In a study involving the analysis of 12 types of plastic water bottles used by an athlete for one week without washing, it was found that drinking from a plastic water bottle that has continuously been refilled can be ‘many times worse than licking a dog’s toy’ when it comes to bacteria exposure
The result of the lab tests found that the top of the water-bottles were crawling in potentially harmful bacteria by the end of the week. More than 300,000 colony-forming units (CFU) were found on each square centimetre of the bottles on average. By contrast, the average pet toy has 2,937 CFU.
Gram-positive cocci was found on many of the bottles, which can lead to skin infections, pneumonia and blood poisoning.
A spokesperson said:
‘Drinking from these bottles can still be worse than eating a meal from your pet’s dish.’
The study found that bottles which you have to slide open with your fingers are worst, followed by squeeze tops and the researcher suggested using a dishwasher-proof reusable bottle that should be cleaned daily.
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