo]

Reminds me of uncle Albert in only fools and horses.....