INDIANAPOLIS — Just how dirty is your reusable water bottle?
That’s the question WRTV Investigates sought out to answer.
Many people reuse their water because it’s cheaper and better for the environment than buying single-use plastic bottles. But the reality is, many people don’t wash them regularly with soap and water.
WRTV Investigates gathered up half a dozen water bottles from our homes and the newsroom.
We made sure to include different types, including stainless steel and plastic, screw tops and straws, and a Stanley owned by a WRTV employee’s 10-year-old child.
WRTV Investigates then took the water bottles to a microbiology lab at the Indiana University School of Medicine and Assistant Professor Jay Vornhagen.
"I study bacteria and how they cause infection,” said Vornhagen.
Our hands and mouths carry germs, which can end up on our water bottles.
“If you're not cleaning them properly, there's a chance they could make you sick,” said Vornhagen.
Vornhagen, a graduate student and a research analyst labeled the bottles and swabbed them.
They also added one of their own water bottles.
“We included what we call a control in this experiment,” said Vornhagen. “We actually took a water bottle and put bacteria on that water bottle."
Vornhagen and his team tested for germs and pathogens, which are organisms that can produce diseases.
“We will know everything a week from now,” said Vornhagen.
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WRTV Investigates waited a week and returned to the lab for the results.
"We have bacteria on all the water bottles you brought us,” said Vornhagen. “Most of it is good bacteria."
The good news— 5 of the 6 water bottles we brought did not have any bacteria on them that can make you sick.
The bad news— the 10-year-old’s Stanley cup had some concerning things on it.
“We found a couple of pathogens that are interesting,” said Vornhagen. “One is staphylococcus, it's like MRSA."
Staph infections, caused by staphylococcus, and can impact the skin, bones, digestive system, lungs and bloodstream.
Vornhagen had a hairy take on how staphylococcus got onto the Stanley cup.
“That bacteria similar to MRSA we usually think of it as being associated with dogs,” said Vornhagen. “If you have a dog that's interacting with the water bottle, sometimes the bacteria from the dog's mouth can get in and on those spaces."
The researchers found even more on the kid’s water bottle.
“This is what we call coliform bacteria,’ said Vornhagen. “Coliform are those bacteria that we worry about causing you to get sick. We think of them coming from the gut."
In other words, poop.
“It happens, right?” said Vornhagen. “We have lots of different illnesses that pass through the fecal oral route, we get some sort of fecal contamination. it goes into our water."
The researchers also found a third thing that concerned them.
“Sometimes those poop bacteria can be really drug resistant and the antibiotics to kill those bacteria,” said Vornhagen. “In this case we did find some examples of antibiotic resistant bacteria.”
So where did all these bacteria come from?
Vornhagen suspects the water bottle was brought into a bathroom or locker room setting.
“Just one more reason to keep the water bottles out of bathrooms and away from toilets and things like that,” said Vornhagen.
Speaking of toilets, a 2022 study from Water Filter Guru found a reusable water bottle has 40,000x the bacteria of a toilet seat.
The study found water bottles with spouts and screw tops were the dirtiest kinds, compared to squeeze tops.
The report also found nearly 15 percent of people clean their water bottles only a few times per month.
As for the water bottle researchers added to the test, Vornhagen showed us the difference before and after it was washed with warm soap and water.
“As you can see, after that wash, there is no bacteria after a wash,” said Vornhagen. “That says warm water and soap is sufficient to clean a water bottle to get rid of potential pathogens. You don't need to do anything more."
Vornhagen points out, most of the time you’re getting sick from other people, not from the germs on your own water bottle.
Certain groups of people could be more impacted by a dirty water bottle.
"If you're immunocompromised or you're old, that is something to be concerned about, it could make you sick,” said Vornhagen.
Experts recommend washing your water bottle daily and also doing a deep clean once a week, which should include taking apart the water bottle and washing all the pieces.
You should also wash with soap and water if you’ve had anything with sugar in your water bottle.
